Nature Knitter

Good News, Bad News

2008-09-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

So as you may have noticed (if you're still reading my blog that is), I have been on a long hiatus. This is because Hubbie and I are expecting our first child! There was a long knitting absence, then a big move to a new house, and finally the dreaded wait to find out what sex our child would be. Once we found out we're having a girl, my knitting bug kicked back in. Over the past 4 days, I've knit booties and a sweater.
Also, in the meantime, I'm knitting a vest for my boss' newborn son.
You may be wondering, what does this big, exciting revelation mean to the Nature Knitter blog? Well, we've started a fetus blog that will turn into a baby blog, and this blog will no longer be filled with my life in addition to my knitting. For the time being, my knitting will still be on this site, but it may be replaced entirely with Ravelry (user name: natureknitter).

Summertime in the City

2008-06-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Now that the sun is back out, hubbie and I are determined to enjoy our summer in the city. Last year I feel like we worked all the time, so hopefully this year will feel differently (although we will still be working a lot). To kick off the season, we finally bought a BBQ. Against our wishes, we broke down and went to Wal Mart to buy this great barbecue. Hubbie loves grilling as much as possible (at once!).

We're hosting a lunch later this month, and my amazing parents just gave us their old patio furniture. Hopefully in the next two weeks I will have enough energy and motivation to sand and paint the table and chairs and will show off before and after photos when I'm done!

Speaking of my parents, yes, the socks were for my dad. His birthday was a few days ago, and along with father's day, I thought these socks would be the perfect gift! He wanted a sweater, but is too picky, so I told him that until he is old and frail and wears sweater-vests, these socks will have to do.

To further celebrate summer, hubbie and I made it to a baseball game last night. Hubbie is a huge fan (even though our team stinks). See his "rally cap" below for fan proof!

We just reserved a campsite for the 4th of July, so hopefully we'll be out enjoying more sun soon!

Home Garden

2008-06-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to have a nice sunny, relaxing weekend, and the sun never came out once! It did give me a great excuse to wear my new Nau jacket all weekend, though. Hubbie and my mother-in-law went in on this jacket for my birthday and I LOVE IT. I wish I could sleep in it. I wear it every socially acceptable time possible.
So, my weekend was not sunny, and also not-so-relaxing. Hubbie conned me into working for him on Saturday, and on Sunday, our only time off together, we did tons of chores. Last week, hubbie and I hacked out our front porch garden which was overgrown with ivy and a HUGE rosemary plant. This weekend, in addition to more boring chores and errands, we went to our favorite nursery and planted a new herb garden. We planned an exciting menu for the month of June, and I can't wait to eat food seasoned from our garden! Here is is in all of it's glory:

Best Weekend Ever

2008-05-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, that might be a tiny stretch, but we really did have a great long weekend! My birthday nicely coincides with Memorial Day each year, so it's always a long weekend that's all (or mostly at least) about me.

This weekend started off with a trip to my favorite not-so-local yarn store in hubbie's hometown. I had three gift certificates there, two of which were surprises for my birthday! I had planned on buying yarn to start the Apres Surf Hoodie that I have been so excited about, but I also ended up buying enough yarn to make a fair isle sweater for myself sometime in the future. They have an amazing 6-or-more-skeins-are-10%-off deal (always... I just found a new favorite store when I'm buying in bulk) AND 45% off sale on Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (a weakness of mine... this will eventually be a fair isle sweater).

Here are my spoils:
Of course, this means the knitting on the socks came to a screeching halt. I'll try to still knit them on the bus, but I have 10 more days to finish them.

This weekend's knitting was, obviously, focused on my Apres Surf Hoodie. I knit most of Monday, but not that much on Saturday or Sunday, so I'm pretty impressed with my progress.

On the way home from visiting all of the in-laws and others, we stopped by our garden. I was worried that it would miss us too much and look sad, but it looks great! We should be able to start harvesting some salad in a week or two! Our beans are out of control... now hopefully the pods will start showing up soon.

One Week Later...

2008-05-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

So, I'm pretty proud of how far my "bus knitting" project has come in one week. Granted, I may have knit at times when I wasn't actually on the bus, but I also showed restraint and didn't knit in EVERY social situation that I was in (I actually socialized instead - a little surprising, I know).
The yarn for my summer sweater that I'm dying to knit is sitting at the store waiting for me, but I'm showing even more self restraint and waiting until my birthday weekend to buy it (yes, it's a whole weekend celebration and not just a single day... it stopped being a single day years ago). I'm hoping to finish the surprise socks by that magical weekend, so my birthday present to myself can be casting on my new sweater.

To celebrate Mother's day this weekend (hubbie and I have kind of forgot about Mother's day for the past few years, so hopefully we made it up to both moms this year), we took my parents downtown for a little Seattle tourism (sadly, very little coffee was consumed... how un-Seattle of us).

I Heart Mondays

2008-05-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

There must be something about Mondays that I just find strangely motivating. Or maybe it's because my weekends are so great!

I convinced poor hubbie to finally get our garden in shape tonight. Two hours later, we have no weeds (okay, very little weeds), rows of seeds and seedlings (I had to replant some poor lettuce mix that was in the wrong portion of the garden). Although hubbie wasn't excited about it, I think he is secretly as proud as I am! Once we have some delicious food growing, I'll post pictures! This year I focused on color: tri colored beans, colorful carrots, and more!

