somewhere beyond the sea...

i love yarn overs.  they're cute, they're decorative and they are easy to do.  they were in the first item i knitted.  i think they add a little something to a project.  and they are the first step to lace knitting.

i have always been drawn to knitting lace, heaven knows why since i can't read charts.  but ever since i started knitting i have been entranced by lace patterns. a hint of lace is what draws me to a pattern. i have books on lace and have downloaded gobs of  lace patterns. i look at them longingly, aching to cast on, until i break out into a cold sweat when reading a pattern that is all charts.  sigh.

a few years ago while participating in my first swap, i was introduced to the pattern "blossom".  this is a easy lace pattern shawl.  it was designed for hand maiden sea silk yarn which is a beautiful yarn made of silk and a sea weed derivative.  it is beautiful, believe me.  my swap buddy gave me a hank of the yarn and suggested the pattern.  i was mesmerized.  the yarn was so amazingly blue and shimmery.  and the pattern!  it was nothing but double yarn overs!  i was in heaven.

but i didn't cast on.

i can't remember how it happened, it must have been because i was working at the LYS and the yarn was on sale, but i decided to make my mother the blossom shawl out of elsbeth lavolds silky wool.  this is a tweedy looking wool, but very soft when knit up.  and when it is washed, it is quite lovely.

the shawl took me quite a while.  i couldn't figure out how to keep track of where i was in the seven row repeat.  and i couldn't find my rhythm in the various double yarn over and k2tog patterns so was continually having to rip my knitting;  i also had a challenging time reading my knitting so when i made a mistake i couldn't figure out where i made it, i just knew a mistake had been made because the pattern ended incorrectly.  somewhere in the fifth repeat of the pattern  i got to a place where everything was correct, i knew where i was and i put the project aside.


fast forward two-ish years. i decide it is time to clean up some unfinished projects so out comes blossom.  i figure out where i am, glance at the pattern and off i go.  amazing what a few more years of knitting experience teaches you. not only did i find my rhythm in the various double yarn over patterns, but i could also read my knitting and correct my mistakes.  amazing!  i was so thankful.  so i finish the shawl and gift it to my mother;  who loved it!  the color and fit were perfect for her!  she couldn't wait to wear it to church!

(commercial break for some yarn deets:  yarn:  elsebeth lavold silky wool;  color:  #24, claret (discontinued); yardage: 192 yds per skein; close to 3 skeins used.)

finishing my moms blossom meant i could now start mine.  eagerly i cast on the sea silk.  quickly i discover how slippery silk is.  wow!  i was instantly thankful i had made blossom out of a heftier yarn first because this yarn was so slippery on the needle.  stitches regularly slip under the markers or under other stitches so i have to pay attention to which stitch is where and are they all accounted for.

but can i tell you how beautiful this yarn is.  it is like running water.  the picture doesn't do it justice since it does not catch the light or the oh so slight variegations in the yarn.  it is so lovely.  and it shimmers.  the picture is one repeat over half-way done.  i am at the stage where i think i will have gobs of yarn left over and then the pattern explodes into bigness and sucks up all the yarn.  pretty soon it will barely fit the 26" circulars it is on.  at that point i will need to be very careful not to make mistakes.  knitting back over hundreds of stitches to correct a mistake is not my idea of a good time!  but on the other hand, i can't wait.  it is closer to being finished then not being finished, which makes me more anxious to finish it which makes me more prone to make a mistake.  sigh.  i'll keep you posted.

a whiter shade of...

i have this thing about weird greens.

i am not really drawn to the color green much, but it seems to be drawn to me. and it can't be a regular green, it has to be a weird shade of green. it seems that i can wear weird greens, they look good on me. which is an odd and good thing since weird greens are usually the last thing to sell on a sale/clearance rack. whether it be for clothes or yarn.

i have always wanted to knit the paris loop which calls for bulky yarn. and while the lys was having its "last month in existence sale", i thought i would check out the bulky yarn shelf. and what was on it but this...

yup, weird green yarn. gobs of it. thankfully it was a yarn i have always wanted to work with, classic elites sprout, a 100% organic cotton yarn. i usually find cotton yarns a bit rough but this one is soft and cuddly so i was glad to have the opportunity to work with it.

