KnitSteph

Getting off the Ground

2010-01-26T15:40:00.002-06:00

I have taken better pics of my handwoven scarves. I think this shows them off just a bit better. The other pics were taken with my iPhone camera, and while it's good, sometimes it doesn't show things off in the best light.

(this will be a bit picture heavy)

This is the two scarves together. The green one is approximately 80 inches long, not including the fringe, which is about 6 inches long on each end.

It is woven from a KnitPicks Donegal yarn that was handdyed by a friend of mine. The warp and weft were the same yarns, but dyed slightly different colors.

The reddish scarf is about 86 inches long not including the 4" long fringe on each end. The warp for this scarf is Opal Memories sock yarn and the weft is KnitPicks Risata. The Risata has an elastic content so it has a slight bit of stretch from side to side.

Here are some closeups of the scarves so you can see the weave better.

I love the twisted fringe finish on the scarves. It was kind of a pain to make, but my mom and I bought a Le Clerc Fringe Twister and that sped things up quite a bit!

Please stay tuned for an announcement about a team up with me and another indie designer. This ought to be fun.

I've gone and done it

2010-01-24T20:54:00.001-06:00

After much hemming and hawing and being scared about it, I've finally opened an Artfire shop (well...I've had the shop for a while, but I finally put something in it) and my Etsy Shop After my posts here and twitter I've had lots of good response for my woven scarves that I thought I'd try to sell them. Right now I only have one listing. It is for a custom made scarf using your own sock yarn. This is great for someone who has so much sock yarn they'll never be able to knit it up, since each scarf takes the same amount as to make two pairs of socks.

As soon as I get more scarves woven here, I will list those as well. My mother and I have been working on different designs for handbags, totebags, knitting bags and other types of bags. As soon as we get those worked out we'll be listing those as well. There may also be items that have been machine embroidered as well as offering custom machine embroidery. No telling what you may find in my shop!

I hope you like it!

I Effed an O and a KAL

2010-01-23T18:39:00.000-06:00

I finally finished something that's not weaving! I have had startitis lately and wanting to start a bunch of new projects. I made a promise to myself that I'd not start anything new (knitting - not weaving lol) until I had finished (or frogged) 3 WIPs. Well...I have one FO.

This is a Noro Taiyo two row scarf. I used two different colors of Taiyo (Cotton, Silk, Wool, Nylon) I looove it. It's a bit softer than the Silk Garden or Kuryeon, and even though you can't tell in this picture, it's a LOT brighter.

So, now I need to finish or frog two more things. I'll have to get busy because I have signed on to do the TWITKAL that Spazzyarn is organizing. I have to hurry, because it's starting on Wednesday.(EEEEEEEKK!!!!!) If you're interested in joining, the details are here. I plan on using my Malabrigo sock yarn in Stonechat for the shawl. I think. If I don't change my mind by Wednesday.

I still knit too

2010-01-19T19:03:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd share one of my current WIPs today. I am working on a shrug. The yarn is Plain and Fancy Sheep and Wool Co. sport weight. Funny thing about this yarn. I bought it at the Kid n Ewe fiber festival in Boerne,TX (well mom got it for me) which is about 6 hours from here, but the lady who makes the yarn lives in Henderson - about 40 miles from me!!

Anyway, here's my progress so far:

I'm really liking how it's working up. I have put a link to the pattern below. You can also buy this yarn from the same place.

Http://store.wildflowerfiber.com/sashknpa.html

Oh!! I redid the fringe on my scarf.

I really like the twisted fringe better than the knotted. What do you think?

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I did it again!

2010-01-17T13:54:00.002-06:00

I finished another scarf! This one has an Opal sock yarn warp and the weft is knitpicks Risata. The KP yarn has a bit of elastic so the finished scarf has a bit of stretch.

The Opal warp chain.

On the loom.

And finished!!

I'm really enjoying weaving and these scarves are a great way to use up some of my sock yarn stash.

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Tooo cute!

2010-01-13T18:38:00.001-06:00

I just had to share this. Lady Satine (satin angora)in my headboard.

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I'm alive!!

2010-01-13T14:13:00.002-06:00

After neglecting my blog at knitsteph.com for so long, I let my hosting expire. Then, I got a wild hair about blogging again. Instead of paying for hosting (in case I saw something shiney and stopped blogging again), I decided to ressurect my old blogger blog.

I'm hoping I can get into my other blog and export the posts over here, but if not I guess that's ok too.

Since my last posting here I've graduated college and become a certified unemployed teacher. Joy. I have a really expensive paper on my wall that I'm not using yet.

I'm still knitting and weaving. I actually have an FO for 2010 already!!

I made a scarf from sock yarns. I used one skein for warp and one for weft. I think it turned out really nice. It's about 9 inches wide and 80 inches long not counting the fringe.

There are a couple of threading errors, but it's not that noticeable. It turned out really soft.

I was really impressed with my selvages, except for one section on the left side near the end where I had tension issues. This tweedy yarn worked up really well on the loom.

I've wound another warp from Opal sock yarn and I'm hoping to get it on the loom today. This looks like it may have subtle small stripes, if the weft yarn doesn't over power it.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now. More later.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2005-01-22T10:01:00.000-06:00

Just letting everyone know I've moved to my own domain now.

http://www.knitsteph.com

See ya there!!

hmm...I hate coming up with titles...

2005-01-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

I actually did some knitting this weekend...

Fuzzy feet for my sister (pre felting - thats one of mine in there for scale)

Hat from Noro Kureyon...forgot the color number.

I'm making fingerless gloves and a scarf to match the hat..not done yet.

I'm still not completely over the cold/flu/crap yet. The daughter gets her braces today. I told her that I was going to take photos of her in the chair getting them put on..and she rolled her eyes at me and told me I was goofy. Just you wait..I'll get one of her just to prove her wrong..(right??)

A day in the life of KnitSteph

2005-01-15T12:19:00.000-06:00

I figured that I would do a little photo essay of what I see as I traverse around campus. (note: You can do a virtual tour also from that link.)

(all photos are clickable for larger images)

This is my view at around 7:45 am (though I took the photo about 3:00). This is a multi-level waterfall thing in the Braithwaite Gardens. The building in the background is the Fine Arts building where I take an art class. (The building also houses the Cowan Center which plays host to broadway plays, ballet and other performance arts.)

This is another fountain in the Braithwaite Gardens and in front of the Fine Arts Center. It has benches where you can sit and contemplate (or knit) if you want.

This is The Dub and B.J. Riter Millennium Carillon Tower as viewed from the Fine Arts Center building. Yes, I noticed that the times are different. (good thing I own a watch!!)

Inside the Fine Arts building there is an Art gallery. My art professor is in charge of the gallery. Right now there's a display of works by the artist Wade Eldean.

I took this photo becauseI thought it might be of interest to all the fiber artists amongst us.

The name of this piece is "Morgan thinking about that scary bug". The medium is yarn and wax on wood. ITS YARN!! There are a whole series of these poitraits done in yarn as well as others. I thought it was pretty neat. You can see the other yarn paintings here.

Ok..on with my day.

Huge iron turtle by the lake. (and I do mean huge, its about 15 feet long) No, our mascot isn't a turtle. We are the Patriots. *shrug*

This is the back entrance to the UC (University Center). This is where I go to eat lunch and get Starbucks. Also houses the bookstore. I want to get a photo of the inside sometime, becuase it has a really neat glass ceiling.

This is the view from outside my Statistics lecture hall across the lake. The building you see in the distance is the Library. (and no..my lecture hall has no windows. drat)

Another view of the tower from the other side of campus.

And finally......

The view out my car window on the way home.

I hope you enjoyed this "day in the life". Yeah, I got a new digital camera and wanted to play with it.

I'm alive...barely

2005-01-12T15:33:00.000-06:00

Crawling out from under my rock for a few...

I survived the first day of school. I think I was nuts setting up my schedule. 8 am class in the Fine Arts Center, 9:30 am class in the business building, 12:30pm class in the Admin. building and then a 2:00 class in the business building. Thats a whole lot of walking. Not easy when you are coughing your head off.

I made this

This past weekend. I got the pattern from Knitting Knonsense. She has all 50 states, a USA chart, a star chart and some Canadian charts. I'm thinking I might make a USA afghan sometime. Maybe in red, white and blue??'

I got my "frog pond" prize from Chelsea's contest, but I didn't take a photo yet. Thanks Chelsea!!!

flulike symptoms

2005-01-10T12:39:00.000-06:00

I'm dying..I swear I'm dying. But I can't cuz school starts tomorrow.

Can't miss the first day of school for the semester. *sigh*

Sorry if this makes no sense...everything is all weird and fuzzy.

Be back when I'm more coherant.

Wheeee!!

2005-01-07T20:59:00.000-06:00

Does the *I made the President's Honor Roll dance*

Come on!! Dance with me!! You know you want to!!

My feet are extremely funky.....