so i cast on. and even though the pattern said it fits every body, i decided to add 20 stitches. just in case.

bad idea. this pattern turns out big, very big. so big that when i first tried it on, it slipped off my shoulders and landed on the floor big. it would have been big even if i hadn't added the 20 stitches, so with the 20 stitches it was even bigger than big.

so i went down to the local joannes fabric and got some cord. i wove the cord in and out of the 2nd row of knitting so i could tighten up the poncho as needed and ta-da! it fits!

i am so glad. because i love the way it turned out. the pattern is so easy it is like a knitting vacation. and i loved working with the yarn. it felt good going through my fingers and it knit up really well. the poncho felt soft and comforting in my lap as it became bigger with my continued knitting.

my original concerns in knitting with a cotton yarn is that it would not be soft and it would not have enough give. both unfounded. the yarn is very soft and has lots of give. as well as being pretty warm. i thought cotton would be a nice, light wrap for summer, but because of the yarns bulky-ness it is heavy and and keeps me warm, even with our cool evening windiness.

i find myself wearing it all the time. yup, i'll have an order of weird green please. thanks!

btw: this last picture does not reflect the actual color of this garment. the middle picture is a much better representation of the actual color. just so you know!

trying to make the grass grow greener

i like plants. i think they add something to a home.

for a long time i had a whole window sill of african violets. there wasn't a good windowsill for them in the new house. they gave it a good try, but the sun won out in the end.

late last summer, we got a puppy who chewed and dug out all of the house plants i had thriving in a corner of the dining room. thankfulluy i was able to salvage one of the christmas cactus'.

she then started on the outside succulents and begonias. i wasn't happy. but, like babies, puppies have no clue. especially this one. so i continued to water and fertilize those poor stumps of plants, hoping they would come back.

the winter storms took care of winter watering. and i started watering and fertilizing after the rains finally stopped. yesterday i went onto the patio and walked out to these.

i love begonias. they are funny little plants that never give up. they are so glad for some attention and care, they just bloom their happiness.

and thankfully they survive being chewed by a puppy.

now if i could do something about the roses....

the beat goes on...

the last month the lys was open for business they had a sale. it started with merchandise being 30% off; then 40% off and finally 50% off. and though the end of the sale meant the end of the lys, the sale, and the lys, was pretty fun while it lasted.

i had gone into the store a few times during that last month. most of the time, just to sit, knit and chat while i still had the chance. but these visits always turned into scouting for yarn opportunities. and since the yarn was on sale, i would sometimes pick up a ball of this, a skein of that, knowing that my big purchase(s) were yet to be decided. finally, on the last week the lys was open, i purchased big.

sock yarn was my first choice but it was also the first to go, which meant i needed to get creative on what type of yarn i was willing to make socks out of. to this end, i bought panda cotton and bunny hop.

my sweet friend came to shop with me and fell in love with the "leaf lace sock" sample the owner had knitted up. only one sock was knitted which meant if my sweet friend wanted a pair to wear, i would need to knit the second sock. so the pattern was purchased as well as the panda cotton yarn it was knitted in.

i have a total jones for frog tree yarn. i also have a shawl jones. coincidentally the lys had quite the selection of frog tree. they also had a sample of "the scallop shawl" which just happened to be knit up in a frog tree sportweight colorway that was on the shelf. so to indulge both jones', i purchased the pattern and the yarn. the purple frog tree was purchased during one of the scouting visits. it was the last ball in that colorway and just to lovely to pass up!

the last yarn i purchased that day was some classic elite sprout. i love shawls and poncho type garments and had always wanted to knit stefanie japel's paris loop which calls for bulky yarn. which sprout happens to be. so there you have it.

this purchase was well within the "budget" i had set for myself. which meant i had money left over. how lucky was that? it also meant i could go back to the lys to make some last minute purchases. so two days before the lys would close forever i found myself back at the store. i decided on two skeins of raspberry/lavender frog tree which complimented the dark purple frog tree purchased earlier with hopes of pairing both in knitting some fingerless gloves. i also planned on checking if clara parkes book of yarn was available since it has a pattern for fingerless gloves i find myself consistently drawn to. much to my surprise, one copy was available. and at 50% off! score!

so with this final purchase, along with many hugs and thank yous, i said goodbye to the lys and its owners one final time. i miss them all terribly but am thankful for the time we shared together.

the end of an era...

the LYS closed this week.

it is the end of an era. after six years of having an LYS within walking or biking distance from my home, i now have to drive to another city for my knitting needs. this makes me sound like a whiner, i know, but my local LYS was part of my knitting community. it may not be easy to replace.

the LYS was my supplier, my teacher, my part time work place and my refuge. i learned from the owner(s) and from my fellow knitters. having a knitting community was fun. it was also my safety net. i knew if i needed an explanation or found myself in a mess of trouble, someone at the LYS would guide me out of it. and i would learn something along the way.

my LYS community supported and challenged me. they oohed and ahhed over items i made and suggested things i would never think of making, but then would, and successfully, too! they kept me abreast of the newest patterns, the coolest yarns and the juiciest local news.

how can that be replaced?

i will miss my LYS, but more than that, i will miss the camaraderie of fellow knitters and the combined knowledge they are so willing to share.

best of luck in your future endeavors, LYS owners. you will be greatly missed.

in the still of the night...

i should not be allowed to make knitting decisions between midnight and 6am. though they are usually technically sound, they keep me awake way to late.

this morning's decision was frogging the hat from hell, yes the r2d2 hat. the big guys christmas present. the one that was supposed to take two-ish days to knit.

i thought of taking pictures of how the hat looked...which was cute, a bit pinched due to the strands on the inside being a bit tight, they were neat, but tight. i also thought of taking pictures of the piles of tangled, frogged blue and gray yarn, but it was very late, or early depending on your perspective, so i will leave it to your imagination on how tangled and twisted the yarn looked; sort of a combination of that weird octopus creature that pulled frodo out of moria and davy jones' beard, only in blue and gray.

sigh. so i am starting over. this time instead of strand knitting i will knit stripes and embellish once the hat is done. don't worry, i will keep you posted...

and a happy new year to you!...

a few weeks before christmas, the big guy requested an r2d2 beanie. he even provided a picture.

no problem; i looked it up on ravelry; got a copy of the pattern and bought the yarn. still no problem. hats are relatively simple and i figured this would not be a difficult knit. until i really analyzed the pattern.

the pattern calls for knitting the hat in stripes and then going over the incidentals with a duplicate stitch. or, following the chart and eliminating some of the duplicate stitching. i assumed the duplicate stitching is like embroidery, which didn't thrill me since i felt it would weigh down the knit. this left working off or reading the chart, which i don't do. so since i don't work off or read charts, i decided to transcribe the chart to written form.

what was i thinking?!

i have spent the majority of this afternoon transcribing this pattern to a form i could follow. there was a short time i thought poking my eye with a sharp stick would be easier.

but it is done. now for a head clearing walk before i actually start knitting. i will keep you posted.

can i have a little more...

this is a picture of my sweet friend's scarf. i have been working on this for quite awhile, one could say since before christmas of '08. want to know why?....because 299 stitches need to be picked up on each long side of the scarf. yes, 299 stitches, or a multiple of 4 + 3.

i have gotten to a point in my knitting life where i finally feel pretty confident in picking up stitches and having them look nice, but 299, or a multiple of 4+3, is a bit much for me. in fact, on the long side that is finished, i picked up quite a few less than 299, though it was a multiple of 4 + 3. i made up for it on the unfinished side where i picked up 319, also a multiple of 4 + 3.

and see that little tail of yarn in the center? the one that looks like the end a ball of yarn? it is. and i don't have another ball. no, i don't. the pattern called for two balls of the light pink and one ball of the dark pink so that is what i purchased. since i followed the directions i trusted i would have enough yarn to finish the pattern. and i continued to trust up to the time i realized i barely had enough yarn to finish row 4 of the 6 row pattern that would finish this scarf and i would have to do something else for the last two rows. can i hear you say, "grrrrr". yeah, that's it.