2005-01-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

(I'll bet that gets tons of weird google search hits)

Told you they were funky. *grin*

My sister coveted them so much I'm making her a pair too.

I have set up a blog for the weightloss group. I've decided not to just limit it to Dr. Phil's program, but anyone who's doing any type of weight loss is welcome to join. I'm not going to post the link, but if you are interested in joining us, please post in the comments or email me and I'll send you an invitation to the group.

I didn't know what I could do to help with the disaster relief for the tsunami. I had to borrow money from my sister yesterday to buy milk and bread. (I'm not whining, I know we have it better than alot of folks, but there's exactly $2 in my checking account). I got a notice from BonusMail that I could donate points for disaster relief. I dontated all mine which will be converted to cash and donated to charity. I hope that helps some. I know its not alot, but it's all I can do at this time.

an idea rumbling through my brain..

2005-01-04T15:56:00.000-06:00

Would any of you like to do Dr. Phil's Weight loss challenge with me??

Just thinking outloud.

EDIT:

HERE is the info about the challenge. I figured instead of logging into the Dr Phil site we could have a blog to track all the participants ourselves. I'm open to any other ideas you might have.

You start with the Seven Keys and the Rapid Start Program.

There is a book that you can buy, but I believe that he said that all of the things you'd need to do the challenge would be on his website.

Like I said...I'm open to any ideas about this. Please leave comments and let me know what you think.

HGTV

2005-01-04T11:11:00.000-06:00

Does anyone watch the show "Crafters Coast to Coast" on HGTV?? My sister had been raving about it so I decided to check it out today. The episode they showed had a girl named Betsy McCall from San Francisco. She knits and does felting. Shizknits is her website.

I thought the show was cute and I'll try to watch it when I can remember. It comes on at 11:30 am ET/PT and 5:00 pm ET/PT.

(pssst. I'm wearing funky feet :P)

wheee...

2005-01-03T23:18:00.000-06:00

I have funky feet in the washer felting!!

I changed the name to funky feet because I'm using Kool aid dyed fishermans wool and its not very fuzzy, and I used four colors but placed the colors in different places on each foot.

Voila...Funky Feet. I should be getting a camera to use tomorrow so I'll take photos. Sorry there will be no pre-felting pic, but I wanted to get them felted before it decides to get cold again!!

A new year begins...

2005-01-02T15:07:00.000-06:00

I just realized that I started knitting (again) just about a year ago. I think I"ve acomplished quite alot in one year.

I've knitted a bunch of pretty stuff (and some not so pretty stuff!!). I've made some really good friends in blogland. I made the best of 2004 at JenLa!. I hope that I can do as well this year.

I don't have a camera right now so no photos of any wip's or finished objects. I started a pair of fuzzy feet from some of the kool aid dyed wool that I did a while back. I've got one finished and I'm working on the cuff of the second. The shawl is still coming along, though I haven't worked on it in a few days. I keep having startitis. I start things and then start something else. I'm very scattered right now. Hopefully that will straighten out soon.

Happy New Year!!

2004-12-31T23:59:00.000-06:00

a moment of silence

2004-12-27T18:55:00.000-06:00

Please Light a candle for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in S. Aisa and Africa.

I'm a busy bee

2004-12-26T18:50:00.000-06:00

Here's what I've been working on. I'm using the handspun yarn that I made and blogged about a couple of weeks (??) ago.

I have it all pinned out so you can see the pattern. Right now I have 257 stitches on the needle and have 7 and 1/2 repeats before starting the border. Maybe I can get this finished before I start back to school. *fingers crossed*

Here's what it looks like not pinned out.

Big yarny mess??

This is the Cobweb pattern from Magknits designed by the lovely and wonderful Emma. When I grow up and become a real knitter, I'll knit lace like she does...eyep.

Oh..well.. in the spirit of thinking that I can knit lace, I treated myself to this for yule.

(better photo here)

Ambitious ain't I??

yawns and stretches

2004-12-26T11:34:00.000-06:00

*peeks out from under the piles of wrapping paper*

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I'll post more tomorrow....with photos!!

umm..if you say so...

2004-12-21T18:48:00.000-06:00

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family.
Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Here's the stocking I was talking about.

For some reason I was unable to find Liam's christmas stocking this year. I whipped this one out of some cheap acrylic I had laying around.

Our stockings look horrible anyway and I've been planning to make us new ones, so I ordered this Evergreen Stocking Kit with the Gift Certificate my sister sent. Says theres enough to make two stockings. So, I'll be well on the way.

I also ordered Sock Hop. Do we see a theme here?

does a happy dance

2004-12-20T18:41:00.000-06:00

I just found out I have a 4.0!! *doesahappy4.0dance*

Ok..I'm sure you're tired of me talking about school. How about some knitting???

iiiity bitty sweaters. Pattern can be found HERE. All I can say is, FUN, FAST & EASY. (and they use up those lil bits of leftover sock yarn)

I was gifted with this yesterday.

*squeee* This was from my good friend (and Laurel) in our SCA group. She and the other peers have been watching other non-peer members of the group and every so often are going to recognize people for doing good things. She recognized ME!! She said that she noticed that I was always promoting the fiber arts and that I always had a project with me to work on. (well DUH!) I can't wait to start the sampler. I just have to get a size 7 or 8 - 16" circ. (the cord that makes the 16" length in my denise set broke *sob*)

I think I have created a monster.

Did you notice how many needles she's got? Yes, miss fuzzy scarf is trying knitting in the round. She's using the spiral sock pattern from the Sweater Workshop book posted above.

Tomorrow: Hopefully I'll have a Christmas stocking to show you.

Merry Xmas

2004-12-20T10:45:00.000-06:00

Get Your Own Christmas BlogCard Here!

Waiting on grades...

2004-12-18T11:13:00.000-06:00

Well as I stated before, I have an A in my Government class. I found out Thursday that I have an A in my english class *dances* I think I have an A in my Psych class but won't know til Monday on that one. The page on campus connect where I can check my grades is down so I can't check on that one and my Geog grade. I had a high B going into the last test for Geog and I did the two extra bonus papers that he assigned us. I'm hoping I can pull off an A in there too. *fingers crossed*

I don't have any knitting photos at the moment. Nothing new's been finished. I got myself a ball of regia sock yarn on Thursday, but I'm not letting myself cast on with it until I finish the last christmas pressie. Oh..the agony. LOL I'm working on a scarf to match the black hat in the last post. I didn't have enough of the black homespun to make a whole scarf, so I went to find some more. Wouldn't you know that there was not a single solid black skein of homespun to be found. *sigh* I got some charcoal grey colored and making a striped scarf.

I found this neat little calendar today. Print one off...you know you want to.

My son (Topher - the 7 year old) has to go into the hospital for some outpatient surgery on his teeth next Wed. Please think about us that day. It's supposed to be simple stuff, but I always worry when they have to put people under.

Here are the kids decorating the xmas tree the day before Thanksgiving.

EDIT: I just got a $40 gift certificate in the mail from patternworks from my sister!! Yippee!!

Busy Little Bee

2004-12-15T12:12:00.000-06:00

I had my last final yesterday. *whew* I go tomorrow and pick up my English portfolio and find out my grade in that class. I got an A in Government. yay!!

So..in between all the studying and blog troubles, I've been a busy girl.

Whatcha want to see first?? Ok..I'll go with the boring stuff.

Simple black hat with ribbed bottom brim from Lion Brand Homespun. This will have a scarf to match. I'm using cheap washable stuff because this is for my neice's 21 year old boyfriend who would probably felt anything made of wool.

This is the hat to match my irish hiking scarf. This will go to my 26 year old neice. I spent more time and did something more complex for her because she will care for it more. :)

The Hooray for Me Gloves! I made these for my neice. I kind of want to keep them myself. They are from Lion Brand Magic Stripes yarn. It was neat that one pattern repeat made one glove. When I started the second glove I was at the same place in the repeat as when I started the first glove. I think I may do some more of these.

On the spinning front....

350 yards superwash wool singles. (I'm not going to ply this one and see what happens when I knit it) I have about the same amount left to spin. This was given to me by the lovelyVerna. (she sent me cashmere to spin too..ooo)

Here's a closeup.

Joy of Joys!! (not)

2004-12-13T11:15:00.000-06:00

I have had to move my blog to blogspot for now. My webhost is acting all screwy and not accepting my blog posts. So..I'm here for now.

I think I'm going to be buying a domain in the next week or so. I need ideas for a name. I'm going to use KnitSteph as a subdomain and want a different name for the main one. I'm so uncreative with this stuff. *sigh*

Gimme ideas people!!

Yeah...right

2004-12-11T12:50:00.000-06:00

My fortune cookie says....

"Time heals all wounds. Keep your chin up."

*dies laughing*

(I'm hating blogger right now)

Busy week over with.

2004-12-10T07:18:00.000-06:00

*whew* This has been one busy week. I had one final, two quizzes, three revisions and a final paper due. I managed to get it all done and only have my Geography final next Tuesday. I went to the school bookstore and sold my textbooks back and treated myself to a little 'Yay! You finished the Semester" present.