running out of yarn would not be such a big thing if the yarn hadn't been purchased in new york city over two and a half years ago. my hopes of finding that same color yarn dipped even farther when i looked on the blue sky alpaca website and found the color listed in the discontinued colors. i almost panicked. so i took a deep breath, clicked the "where to find our yarns" button and started dialing. the neighborhood LYS does not carry blue sky yarns so i called a couple of not so local LYS' who will be getting back to me. i then decided to try a yarn store a bridge away. i had only been there once but remembered feeling their yarn sort of took over the store. the was yarn everywhere, in all different weights and colorways. so i called. not only did the woman who answered the phone know what color i was looking for, she said they had one ball in stock and if they didn't, she thought she had one at home, but since she was with a customer, she would need to call me back. which she did, within minutes. they have the colorway, may not be the same dye lot, but for two rows, i am not going to be very choosy. i would just like to finish the scarf.

so tomorrow i am off to berkeley for one ball of yarn. and the adventure continues...

right now, i am just grateful.

16 tons...

so i am not the fastest knitter. in fact i consider myself to be one of the slowest knitters on the planet. but this evening i even impressed myself.

the LYS in the town north of mine has a 30% off sale every 3rd thursday of the month. novembers yarn sale was bulky/chunky yarn. though i have enough stash to build a mountain, i thought it may not be a bad idea to have some bulky/chunky yarn for last minute gifts. so i drove up and checked out the sale. i ended up buying three skeins/hanks/balls of yarn, one brown sheep burly spun in ruby red; one rowan cocoon in a lovely grey and one misty alpaca chunky in a hot pink. i figured three gifts for around $30 was not bad.

i had originally purchased the burly spun to knit a unisex scarf for a work holiday party. then realized the holiday party was in three days which was pushing it for knitting a scarf, at least for me. onto ravelry i went to see what kind of projects were knitted out of burly spun. considering how bulky the yarn is, i was surprised at the variety of patterns available. after finding a few i liked, i narrowed it down to one that caught my eye, not only because of the name, "speedy cable cowl pattern" but because of the pattern. it had cables and for some reason, this yarn screamed cables to me. knitters who knit this pattern said it took them all of two hours. so i figured it would take me all of two evenings.

but no. once i cast on and got going, it took me all of two hours, perhaps a smidge more. i couldn't believe it! really. i mean the pattern is all of 18 rows so it shouldn't be such a shock, but i was still pretty surprised i was actually able to finish it in one sitting.

and it turned out ok, i like the way it looks. plus it fits over my head so hopefully it will fit over other peoples heads. this was my first experience with bulky/super bulky wool and it was great to be able to make something lovely in such a short amount of time. and i didn't use the whole ball; i still have enough to make another present if needed.

so on the whole, i am pretty impressed.

these are a few of my...

i love being a member of the ravelry swap on a budget group. i have been a member for awhile now and it has been a great experience. i have gotten some great yarn and have cyber met some wonderful knitters from around the world via this swap.

my last swap buddy was beckyzoole from st. louis who sent me this lovely package...

which included the fall 09 issue of vogue knitting which has some great hat patterns; some lovely milk chocolate bars, a pound of st. louis' finest coffee, which was quite tasty, pocketbook slippers and the most glorious malabrigo sock yarn ever.

the first thing i did after opening the package was put on the slippers. when i first saw them, i was pretty skeptical about their ability to fit me, but lo and behold, they did! which was absolute magic to me. they are warm and comfy and have the cutest cow buttons on them.

then i made a pot of coffee and sat down with the chocolate and magazine...and then more chocolate and more coffee and then...

proceeded to drool over the malabrigo sock yarn. it is truly lovely; and it has a very high squish factor. the name of the colorway is impressionists sky, which i thought was pretty appropriate. if i didn't already have a pair of socks for me on the needles i would have started a pair with this right away it is that delicious.