First I went to eat at a Mexican place that I love called Gilbert's El Charro. I then proceeded to Barnes and Noble and procured myself Eats, Shoots & Leaves and the winter issue of Interweave Knits.

Later I treated myself to a copy of Moulin Rouge.

It feels good to be pretty much done with school for a month or so. I hope I can concentrate on my crafts more. I have been spinning lately. I have spun about 350 yards of some lavendar superwash wool that Verna sent me ages ago. I have about the same amount left to spin. Its coming about somewhere near sock weight I guess. I really need to get a wpi tool. Guess I'll ask santa.

On the knitting front..I finished a hat to go with my Irish Hiking Scarf, I'm working on "Hurray for me Gloves" for a Christmas gift. I have way too many things on the needles. (as usual) I don't have the camera right now so no pictures til next week probably.

Today's Santa

This is an old Santa cookie jar and cups. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but it's pretty old.

Sunday Santa

2004-12-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

Well...since I haven't finished anything kntted..and I don't have the camera right now to take a photo if I did, I'll just post a little Santa stuff.

My mom gave me this guy last year. I love love love his plaid pants. I also love how his fur trim isn't snow white. Just gives him a little more realistic touch I think.

What I would really love for my collection is a La Befana.

La Befana is one of Italy's oldest and most celebrated legends. Each year on January 6 the children of Italy awaken in hopes that La Befana has made a visit to their house. This is a significant day to Italians because it marks the end of the Christmas season and the day that the three Wise Men arrived at the manger of the Christ child. Over the years the Epiphany has been a more celebrated holiday for the children of Italy than even Christmas.

(read more)

or...

In Italy there remains, a legend or tradition involving a Witch named Befana. On the night of January 6th (Twelfth Night or the Eve of the Epiphany or Little Christmas), Befana leaves presents in children's stockings hung upon the hearth or in their shoes placed at the door, a tradition very much like Santa Claus associated with Christmas in America. The children write notes and hide them up the chimney for La Befana.

(read more)

I think a female santa would be a good addition to the collection *grin*

More llama and santa's and a christmas parade

2004-12-03T13:44:00.000-06:00

This is what I turned the llama yarn into.

Well, I actually made two of them and an earwarmer/headband thingy, but the camera batteries died when taking photos at the Christmas parade last night. I wore the mitts and the earwarmer in the parade last night and they were very warm.

My son and a couple of other cub scouts on their float. He's the one in the santa hat.

My Daughter, The Liam and my sister on their float. (yes..that's a real fire...they roasted hot dogs and marshmallows while they road in the parade) Liam looks like a demon with the red eye stuff. LOL

Santa of the Day:

This is actually a candleholder, but I hate putting a candle in it. I love the look of this. Its wood and carved and it has three faces around it. One of my very favorites.

Llama and Santa

2004-11-28T15:55:00.000-06:00

Presenting 180 yards of llama yarn

I still have more to spin. It's fun stuff and I'm going to be asking for more.

Today's Santa...

This Santa was at my parents house as long as I can remember. He's a little worse for wear (a little dingy and missing his pom pom from the top of his hat) but I still love him. He is a music box (there;s a pull string in the bottom) and he plays a strange variation of the song Silent Night. I have looked around trying to find who made this Santa, but have had no luck in researching it. The only markings on it are a tag that reads "Made in Japan". I think he may be from around the time I was born. (I was born in 1969..so late 60's early 70's)

I have startitis

2004-11-27T11:35:00.000-06:00

I have on the needles...

second of fingerless glove from noro
~~one "hurray for me glove"~~ second hurray for me glove
purple top down raglan
red cabled hat
black scarf
green scarf
red chenille and fun fur hat
un-biased bag
second mitten for the 7 year old

I think I have a problem.

I found this neat little site. 43 Things. I've started my list, you can read it Here.

I thought that I might share with you some of my favorite Santas from my collection. I'll post one maybe every time I post.

The Christmas gift bringers of Norway and Denmark are household elves, or gnomes, called the Julenisser. In Sweden they are called the Jultomtes. The name ‘Nisse’ may have come from ‘Nicls’ or ‘Niclsen’, a Scandinavian rendering of the German name ‘Nicolaus’ or ‘Niclas’.

The Julenisse has been part of Danish folklore and legend for many centuries. The belief in these small people stems from pagan times when spirits were said to come out during the winter solstice. The ghostly procession was headed by the winter god Odin and accompanied by the small ancestors of the Nisser. Nowadays, however, the Nisser are associated entirely with Christmas.

Only a foot high, the Julenisse has the face of an old man, with white hair and a long white beard. With his pointed red cap, he can be easily spotted in the snow.

During the year Julenisser live in attics and stables, attaching themselves to a particular family and caring for their stable and cattle. They are particularly kind to household pets, which is why the Julenisse is often pictured with a cat on Danish Christmas cards. They are also good to children, although they are careful never to be seen.

The Julenisser like to be helpful around the farm and take special care of the hearth, where they sometimes like to sleep. As long as the family is good to them, they will continue to help; but if they are in any way mistreated, they can sometimes play spiteful and mischievous pranks.

On Christmas Eve a bowl of porridge is ceremoniously set out for the Julenisser. After everyone has gone to bed they emerge with a large sack to hide present. all around the house. One of the presents is certain to be a Julklapp. This is a large package which, when opened, is found to contain another package inside. This second, smaller package is addressed to a different member of the family. The next person opens it, only to find that it is really meant for yet another member of the family. The package gets smaller and smaller, until the true recipient is left with a very small package. The Julklapp gift is always a surprise.

from this site

Gobble Gobble

2004-11-25T09:15:00.000-06:00

um..yeah...I've been busy

2004-11-24T12:25:00.000-06:00

School and stuff and trying to get the house ready to get out the christmas decorations. I kind of have to re-arrange things around here because I have a 10 foot tree. I'll be sure to take photos of it so that everyone can see. It's usually georgous, though it's taking me time to get enough ornaments to fill it up, so sometimes it looks a bit bare. I had another idea also. I'm going to put a santa suit on my dress form. *grin* I think it will be pretty cute. Since I collect santas it will fit right in.

Here's a shot of my santa collection that I took last year.

They sit on a piece of fake snow fabric on my grandmother's antique buffet and I weave in Christmas lights around them. Actually..you can't see all of the santas in the photo..last year some spilled over into the entertainment center area and there's a couple of big ones on the floor. And I have a santa punch bowl and cups that sits in the dining room.

I'm a big collector...I've also started a snowman collection too. (no photos of it yet..maybe I'll take some this year)

So..with the Noro yarn...I've made one fingerless glove and started the second one and I'll probably make a hat or something with the rest.

From the purple aran yarn I started a top down raglan in the round ala glampyre. The only thing I'm worried about with this one is getting it to fit over my ample chest. Maybe some short rows are in order, but I'll have to ask some of the other knitting goddesses what I should do first.

Any ideas knitting goddesses??

I need an idea...

2004-11-20T12:00:00.000-06:00

Please tell me what to do with 4 skeins of Noro Kuryeon (besides felted bag).

oh...and 16 balls of aran wieght wool (77 yds per ball)

FINALLY!!

2004-11-15T20:57:00.000-06:00

I finished the aran sweater for The Liam.

Here is the proud owner.

I just have to get two buttons to go here...

(back neck opening)

Now if it would just get cold enough for him to wear it.

I'm Back

2004-11-15T09:21:00.000-06:00

The event went well, we all had a good time and I'm exhausted. I haven't gottent the photos uploaded yet, but I didn't get to take too many. I'll post some in a few days.

I'm achy and tired, but it's a good tired.

I may not be around much for the next couple of days. My house is a wreck and I've decided that I really need to get things in order around her ASAP. I'll be checking my email and stuff, but I may not be surfing as many blogs. I will be back shortly, I just need to get a few things done.

For those of us feeling a bit down and maybe a bit of a failure...(bonus if you can name that movie *wink*)

The Roses of Success

Every bursted bubble has a glory
Each abysmal failure makes a point
Every glowing path that goes astray
Shows you how to find a better way
So every time you stumble, Never grumble
Next time you'll bumble even less
For up from the ashes, up from the ashes, grow the roses of success

Grow the roses
Grow the roses
Grow the roses of success
O yes!
Grow the roses
Those rosy roses
From the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success

For every big mistake you make be grateful
(Hear, hear!)
That mistake you'll never make again
(No sir)
Every shiny dream that fades and dies
Generates the steam for two more tries
So there's magic in the wake of a fiasco!
(Correct)
It gives you that chance to second guess
(O yes!)
Then up from the ashes, up from the ashes grow the roses of success

Grow the roses
Grow the roses
Grow the roses of success
Grow the roses
Those rosy roses
From the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success

Disaster didn't styme Louis Pasteur
(No sir)
Edison took years to see the light
(Right)
Alexander Graham knew failure well. He took a lot of knocks to ring that bell
So when it gets distressing it's a blessing
Onward and upward you must press
Yes! Yes!
Til up from the ashes, up from the ashes grow the roses of success

Grow the ro
Grow the ro
Grow the roses!
Grow the ro
Grow the ro
Grow the roses!
Grow the roses of success

Grow the ro
Grow the ro
Grow the roses!
Those rosy ro
Those rosy ro
Those rosy roses!
From the ashes of disaster, grow the roses of success

Start the engines
Success
Batten the hatches
Success
Man the shrouds
Lift the anchor
Success!

I'm outta here for the weekend.

2004-11-11T15:38:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving to go here. (It's only about 30 minutes away.) The event I am going to is called Three Kings. Our SCA group puts on this event every year. (ehem..I did the website *grin*)

I will be seeing things like

(morning court at last year's event)

and this

(an archer at last years event)

and this

(some heavy fighters from another event)

and also pretty stuff like this

(reproduction of one of the panels of the Bayeaux Tapestry)

I will be camping.

Here's the forecast.

Fri
Nov 12 Mostly Cloudy 59°/46° 0 %
Sat
Nov 13 Cloudy 58°/43° 20 %
Sun
Nov 14 Mostly Cloudy 58°/48° 20 %

I'll take plenty of photos if you want to see them.

A dream

2004-11-10T10:40:00.000-06:00

I don't know if many of you watch HGTV or not. Every year they pick a location and do a "dream home" giveaway. The 2005 house is located on Lake Tyler, Texas which is about an hour from me.

Not a very good photo. There's a video about it on the local TV station here. You can also check out the story at the HGTV website.

Check out the veiw over the lake.

So yeah..when the contest starts January 1, 2005 you better bet I'll be entering. Check the different links out above...the boat house is a fully funtional guest house, kitchen and all.

I promise, if I win this house we will have FIBER RETREATS!! Knitters and Crocheters and Spinners OH MY!!

So..just think good thoughts and maybe I'll get lucky and win the house.

Busy busy busy...

2004-11-07T13:02:00.000-06:00

Lots of pictures today...

First..I made a little felted bag out of some of the fisherman's wool I dyed with Kool-Aid a few months ago.

pre felted with The Liam for size comparison.

blocking on an ice cream bucket.

Voila!! Finito!

I also got my mittens from a mitten swap that I was involved in. This was a "spin your own yarn and make mittens swap"

Here's what I got.

Ellen from WI sent me purple mittens!! And a bonus hat!!

Check out the cute cables!!

Last, but certainly not least!! I got RAOK'd yesterday. Tama sent me a lovely candle and a tiny little 2005 calendar. The card is adorable too!

A lovely day all around.

Well well well, I seem to be a spinner too

2004-11-06T09:11:00.000-06:00

*grin* I took some photos of the Llama fiber that I'm spinning.

Here it is on the bobbin of my trusty babe wheel. The colors in the llama fleece(?) vary from a very deep black to a grey color and they look really neat as they are spinning up. I have noticed that the llama fiber wants A LOT of twist. It's kind of like silk in that regard.

Here is what I've done on my drop spindle. I took this with me to The Topher's speech therapy on Thursday and one of the other patients (its a big general therapy place) was fascinated with it. I wished I'd had another spindle with me and I would have let her give it a go. She said that she thought that yarn was made by machines. *grin* I told her that yes, most commercial yarns now adays are made by machine, but this is the way that yarn was made before the invention of machines. She thought it was cool. This lady was, I would guess, in her mid 60's.

A friend of mine gave me a bag of silk noil. I'll probably start spinning that when I get done with this llama. (if I don't call the llama lady and ask for more)

My daughter's FO

2004-11-05T13:11:00.000-06:00

Here it is in all it's glory.

I'm really proud of her. It took her forever, but she did a good job. We'll see what she decides to do next.

(oh..and I don't know why her eye looks all funky and what that round dot is on the photo - ghost maybe?? LOL)

Yeah..you can tell me I suck.

2004-11-04T15:47:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posting. Been a tad bit depressed the past couple of days *coughcoughbuckfushcoughcough* Not to mention I have a geograpy paper due on Tuesday AND an english paper. I also registered for the spring semester on Tuesday. Subject to change: Intro to Art, Literary Appreciation, Statistics, US History II (I think that's everything after the civl war).

I am excited about one thing. My daughter had her first FO this week!! She knitted a scarf from fun fur. She even wore it to school today. I didn't have time to take a photo of her this morning so hopefully I'll take one of her this afternoon when she gets home.

I have decided that I love spinning Llama fiber. It's so soft and yummy. I know I'll be sad when this fiber is all gone, but at least I know where to get some more. :)

Things are a bit bleak on the money front, so I won't be able to send out any RAOK's other than ecards for a few weeks. I hate being broke. I think that I would love to open a yarn store here. There is one, but it is waaaaaaaay north of the town on the outside of town. I think that if there was one more centrally located it would do well. I love the ladies at the other store, but it's just so far to get there. Another pipe dream I 'spose.

Dear Texas Republican Party

2004-11-01T11:13:00.000-06:00

Please quit calling me.

I did it already, calling me 6 times over the weekend will do no good. No matter who I voted for, I can't go back again. Thank you.

Weekend recap

Here are my little goblins.

Three Musketeer, Frog, Grumpy Teenager (oh..wait...is that a costume??) *snicker*

We carved punkins.

And I knitted a shawl.

I wish that it wasn't rainy and gross outside, because this photo doesn't do the colors justice.

BALOOOOOONS!!

2004-10-31T13:07:00.000-06:00

Thats what The Liam says when he sees them. We were going to my mom's yesterday evening and saw a couple of hot air balloons up in the air. By the time we go to the church on the corner near her house it was obvious that one was going to land in the parking lot there. We pulled in so that the kids could check it out.

Here's my little photo shoot of the evening.

This was just after it landed.

This was the other one flying over...it landed somewhere about a mile further on. My dad saw it and thought it was going to land in the cul de sac near the house, but it kept going.

These are the operators letting the balloon down. They let some bystanders come in and help. This was a company that's in the area that has hot air balloon flights. They are called Balloon Adventures USA I would like to do it sometime. My hometown is the home of the Great Texas Balloon Race and we have several balloon manufacturers in town. I still love to see them.

I realized I've not posted any photos of the Star dog lately. I took a couple of her last night.

She's getting big. She's about 6 months old now.

I'll post photos tomorrow. :)

Its Halloween season

2004-10-29T12:59:00.000-05:00

Liam had a halloween party at daycare today.

Yep..he's my froggie.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures..you can go here

Yes..I made the hat...

2004-10-27T11:14:00.000-05:00

I have The Liam modeling it for me because I couldn't take a good one myself. I also didn't trust him to take a good photo of me. *grin*

Mittenettes

2004-10-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

I made these mittenettes last night while watching britcoms. (Well..I made one and a half and finished the second one this morning)

I made them from some of my handspun yarn. The yarn is partially silk and also has angelina in it so it sparkles. I used this pattern. I think if I do them again I'll use smaller needles for the ribbing at the top and bottom. I have about 100 yards left of the yarn so I think I may make either a hat or a skinny scarf. Tell me which one I should do in the comments. *grin*

Here's a shot of one of the mitts on my hand.

I wish the sparkly stuff showed up better. *harumph*

Long time no post...

2004-10-22T19:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've not posted in a day or so. Been really busy.

I sent off a package to my secret pal today and also one lil RAOK. Hmm..wonder who I sent it to?? I'm not telling. *grin*

I got the cutest little RAOK today myself.

Front side

Back side!!

HOOK 'EM HORNS!

Thanks so much Carolyn!! I am actually a student in the UT system, but I go to UT Tyler.

What's Irish for "finished"?

2004-10-20T11:14:00.000-05:00

I finished the Irish Hiking Scarf last night. I really like it and may make some more in the future. I am going to be making a matching hat to go with it. I'm going to take Coronet pattern from Knitty and put the Irish Hiking Scarf's cable into it instead of the one in the pattern. That way it will match. I think this will be a christmas gift this year.

Without further ado...

Two skeins of Lion Brand Cotton ease in red. (really..its not day-glo..its red)

Here's a closeup of the cables

Again..its not pink..its red.

Why is red so hard to photograph??

No power and Bangladesh simplified my day....

2004-10-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

Yep, you read the title of this post right. I am posting right now from a cute little black computer in the
University of Texas at Tyler computer lab. We are driving to school (45 minute one way commute) and we get to the light to turn and head to the school and the light isn't working, then we notice that the Burger King and McDonalds have no lights, same for the convenience store across the street.

We drive on, since we can't purchase breakfast at either of the fast food franchises and head further down the street. The light at the next block is out too. We start to notice that the houses are dark too. We get to the school and head to the Student Center to see if the Subway was open to see if we could get some sustenance but as soon as we got close to the center we could tell that the only lights on were the emergency lights.