on the flip side, i love putting together a box for the person i am supposed to spoil. i read their blog, if they have one, to find out more about what they knit and knit with or maybe what they would like to try so i can incorporate something of that nature in their box. part of the swap is making something for your person. since i sew faster than i knit, i sew them something. and since i have a serious bag jones, i usually sew a project bag of some sort. during the last swap i made this tote out of the vinyl picnic tablecloths are made of. i got the pattern from the purl soho yarn store blog. the person i made it for had young kids and since it was summer and the possibility for water play is high during the summer i thought the tote could double as a damp clothes/towel carrier. apparently the daughter of the recipient loved it and wanted it for herself. hopefully the bag is being used or helpful in one way or the other!

hello, hello...

so it's been awhile. life seems to be rushing by and all of a sudden it has been months since i have said hello.

so hello. i have missed you all and it is nice to be here. life has been full and there has been lots of creating, knitting wise, sewing wise, musical make-up wise, but those stories will come out in time.

in the meantime, i will share these...

socks for my sweet friend knit out of sknitches syncopation sock yarn; colorway, seriously.

yes, it is true, the two of us are addicted to the tv show grey's anatomy. because of this i joined ravelry's grey's anatomy knitters group, which led to me finding this yarn. sknitches had done this colorway, which quickly sold out. lucky for the group, sknitches was generously willing to dye another colorway batch, twice. this gave me the opportunity to buy a hank for myself. and when my sweet friend was disappointed because i had one and she didn't, i was able to buy another hank. whew!

so here they are... pattern, super simple short socks by meghann holcomb, found on ravelry. pattern was quick and dirty, but not real fond of the heel. the yarn came from sknitches. wonderful, wonderful, wonderful yarn. lovely to knit with and it wears well. sknitches has amazing colorways so check them out.

that is it for the moment. until next time, take care.

yeah, i got to gamble...

i love swaps. truly, i do. they are the closest i get to gambling. really. i toss my name in, not knowing where it will land or what i may get. i just trust the yarn gods that it will all come out ok. and it always does. i mean, how can you go wrong? make a new friend and have them buy you yarn! the ultimate relationship!

this spring i once again participated with the ravelry, swap on a budget group, this time as part of the international swap and it was real fun. i "met" some wonderful knitters from around the world, hong kong, italy, germany, india, norway and various parts of the u.s. which was so fun! i even found myself posting on our group board on a regular basis which is unheard of for me! but it was that type of group.

and the coolest thing was i was got yarn from a different country! since i wasn't home when the post person came by to deliver the package i had to wait until i could pick it up the next day. by then i knew it was from india so as soon as i got it, i ripped it open and inside i found all of this...

jaishree hails from india and crochet's the most amazing doilies as well as being a knitter. she crocheted the doilies pictured here. i happen to have this thing about doilies. i love them. it is a thing from my childhood, doilies were everywhere in our house and both of my grandmothers houses, so to get some handmade ones is a bit of heaven! she also sent this lovely necklace and earring set which look quite nice on. the silver yarn is shiny and cord sized but not cord stiff. i am thinking of doing a dressy cowl or shawl/wrap thing, something shiny around the neck or head. the blue yarn is an acrylic which will be great for something baby and the multicolored yarn is truly amazing. the picture does not do it justice but it is rainbow colored and breathtaking in fingering weight cotton, which is probably great for crocheting doilies except i don't crochet. the owner of the LYS suggested a lace shawl, since it is quite a large hank of yarn, which works because i love shawls.

next up is this great bag. again, the picture does not do this justice. it is so lovely, if i weren't such a tote hag it could be used as a lovely handbag, but i am using it as a sock project bag since it can fit a huge ball of yarn as well as having a zippered pocket for measuring tapes, crochet hooks and the like. it is currently being used as the project bag for my sweet friend's socks and it is perfect. pictured with it are three balls of burgundy wool, also fingering weight. i am thinking these will make great fingerless gloves, nice color that would hold a pattern well. but i am still deciding.

then jaishree did something daring and included an article of clothing. it is this very simple, beautifully embroidered shirt. and it fits! it is a bit sheer, which i usually avoid, but with a pretty cami or tank top underneath i am willing to give it a try. especially during summer. it is such a delight to receive a piece of traditional clothing. jaishree explained these shirts are made in the province of india she lives in. and i thought it very brave for her to include it, i think both of us were thankful it fit!

and if all the above were not enough, also included was this heart scarf in the same blue of the yarn pictured above which will come in handy in the winter when i do my long walks and crave a warm neck as well as a copy of the lace ribbon scarf pattern.

whew! quite the haul! so though i am not a traditional "gambler", when it comes to yarn, i'm so in!