We go on over to the building our classes are in and they are dark too. I see my government professor (the first class of the day) and ask him about class. This class is held in a lecture hall and has no windows so he cancelled the 9:30 class.

About 10 minutes later the power came back on. *grin*

Next class should be at 11:00. I end up at the class on time and sit down and we all wait for the professor. In comes in the teacher's aid and says that he is still in Bangladesh doing his flood study, but that he should be back on Thurdsay. She hands us a handout and we are free to go.

So, here I sit, in the computer lab waiting for 12:30 so that I can go to my English class. I know it won't be cancelled. We are getting our portfolios back today with our mid-term grades.*fingers crossed*

Hopefully, I'll post more this evening for you.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

OK..I have to get a farm...yep...

2004-10-16T18:41:00.000-05:00

I'm totally insane, but I want to move to a farm now. I just spent the afternoon with a bunch of ladies at another lady's farm. She raises angora goats, french and english angora rabbits, different breeds of goats, a couple of sheep and some burros. Oh..chickens and dogs and cats too.

I am going to be getting an angora bunny from her in the next week or so. He or she will look something like this BUNNY!!

I know you guys are going to kill me, but I didn't get ANY photos during the spinning day. I took my camera, but went to take a photo of one of the bunnies and there was no memory card in my camera. *headdesk* I promise that when I go out there again I will get photos.

One of the ladies brought an electric drum carder and she and another lady were carding a mixture of shetland ( I think) and llama wool. OMG that stuff was sooo soft.

I bought some charcoal colored Llama fiber from this lady for $1.50 an oz. I got $10 worth.

YUMMY!!!

wheee!!

2004-10-14T18:22:00.000-05:00

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

AND

My secret pal sent me FOUR!!!! skeins of Noro Kureyon!! I'm such a Norowhore! Thanks sooo much! *goes looking for patterns*

oo...I feel like a teenager again...

2004-10-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Duran Duran is on Regis and Kelly.

*le sigh* I had the biggest crush on Nick. My bedroom walls were plastered with Duran Duran posters (and Billy Idol too)

*boogies*

I am about a ball and a half into the Irish Hiking Scarf. I'll post a photo when I'm done.

I will be mailing out a small RAOK today. I have some more to send out and my secret pal gift, but I need to wait til next week (payday) to send the rest.

This weekend I get to go meet up with some nice ladies and their spinning wheels. It's about an hour away in a small town and the lady who is hosting raises goats and bunnies. I'll make sure to take photos to share with you all. We're supposed to do a potluck type lunch thing so I'm trying to figure out what to take.

This story almost made me cry....

2004-10-11T18:21:00.000-05:00

Homecoming Queen

I'm so glad that the students in that school realized what was important in life. This girl will remember this for the rest of her life. This has totally restored my faith that teens can do the right thing.

Knitblogger's Cookbook

2004-10-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth is planning on making a cookbook with recipes from all the KnitBloggers out there. If you want more details check out her post here for an explanation. I have submitted two recipes so far. She needs alot more people to submit recipes to get enough for a book, so everyone SEND HER YOUR RECIPES!! I think this is a wonderful idea!

After you've sent in your recipe, spread the word around so that she gets tons of recipes for the book.

More knitty posting later.

yeah...I'm bored

2004-10-11T00:04:00.000-05:00

I figured I would score higher...(and who is the girl in the picture - Kirsten Dunst??)

You are 32% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.

Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.

You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!

Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!

You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

I'm KnittingAlong again....

2004-10-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

I joined the Irish HIking Scarf KnitAlong. I'm making mine from red Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I've tried photographing this yarn a hundred ways and it still looks dayglow. You'll just have to trust me that its just regular old red. :)

WOOHOO! I have photos

2004-10-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

The sleeve and the cuff of the other sleeve of the aran sweater for the Liam.

and since everyone is doing it..heres the sky over my house on Wednesday morning.

This is the yarn that I spun last weekend. The green blue and black are dragonhair and have sparkles in them. The orange is a romney mohair blend. I need to recount the yardage.

And this is my Topher cub scout on the way to our Den Meeting this evening.

I'm tired and I'm going to knit now. :)

whew

2004-10-06T08:02:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday already.

My sister brought me her camera, but forgot to bring the card reader. DOH! Her husband will bring it up on Friday when he comes up for the weekend. Hopefully I'll have photos for you on Saturday. Maybe Friday night, but I'm not making any promises.

I took some photos this morning though. I took picutres of all the yarn that I made this weekend and of the sleeve and the start of the next sleeve of Liam's Aran. I also took a photo of the sky. So, those things, among others will be posted here in a few days.

The RAOK ring is now closed again. We set the new cap at 150 but there were a few more in the queue when we approved so we are at 153. We are nice like that. *grin* It is closed for now though. If you want in the ring sometime in the future, go ahead and sign up on the ringsurf page and put the code on your blog. When someone has to leave the group, we approve people on a first come first serve basis IF THEY HAVE THE CODE. You could be first in line, but if there's no code, you won't get approved. We have also implemented an "active blog" rule. If a members blog is not updated in a month, without notice to the moderators, they will be removed from the ring. Notice we said "without notice to the moderators", we understand that there could be an illness, natural disaster, or something that prevents someone from blogging for a while, we are just asking for members to contact us. If there's no contact and no blogging, then a new spot will open up on the ring.

We are also recommending that the members use Bloglines to keep up with their blog reading. I really love it. It saves me a lot of time since I no longer have to click through blogs that haven't been updated. There are only about 15 members of the RAOK ring that don't have feeds so they don't work with bloglines, but it does make keeping up with the others easier. Theres also a notifier that you can download and it will alert you when people have updated their blogs.

I have to get moving, I have to take the 7 year old to his first speech therapy appointment in a few and get The Liam up and to daycare before that. I have to revise an english essay and write the final draft of another when I get back. *sigh*

I'll leave you on this note...silly soapy boys....

A blustery day!

2004-10-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily
And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today
It sounds that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

If you want to see how blustery...

Click for a bigger view.

So...I'm lounging around and going to try to do fibery stuff today. I've been working on Liam's Aran Sweater. I'm doing the raglan shaping on one sleeve. Still have the other sleeve to make and then I'll be joining it all up. *gulp* I did alot of spinning this weekend. I spun and plied the blue dragonhair that I got from Kae. Also plied the green dragon hair that I had spun on my spindle and spun and plied the obsidian dragonhair. I also spun and plied some of the orangey romney/mohair blend that I have. I've got 94 yards done so far. My sister will be letting me use her digital camera for a while so hopefully I'll have photos of all this for you tomorrow.

I just had to share this with everyone. Whose Panties Are These? I've been laughing ever since I saw it.

We got a bunch of new members to FiberRAOK Welcome to all of the newbies!! Right now we have 135 active members and there are 7 in the queue. We will cap the group again at 150. If you'd like to be a member I'd suggest you go ahead and sign up.

bangs head on desk over and over

2004-10-01T18:28:00.000-05:00

If you don't like whining, don't read this. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Why is it that EVERYTHING has to break at about the same time.

First it was the dryer, then the car, then the toilet. If all that wasn't expensive enough, now the toilet is stopped up again and my digital camera took a crap. I turn the thing on and it says "card full" even when I have an empty card in the slot. Yeah....oh..and the kids bathroom faucet won't turn off all the way. EDIT: I forgot that my sewing machine is broken too.

Of course I need the camera, not only to post lovely knitting photos *cough*, but today is homecoming and I need to photo my lovely daughter with her ginormous mum. *le sigh* Guess I'll be using a disposable and getting a cd when I get it developed. Don't expect a lovely photo filled blog for a long long time.

END WHINE

I did ply up some pretty yarn last night.

The picture would normally be here.

I'll try to get a shot of it with the damn disposable

I'm cleaning my pigsty

2004-09-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

I'm spending most of today cleaning this pigsty we live in. No knitting for me *pouts*

I have to take the daughter to a dentists appointment at 3 pm this afternoon. Maybe I can knit in the waiting room.

I have some stuff for RAOK's to send out *giggle* and also a package to send to my secret pal. I'll try to get those in the mail on Friday.

Sorry for the lack of interesting content, but I'm just drained.

Here's your sign....

2004-09-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

Norma posted about her new rooms sign so I thought I'd share my sign that's along similar lines.

My grandparents were antique dealers and had all kinds of stuff in their house. This hung in my grandmother's kitchen for as long as I can remember. I have it hanging on the wall in my entry way opposite the front door. *grin*

I've gotten two RAOK'S over the past few days.

This one comes from Renee

Its knitted from wire!! With little beads! and its a pin!! Thanks so much Renee!! Its a perfect bday gift! There was also a cute card, but I forgot to take a picture of that.

When I got home from the swim meet yesterday there was a package on my front porch.

This one came from Lauren

OMG! I love the patterns in this book. I may even have to figure out how to make some of them adult sized. (My 14 year old girl won't let me knit the cute lil bunny sweater for her..so maybe I can make it for me!!) Thanks soooo much Lauren!! *hugs*

I do have a few photos from the swim meet. I didn't get to take many because I was most busy trying to keep The Liam out of the pool the whole time. Carmen did well. She didn't win any of her heats but in the 50 yard freestyle she did better her time by I think about 1/2 a second. Go Carmen!! Not too shabby for a freshman at her very first swim meet. I'll try to make a page with the photos on it in the next day or two and post a link to them.

No knitting to report. I took some with me to the meet but it sat and languished in the bag. I was too tired when I got home to even look at my knitting. I didn't even stay up late enough to watch Red Dwarf and Black Adder like I usually do. I have tons of cleaning to do today but maybe I can sneak in some knitting time too.

I found this interesting

2004-09-24T10:29:00.000-05:00

Mummy hair reveals drinking habits
From discovery.com: Mummy Hair Reveals Drinking Habits.

Mummy hair has revealed the first direct evidence of alcohol consumption in ancient populations, according to new forensic research.

The study, still in its preliminary stage, examined hair samples from spontaneously mummified remains discovered in one of the most arid regions of the world, the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Peru.

The research was presented at the 5th World Congress on Mummy Studies in Turin, Italy, this month (continue reading)

Yeah. I'm a weirdo. It's raining and I'm grumpy. I have to go to the bank and meet my sister for lunch at noon. I want to crawl under the covers and sleep.

The daughter has her first swim meet tomorrow. We are going to go down and watch her. I'll try to get some photos to share with everyone.

I have to rip out a few rows on the colorwork socks. I was watching ER last night while working on it and one row is all wonky. *grumble* I have been trying to figure out what to make with the recycled silk yarn that my secret pal sent me. *waves at secret pal* I don't know what I want to do. I found a fisherman's rib scarf and tried that but because of the nature of the yarn its hard to find the "stitch below" Anyone have any ideas on what to use this yarn for?? Please share if you do.

I think I'm addicted...

2004-09-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

Its not really orange, it's a true red. I think it's the flash that skewed the color. I'm really liking this colorwork.

2004-09-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

Just testing something.

Like I need another project....

2004-09-22T10:26:00.000-05:00

I want to make this. Maggi was destashing and sent me some purple aran weight yarn. I can't find the yardage requirements for that sweater anywhere online. I have emailed the designer and hopefully she'll get back to me. I don't want to get the pattern if I don't have enough yarn.

and if all the stuff I have on needles isn't enough...

After reading around blogs and seeing things like the mittens The Harlot is making, I had to start something of my own.

I have gotten through the ribbing and I am just about to start the pattern. *gulp* Size 0 needles and a chart.

OMG!! I just heard that the Twinkie company filed for bankruptcy!! *cries* Maybe if they bring back the Chocodiles they could make more money.

Ok..just for the cuteness factor...

A FO!!!

2004-09-19T20:59:00.000-05:00

Remember this??

It is now this...

another view

Modeled by the lovely Geebaloo. I seem to have the same problem with mittens that I have with socks. With the same number of stitches in both the first one is bigger around than the second one. *boggles*

Big update with lots of photos..

2004-09-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

Today my parents took me on my birthday lunch. I chose this place called China King. Huge chinese buffet with sushi. MMM. *pats full belly*

I have gotten so many loverly gifts for my birthday and RAOK's. I feel incredibly special.

My secret pal's gift found me yesterday.

That's the 2005 knitting pattern a day calendar and a ball of some of the neatest yarn I've ever seen.

Here's a closeup of it. (Make sure you click to see the bigger view)

Isn't it wonderful? I have no idea what it is. All the tag says is "8oz". I have emailed my pal and asked her what it is so hopefully I'll find out soon.

AND THEN...

I got a package in the mail from the loverly Verna. Here is what was inside.

The white roving on the left is CASHMERE!! *swoons* The lavender is some superwash.

Look at the little sheepy on her note.

I also got the cutest post card from Carolyn. It has pictures of Elvis on the front and Carolyn and Elvis are both wishing me a Happy Birthday!! Thanks so much Carolyn! I collect postcards so Its going right into the collection!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I finally got the Sophie bag all lined and mailed off to its recipient.

Here's what she looked like right before I stuffed her in the tyvek envelope.

and a shot of the lining and velcro closure.

PLEASE NOTE I have started using bloglines to help me keep up with my blog reading. I have subscribed to all on my blogrolling list that have feeds and deleted everyone who is now on my bloglines notify list. Please don't think I don't like you anymore if your name isn't over there to the right. It just means you are on my notify list. :) I'm trying to speed up the time I spend on the internet and this way I only have to read blogs that have been updated. Theres a blogline subscribe button down at the bottom of my sidebar if you'd like to subscribe to me. I've found this service very helpful and fairly reliable too.

*whew* I'm exhausted from all that posting. *grin* Maybe next post I'll have a finished mitten to show you. I started one last night out of some of my own homespun. I just need to do the thumb and I'll have one down. More from me later. I have to go finish organizing my sewing area. *blech*

Wow! another one!!

2004-09-17T11:55:00.000-05:00

Nancy sent me a $20 gift certificate to Elann!! I decided that I needed to upgrade my knitting library and I ordered this

Thanks so much Nancy!!

Whee....does a bday happy dance

2004-09-16T18:21:00.000-05:00

I got another package in the mail today.

Margene!!!! How did you know I'm addicted to both lip balm AND altoids?? I haven't tried the gum yet, but I have been meaning to!! My cuticles (and fingernails) are in horrible shape so maybe this cuticle bar will help me out and make my hands. Thanks so much for everything and the lovely card!!

AND THEN....

My Dad came over and brought me this..

I had emailed my Mom last week the link to the webpage that shows how to make your own niddy noddy and asked her to show it to my Dad. I hadn't ever heard anything so I figured she'd not had time to look at it yet. Boy was I surprised. The bottle is a bottle of "Mystic Blooms" Bath foam and the card is one that my Mom made on her computer. The picture on it is a photo my Aunt took in their garden. (just so you don't think my parents are stingy or something...they are giving me an eye drs appt for new glasses and contacts--- that's what I asked for *grin*)

Don't worry Secret Pal! I'm sure your giftie will get here soon! Our mail gets here very late in the day so maybe it will be here tomorrow or Saturday!!

Wow!! Do I feel special!!

2004-09-15T15:52:00.000-05:00

I got a box AND a card in the mail today.....

The roving and the moon card are from Anne. It's a romney cross she says (possibly with Lincoln) and 8oz. Just perfect to go with my new book. Now I just need to get some dyes and try out the techniques in the book!! The other card is from Chris!! Its so nice to get these things in the mail!!

Thank you bunches guys!!! *hugs her RAOK friends*

I got RAOK'ed!!

2004-09-13T20:05:00.000-05:00

Chelsea sent me this

I have been wanting this book for ever and ever. I've picked it up in Books -a- Million several times and put it down again. I've put it in my Amazon shopping cart several times and took it out. I just LOOOOOOVE IT!!!

Thanks so much Chelsea!!

And my secret pal just emailed me and told me to expect a pressie for my birfday!! Whee!!!

It's official..I'm addicted

2004-09-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

I really should be writing my English 1302 essay, but what am I doing?? Spinning and knitting of course.

The yarn that I spun and kool aid dyed is now this.

Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern.

I think it turned out pretty cute...even if my spinning and plying left a lot to be desired.

Let's just say that the second batch of yarn made on the new spindle looks much better.

Remember THIS??

It is now this...

214 yards of what I think is about worsted weight Cormo wool. (I haven't checked the wpi yet)

Here's a close up that shows the colors a bit better.

My birthday is this Thursday, and my kids just got in the kitchen and made a spice cake with cream cheese frosting for me. I have good kids don't I??

Well, I'd better get to work if I don't want to fail my English class. *glances longingly at the Merino/Romney roving that needs to be spun*

Quality time with my babe..

2004-09-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

I sat last night waiting for a friend to arrive at my house and spun AND plied the whole 4 oz of roving that came with my Babe wheel.

It's fairly lumpy and VERY thick and thin and my plying left alot to be desired.

Sooooo.... I decided to kool-aid dye it.

It seems to look a bit better now. Think I'll maybe make a funky scarf on large needles out of it..or maybe a hat. Just something to have out of my first yarn. (from a wheel)

Babe!! I got you Babe!!!

2004-09-10T17:56:00.000-05:00

They say we're young and we don't know
We won't find out until we grow
Well I don't know if all that's true
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you

Babe
I got you babe I got you babe

I got you to hold my hand
I got you to walk with me
I got you to talk with me
I got you to kiss goodnight
I got you to hold me tight
I got you, I won't let go
I got you to love me so
I got you babe
I got you babe
I got you babe
I got you babe
I got you babe

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

2004-09-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

The RAOK Ring has reached its 100th member. We are now closing the list to new members. If you wish to be a member of the ring, please feel free to go ahead and apply to the webring page. You will be kept in the queue and will be approved on a first come first served basis, if people drop out or we change the member numbers.