(please forgive the lack of breath inbetween pics and words. for some reason the formatting is not cooperating.)

the great information...

in my haste to post about the big guys birthday, i neglected to post the specifics on his birthday socks. so in case you were wondering, let me tell you about them:...

the yarn....lorna's laces - shepherd sock in carmel (a colorway of a few years ago).

the pattern...lonnies sport's socks by rebecca mercier, available for free via ravelry (search patterns for sport or short socks) or at her website, whimsical knitting designs.

the purely subjective opinion....i really like this yarn. i have knit a couple of pairs of socks with this yarn and i love working with it. easy to knit with; the yarn feels great while knitting; looks great even after being frogged or unknit multiple times (important point!); feels great to wear and it wears well. i have laundered the cute husbands pair of socks (same yarn, different colorway), stuck them in the dryer for a moment or two then hung them until they were completely dry and they look great each time. my only dismay about the yarn is i do have a hard time finding it in any of the local LYS' around me so i purchase it online. this yarn was purchased at purl soho in nyc a couple years back.

i equally like this pattern. it is easy to follow, easy to memorize, fun to knit and the finished product looks great. though it can't be seen in the pictures, it is a slip stitch pattern that gives the sock some nice texture and a pleasing visual. it is a good "guy" pattern, though it could work equally well for girls. i was able to adapt it to knitting on two circulars with no problem. on the whole, it is a great pattern and i would use it again. which may not be for awhile since this designer has other interesting to me sock patterns which i would like to try.

so there you have it. if you are looking for a nice sock pattern for a male friend, take a look at this one and definitely take a look at this yarn. in the meantime, the big guy will wear his socks, hopefully in good health!

it was 20 years ago today...

it is cinco de mayo today. the neighborhood mexican restaurants are doing a brisk business and the bored local police are waiting in the wings.

and though i am mexican, this day has a different meaning for me, it is the big guys birthday. and today he is turning 20. a young man no longer in his teens. one who is striving to discover who he is and where he fits into this mosaic of life.

the evening was pretty low key. he wanted pizza for supper and had decided on a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and raspberry sorbet for desert. not to bad.

and i would like to think his present from me wasn't to bad either. i realized last week i was very close to finally finishing his sporty socks and was excited at the thought he could have them by the weekend. then realized they could be a birthday gift. and so, after months of being on the needle, they are done. and he likes them and thinks they are comfortable! whew!

and though the small bundle that came into the world 20 years ago has grown to big to hold in my arms, he still has the ability to awe me. it has been and continues to be an amazing journey, one which i am honored to be a part of.

procrastination

i haven't been knitting very much lately. it is not because i am bored with knitting, or tired of what i am knitting. no, it is because of these...





yes, t, i can hear you groan from here. my sweet friend (who fits into the demographic these were written for) loooved these books and wanted me to read them. i, who am not into vampires at all, hemmed and hawed and took a looong time reading brisingr. the moment i was done, i was handed the first book. after slogging through all the sop in book one, i found myself interested in knowing what would happen in book two, then more interested in what would happen in book three and finally by book four i was totally lost, like don't expect me to fix supper because i am reading lost. by the end, i was glad i read them. my sweet friend and i will have lots to discuss and reference. and i got out of making a few suppers. reading is good for you!

happy bobmas!

thank you ravelry for two years of inspiration, information, inclusion and fun. don't know what i would do without you.

happy bobmas everyone! maybe next year we will actually get yarn as presents!

quickly go the years...

earlier this month my sweet friend celebrated her 17th birthday. the only present she requested was going to see wicked with her best friend and me. though she had seen it on broadway a few years ago when she went to visit the cousins, she wanted me to see it and she wanted to see it with me. and though i hemmed and hawed about the price of the tickets, it was well worth it. she is 17. these moments are slipping through my fingers like sand. and i can't afford to miss them.