He had a very nice day indeed

2004-09-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

Topher's birthday was wonderful. He had lunch with the grandparents and my aunts and everyone at Chili's and the waitstaff sang to him and sufficiently embarrassed him. *grin*

He got a bunch of lovely ecards! Thanks everyone!!

I took this photo on Monday in my mom's yard.

If you want to see more of the photos that I took you can click HERE

Not much knitting content today. I'll try to post something soon. I do have something else to post about though

I BOUGHT A SPINNING WHEEL!!!!

It shipped out yesterday from Wisconsin by UPS. *anxiously awaiting* Will post photos and stuff when it gets here.

A very special boy

2004-09-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

Today is my son Christopher's (Topher) 7th birthday.

We are heading out in a few for his birthday lunch with the grandparents. I know he would love to get ecards if any of you would be willing to do it. You can send them to my email sgarza AT cablelynx DOT com. Thanks bunches!

Some of my spinning...

2004-09-05T12:28:00.000-05:00

(click for bigger photo)
I spun this yarn and plied it and then knitted up the swatch. There was only a little bit of it.

I cast on 15 stitches and worked with size 3 needles. It's 3 inches across and 9 1/2 inches long. The photo doesn't really do the colors justice. The light green is much brighter and the other colors are orange (several shades) yellow, darker green and even some dark blue. If it wasn't overcast, I'd take a photo of it outside.

I have no idea what to do with this swatch, but I want to save it because it's the first thing I've made from my own handspun. I think I'm going to sew it up longwise and maybe put it on a keyring. LOL

Some more questions...

2004-09-05T10:18:00.000-05:00

22. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Eeyore and marvin the martian and rabbits

23. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas followed closely with Halloween.

24. Is there anything that you collect?
hmm...should be is there anything you don't collect....
cookie jars, yarn *grin*, books, drop spindles, teapots, amethyst glass
(I could go on here for days.....)

Finished Sophie

2004-09-03T13:04:00.000-05:00

I finished my Sophie bag a little while ago. I made it from the purple kool-aid dyed fisherman's wool.

I toss her in the washer here in a bit to get her felted. I like the way the variations in the color in the koolaid yarn look. I hope it still shows up when it's felted. *fingers crossed*

I found the cutest cross stitch kit at Hobby Lobby the other day.

Yeah, I know..crappy photo. It was hard not to get a glare.

Finally, I have spawned Mr. Cool

Mothers...Lock up your daughters. hehehehe

EDIT: Here's Sophie blocking

She's really not as wonky as the photo suggests.

SPIII Questions and some other goodies...

2004-09-02T20:59:00.000-05:00

Here are my questions to the SPIII quiz...and you can use em for RAOK if you want *grin*

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
I would prefer to use high-end/natural fibers, but I can't always afford it. I love cotton yarns. (Yeah..I'm weird) I use acrylics but they are usually better yarns than red heart.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
Yes, and yes

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
smoke...

4. How long have you been knitting?
9 months or so

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
yes...see link on my sidebar

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
vanilla, patchouli, blueberry, fruit scents

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
actually...I have several. *grin

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
quilting, sewing, cross stitch, embroidery..and I hope to learn bobbin lace soon

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD)
pretty much anything but country music but I'm more of a rock/metal head than anything ...mp3's ...yes.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
purple and green and I love fall/autumn colors

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Single mom, 3 kids (14 girl, 7 boy, 2 boy) 1 cat and 1 dog..see sidebar

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
to be independantly wealthy...*grin*

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I loved noro kureyon

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
red heart

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
socks and felted bags

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
see above *grin*

17. What are you knitting right now?
madli's shawl, toddler aran sweater, sophie bag, making waves socks

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us)
I wouldn't wear one but I think my daughter would look cute in one

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
depends on what I'm knitting

20. How did you learn to knit?
taught myself from books and videos online

21. How old is your oldest UFO?
3 months?? Slit front tank from inteweave knits.

I got a really cool RAOK yesterday from Deb. It's one of THESE! I haven't taken a pic yet because I'm lazy, but I love love love love it. I have been wanting one but hadn't shelled out the cash yet. Thanks soooo much Deb!!

I went tonight and signed the Topher up for Cub Scouts. First meeting is next Thursday night. He's most excited because they will let him use a pocketknife. *grin* Wonder if they'd like to teach the boys to knit?? *ponders*

School is going good. I got my grammar and comp essay back with some critique but the teacher also said that it was the only one in all three of her classes that actually met all the requirements of the assignment. *grins* That made me feel a bit more confident about my writing and that maybe I won't be struggling in the class as much as I thought I would. Government is a fun class, the teacher is from Germany and hes quite animated and funny. My Geography teacher is from Bangladesh and even though he's kind of hard to understand you can tell he loves his subject (duh..he got a doctorate in it) and he has great enthusiasm. My Critical thinking class, if it keeps going like it is, will be a breeze. I hope that I don't get too spoiled with these classes and then things get tough on me. Oh..and I have my first government test on my Birthday!! BOOO-HIISSSS There should be a law against tests on your birthday.

The Topher's birthday is on Monday and he will be a whole 7 years old. He has asked to go to Chili's for his birthday dinner. mm....I love Chili's. We got him a game for his gamecube and a hotwheels Lava Land Spider Slam race track and some cars for it. Nah..I don't spoil my kiddos.

Whew! What a day!

2004-08-31T17:47:00.000-05:00

School all day and then the kids had dentist appts and had to take the daughter to Michael's to get a solar system kit. I found some yarn in a clearance basket though. Three skeins of red cotton ease for $2 each and an unlabeled skein of fisherman's wool for $5. Whee! Next we have to go to "Open House" at The Liam's new daycare center.

I had fun recyclying a sweater last night.

Here's how. First you take a cotton Liz Claiborne sweater that you bought for $.99 at Goodwill.

You very carefully snip the seams until you find the one thread that you can just pull and the whole thing comes apart.

You'll end up with this.

Then you put your loose end in the ball winder and crank away.

Sleeve + Ball Winder =

Lather, rinse, repeat for the rest of the sweater parts and you will end up with this.

The noodle looking stuff in the left side of the photo is the yarn that was wasted. This sweater happened to have serged shoulder seams so there was a little bit wasted. But still quite a bit of yarn.

I got a new toy!!!

2004-08-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

I was going to borrow a ball winder yesterday but the girl forgot it and it would have been another week before I saw her again sooooo....

What did I ever do without this??? OMG. (Yes that's the Liam peeking out behind there)

I'm hoping to get my Madli yarn wound today and maybe start tomorrow night after school.

I need to go now, I've been having so much fun that I haven't eaten lunch and I'm feeling a bit weak. LOL

AHH..some quality knitting time

2004-08-28T12:01:00.000-05:00

I sat last night with the boys and watched The Wizard of Oz. Are you a good witch or a bad witch??

I worked on a cotton washcloth out of some yarn that I recycled from a sweater I got at Goodwill. My family reunion has an auction every year to try to help get money to pay for the next years reunion. Yeah, I know...we're weird. I thought I might knit up a bunch of washcloths and make a gift basket with some different soaps and bodywashes or bath salts.

Here's what I did.

I'm really liking that pattern and I think that's what I'll do for the gift basket. The yarn is a cotton/ramie blend and is incredibly soft. I'm going to run it through the washer and dryer and see how it comes out. (Yes I know I haven't woven in the ends yet....sue me)

I took a photo of my madli yarn. It's navy blue Marino/Silk.

I had to lighten the photo so you can see that its blue. I'm thinking this is going to be really pretty. Now to get it wound into a ball. I get to borrow a ball winder tomorrow. *gathers up all the hanks that need to be wound*

Our RAOK Ring is growing and everyone is having a wonderful time. I'm really glad that Kae and I decided to do it. I manage to peruse the ring everyday and I enjoy reading everyones posts.

I am trying to think of ways to make my blog more interesting. I am one of those people who is intimidated by writing things. I can have wonderful thoughts in my head, but something gets lost between my head and the keyboard. I am going to be working on making my blog more witty and more fun to read. It may be hard because of the school situation, but I am going to do it!

Speaking of school, one of my books is on CD-Rom. I put the cd in and do the autorun and it says loading and then just sits there. Its a book from NSSPress. If anyone has had any experience with these could you give me some hints? I've registered at the site, but haven't got the authorization email from them yet. I'm fairly sure my computer meets all the requirements listed on the back of the cd case. *grumbles* I just want to print the first chapter so I can read it.

Ok..I need to get out of my jammies and clean off my desk. I'm sure I'll be back to bore you more later.

ack..so tired

2004-08-26T21:03:00.000-05:00

School. Um..what can I say. First full day went good. I'm exhausted. No knitting done today either.

I got my yarn for the Madli Knit along but I don't have a ball winder. I think I'm going to go beg at the LYS on Saturday. Maybe if I buy something they'll wind it. I don't mind doing small amounts of larger gauge yarn by hand..but 1500+ yards of lace weight?? That's a disaster waiting to happen.

I'll take a photo of the yarn tomorrow. Its beautimous. Its Merino/Silk in Navy blue.

I'm off to read my Grammar and Composition book. (yeah right...I'll be going to bed and I know it)

More tomorrow when I'm not dead on my feet.

D-Day

2004-08-25T07:51:00.000-05:00

Today is D-Day. I start school tonight. I got the financial aid check yesterday! WOOOHOOO!!

I just realized that I didn't knit a sitch yesterday. What's up with that??

I mailed out a RAOK yesterday. We'll just say it's got a LOOONG way to go!! Someone along way from me expect a package in 7-10 days. (That's what the lady at the mailing place said)

I also sent out some RAOK'S by email last night. I'm having sooo much fun with this.

THIS is totally cool, even if it is in German and I couldn't understand a word.

Since I have to leave around dinner time for my class, I've already got dinner in the crockpot. In case you're wondering, this is what's for dinner.

From Recipezaar.

The Only Pot Roast My Family Will Eat #36233

1 roast (I prefer Chuck Roast)
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix (any flavor variety you prefer)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
baby carrot
onion, quartered,any variety (I like to use Pearl Onions myself, since I am the only one who will actually eat an onion in my fami)
1 large potato or 3-5 new potatoes
extra wide egg noodles

4-6 servings Change size or US/metric | 8 hours 5 minutes 5 mins prep

Change to: servings US Metric
1. For Crockpot preparation (the ONLY way to fly!): Combine soups and water in crockpot and mix well.
2. Season/score the roast with salt, pepper and Adolph's tenderizer.
3. Throw it in the crockpot.
4. Add to pot as much carrot, potato and onion you and yours will want to eat.
5. *Note*This can all be done the night before if your fridge is large enough to hold your crockpot.
6. Then in the morning, just take it out of the fridge and plug it in.
7. Turn heat to low and cook 8-9 hours or until you get home from work (mines starts at 8 am and goes until 6 pm).
8. Cook egg noodles according to package directions and serve drenched in the gravy!
9. You can also make this in the oven, but it's just not the same!
10. However, if you must do it that way: Preheat oven to 375.
11. Mix soups and water in roasting or 9x13 pan, add everything else (except noodles!!) and cover with foil and cook for 3-4 hours.

A quick birthday present

2004-08-24T10:44:00.000-05:00

Today is my son Christopher's 1st grade Teacher's Birthday. I whipped up this boa scarf for her last night.

Please ignore the mess in my sewing area. I haven't made it around there to organize yet.

I start my first day of school tomorrow evening. At 6 pm I will go to my "Critical Thinking" class. Then on Thursday I have Grammar and Composition, Geography and Government. My student loans were all srewed up and I haven't gotten the money yet. My tuition and books were paid for by the Pell Grant, but I need the loan to pay for my daycare for Liam. I am beginning to get rather frustrated with the financial aid department, but I'm keeping my cool.

I had a weird dream early this morning. I dreamed I was getting Christmas presents from the Osbournes. Yeah...as in Kelly and Jack and Ozzy and Sharon. The person next to me got a whole box of neat stuff but Liam woke me up before I got to open mine. BUMMER! Now I'll never know what I got. I remember that the wrapping paper was bright pink and had glittery white polka dots on it.

Ok..well that was probably quite the scary glimpse into my mind now wasn't it?

Oh yeah..the aran sweater. I ripped out the sleeve and started over and it's going well. So far no mistakes, but increasing in a cable pattern is a biaaatch. I was reading ahead about the neck and I think I'm totally confused now. That will show me not to ever read ahead again.

The cross stitch is going well also, I'm nearly done with the first 1/4. Yaaay!!

I took this picture of my cat yesterday.

I think he's pissed about something. What do you think?

So...do you think I obsess much?

2004-08-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

I finished the front of the toddler aran and started the first sleeve.

Lets play spot the boo boo. I can't believe that I did that. I'll have to frog it.

In my frustration I started a cross stitch project. Its for my kitchen.

Thats the upper left 1/4 of the design. The colors are a antique grape color, a dusky green, burgandy and a blue. (I think my camera washed out the colors)

Oh...and I acquired a bookcase yesterday. I decided that I would use it for some of my fiber stash.

The top shelf is Merino/Romney for the Zen Mitten Exchange. The middle is some cormo the dragon hair and my kool aid dyed fishermans wool. The bottom is some yucky fiber that I'm going to use in an SCA felting class next weeknd and my books on spinning. On the top is a basket with my spindles and some of the yarn that I spun.

I am NOT taking pictures of my yarn stash. It's not that I have so much..It's just not arranged as I would like. I would love several more of these bookshelves for my yarn, I just don't know where I'd put them.

The Results of the Kool-Aid dyeing experiment (photo heavy)

2004-08-21T12:51:00.000-05:00

I inadvertantly joined Project Kool Aid! This was really fun and didn't take too much time or energy and was pretty easy. I may do more soon. I have one more skein of Fisherman's Wool and I think I'm going to try to hand paint a skein.

Well here we go! All images are clickable for bigger photos.

These are the pots with the yarn on the stove.

Arctic Green Apple

Berry Blue

Black Cherry

Grape

Cherry

Orange

Next we have the yarn skeins drying in the back yard.

The chery and the grape skeins

The arctic green and berry blue skeins

The orange and black cherry skeins.

And VOILA!! The finished skeins.

Top row left to right Arctic Green Apple, Berry Blue, Black Cherry
Bottom row Cherry, Orange, Grape

Friday is to DYE for

2004-08-20T13:20:00.000-05:00

I am currently up to my elbows in Kool-Aid. Yep..I succumbed to the temptation. I have a pot of green and blue on right now. I am taking pictures and will share them all when I'm done. *grin* It's fast fun and easy. I think I like it.

So for now you'll have to be happy with the photo of the yarn I just spun and plied. It's the dragonhair roving from down below (merino, lambs wool, silk and angelina)

Here it is out in the back yard drying.

Here is a closeup for the colors. It's really georgous and I don't think the camera does it justice. I'm guessing its about a worsted weight with some thick and thin spots. This skein is 60 yards and I have about 2/3 of the roving left.

The FIBERRAOK Group is really getting going. Everyone is having fun, some people have already recieved little gifties (myself included, Thanks Nannette!!) and its just blossoming. I haven't had the cash to send out an actual gift (yet- but I will be sending one next week) so I have been sending out a "have a nice weekend" e-card every Friday. It's alot of fun.

Sorry for the lack of posting

2004-08-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

I have been kind of under the weather. And to top it all off I had a drug interaction problem yesterday and I'm still getting over that. Have to go to the college tomorrow to pick up books so I wont be around much then. Hopefully I'll have something good to post about on Thursday.

See you soon.

Stash enhancement rocks!!

2004-08-14T21:34:00.000-05:00

Kae needed to destash so I helped her. It came today by Fed Ex. Didn't know they delivered on Saturday.

Oh boy am I in love!!! (All images are clickable for a better view)

This is some dragonhair. I'm not sure of the colorname. Its part silk and wool and has sparkly bits in it. I couldn't resist...see what I've spun up already?? LOL

Black dragonhair. This one is shades of grey and black with rainbow looking sparkles in it.

And finally blue dragon hair. This is several shades of blue with silver sparkles.

I'm not sure what kind of wool this is. I don't remember, but the colors are just amazing.

Here's a closeup.

Wanders off to spin some more.

Remember that tiny little puppy??

2004-08-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

She's not so tiny any more. Remember this photo from when we brought her home??

Here's a photo I took yesterday.

Sorry...she didn't cooperate for the photo. Same dog, same doggie bed. Just bigger doggie. LOL

I finished the back of the toddler aran sweater last night.

I cast on for the front and did all the ribbing last night and realized that I had used the wrong sized needles. Dammit! Frogged it all and re cast on and got the ribbing done again and one pattern repeat. I have just started the third pattern repeat. I really like this pattern so far and I'm loving the yarn. The Topher (6 year old) has asked for one in red. I'll have to get hunting for red yarn.

OO..the RAOK list is sooo much fun!!

2004-08-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

I just got a RAOK from Nannette!! She sent me a copy of the fall issue of Cast On magazine. I have been wanting to check out this magazine but have never seen it around here at all.

Thanks so much Nannette!

Off to have a Dr. Pepper, look at my new magazine and plot what I'm going to send as a RAOK.

I am conquering the sweater

2004-08-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

I think maybe one more row to the armholes, but I can't find the pattern book. *grumbles* Anyone know where it is??

I'm really liking this pattern now that I figured out where the screw up is. The pattern wasn't clear and it seemed like there should have been an extra P1 on row 5 of the pattern when there really shouldn't have been one. I've got it all sorted out now and I'm going strong. What you see above is what I did yesterday and one repeat this morning after ripping it back to the ribbing yesterday afternoon.

I was having so much fun with it I haven't even worked on my sock.