finally

the last few weeks have been chaotic. why? because of this...

yes, it is spring musical time again. and once again i am doing makeup. which is really a lot of fun. see the young man with the fake-ish looking facial hair on the far right? i made that beard and moustache so that we could put it on, then take it off, then put it on, then take it off, then put it on and he takes it off onstage. that may not sound bad, but when he is in the midst of changing costumes and i have to get a wig on him as well as the fake facial hair, time is very short! oi! but i wouldn't miss it. my sweet friend gets to play a ditz with a red wig and dance in every number. this is a really big production with lots of singing, dancing and set changes. but it is a great group of high schoolers to be involved with. they are so kind and respectful to each other that it is an honor to be part of it all.

and lest you think there is no knitting...ta da! a few finished items.

first off, after months of knitting (yes i do envy those who can finish a pair of socks over a weekend!) the first finished pair of socks for soldiers socks. these were knit out of knit picks essential sock yarn in buckskin. ok yarn. dont' think i will use it again. it is 13 inches of k2p2 ribbing with 12 inches of knitted feet (counting the toes), but they are done and shipped out to the young man from work who is currently in afghanistan. and to tell you the truth, i miss knitting them. they were the perfect go anywhere, able to be social in any type of setting knit. i mean, how can you go wrong with 13 inches of k2p2 or 12 inches of plain knitting. i am in the midst of swatching the second pair which i hope to knit two at a time a la 2-at-a-time socks. we'll see,

the next finished item is tudora out of kilcarra yarn that i won from cheryl. i was a bit concerned about this yarn, thought it would be a bit un-soft on the neck. that was until i started to work with it. let me tell you, this yarn is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. i loved working with it. the pattern comes to life with this yarn. the cables pop right out. it is quite lovely. and the pattern is delightful. i was concerned i would fumble it up. but no, i just followed the directions and it came together quite nicely. amazing how that works! except for the buttonhole. i am truly lacking when it comes to knitting buttonholes. thankfully the button covers the buttonhole, so all is good. and my neck is fashionably warm!

now on to the next project. yay!

take a chance...

cheryl over at a simple yarn is having a great contest.

write a caption for the pictures on her blog and you can win some beautiful kilcarra yarn and a felted coaster. this was the yarn used to make her wonderful tudora pattern. and though i have yet to blog about it, i can tell you this yarn is stunning, absolutely stunning and the pattern is a delight to knit.

so scoot on over and check it out. good luck!

i've just seen a...

my sweet friend and i seem to be have been bitten by a baking bug. not sure exactly how or why, but we are just going with it for the moment. she is baking cupcakes and cakes and i am baking...anything. and though i am not one to celebrate today, i felt a strong pull to bake these...

and these...
and even these...

which inevitably led to this...

it was a lot of fun though. had not baked like this in many years. next time i won't make a double batch. one batch is quite sufficient. and d & t, i do not know how you get along without your kitchen aid. seriously.

because of the baking bug, i have not had as much time to work on this...

the beginnings of the lace ribbon scarf out of malabrigo silk blend. the pattern has been in my ravelry queue for awhile so when the LYS announced it was doing a KAL of this pattern and suggested the silk blend as a yarn substitute, i was in. i have been lusting to use this yarn for something but did not know what, so here was the perfect excuse!

since using a weightier yarn then the pattern calls for, the suggestion was to use size 8 needles and drop a repeat. but i didn't have size 8 needles that were suitable, then couldn't find size 8's that were suitable. so after a bit of knashing, grumbling and finally swatching (!), i decided to use size 7 circulars with the number of stitches called for. the pattern came alive on them. and can i tell you how much i love this yarn. love this yarn. it is heaven to use and looks beautiful. since it is hand dyed, the variation of color is subtle but adds a bit of sparkle. i had never understood the fascination with manos until i used this yarn. and now i may just be hooked!

but i am not sure when i will get around to knitting on it again since tomorrow i am planning on making home made tortillas and pesole. that bug!