I finally started a new knitting project! I'm making some secret socks for a certain paternal someone for a upcoming holiday celebrating him! I cast on last night, and have a lot of bus knitting ahead of me.
These are from the Universal Toe-Up sock pattern with a K3, P1 pattern (will be more obvious later, I'm sure). It's a pretty good start for two days!

In other random wants: I've been drooling over this jacket by Nau (sadly going out of business and have everything 50% off... that makes this jacket only $124, but I couldn't take it back if it didn't fit, and it kind of goes against the no new clothes for a year thing...)

Motivated Monday

2008-04-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Number of buttons sewn on to new sweaters today: 9

Number of lacy sweaters blocked today: 2

Number of officially finished objects to wear or gift today: 2

February Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Knit for baby neice (due in May!)
Yarn: handspun by me!
Henley Perfected from Interweave Knits Winter 2007
Knit for self!
Yarn: Handspun by me!

Okay, so you might have noticed that I haven't blogged in a while. Actually, I haven't done much in a while. For the past two weeks I've been feeling lame and groggy and not doing much of anything. Since my weeks start on Monday, I decided to start this week with the motivation I've been lacking. I cleaned my house (including the bathroom which I've been putting off for an embarrassingly long time). I cleaned my cube at work (which is amazing because I collect junk in my cube for work and it was getting way overwhelming). I went running. I did the dinner dishes RIGHT after dinner. I'm telling you... my week is looking up!

So, now that I'm done with my sweater (and yes, by the way, I spun the yarn for both of these FOs today), you might be wondering, "What amazing thing will she knit next?" Well, I bought yarn to knit some socks for my dad while I was at the yarn store buying buttons. He's been asking for a sweater, but I've never seen him wear sweaters in the past 10 years, so I'm thinking socks might be a safer bet (I have seen him wear socks).

I'm also planning on knitting a sweater for myself! I saw the preview of the Summer Interweave Knits and fell in love with the Apres Surf sweater (coincidentally by the same designer (ravelry link) who came up with the pattern for the Henley Perfected that I just finished). My mom-in-law bought me a gift certificate to her local yarn store, so I've been emailing them to get the Rowan Cashcotton 4 ply in the "Pretty" shade... The pattern is for sale May 13, so hopefully I'll have the sweater knit up by mid-July!

Insert One (tiny) Baby

2008-04-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a lot done on my mini-vacation! I finished a sweater for my soon-to-be-born neice:

It still needs to be blocked and I need to find the perfect buttons. Sadly, since I apparently can't concentrate on simple directions, I made this much smaller than suggested (missing a key increase at the sleeves), and it will only fit for a few days (hopefully she's not too big when she's born). Luckily, it's a cardigan, so hopefully that will help.

I also got insane amounts of spinning done. As you know, I have been at a standstill on my sweater, waiting for more yarn. On the long drive home today, I found out that I can actually spin in my car (while being a passenger, of course)! My spinning wheel is very small, but we drive a Prius, which is also super small. I wish I knew this on the drive to our vacation! My skeins are blocking/drying, so hopefully later this week or weekend we'll be full speed ahead on the sweater.

Also, while on vacation, my wonderful mother-in-law read my mind and bought me a book that I had been wanting.

At least I will have something to read while I am waiting for my yarn to dry!

More Baby Goodness

2008-04-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

So in addition to the cat, I've also been knitting some other delicious baby items for my unborn niece. There are, of course, baby booties (that match Kate the Cat):

And I'm still working on a sweater (February Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann, in yarn spun by me!):

In more selfish knitting, I've come to a halt on my sleeves for the Henley Perfected. I ran out of yarn. I am spinning away and hope to be back knitting it next week.

Hubbie and I are going over to hang out with his parents this weekend for few days, so I'm hoping I can sneak in some spinning time while no one is looking... it's a good think my spinning wheel is so portable! Oh, also, my sweet mother is buying me another bobbin, so I should hopefully start making 3 ply yarn soon!

Look for mini-vacation pictures next week! I'm also in the middle of picking my next project, so look for that update as well!

Kate the Boyish Cat

2008-03-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

I've been secretly knitting Kate the cat from Knitty for my neice. My sister-in-law (on hubbie's side) is due in 7 weeks, so I have to cram in all of my knitting now! I have the perfect sweater pattern picked out, but I am patiently (or not-so much) waiting for the book to arrive at the library. It's "in transit" according to the library website, but I don't think the sweater will be ready for the baby shower on Saturday...

Body Moving

2008-03-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

After an intense week of knitting, I've finished the body of my sweater! I tried it on, and this may be my best sweater yet (although I think I say that every time I knit a new sweater).
During my extra knitting time (okay, I might have been a little anti-social this week...), I am also busy knitting a little something for an adorable fetus (okay, I obviously can't verify the adorableness of said fetus, but I'm making a logical assumption). Hopefully I'll have it all done by next weekend, so look forward to random baby knitting!

Tribal Sweater: Finally Finished!

2008-03-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right! After 9 months, I've finally finished hubbie's sweater! I didn't make any major modifications to the pattern, other than leaving off the sleeve pattern so that I could knit the sleeves in the round (I think that shaved off at least two months).

He's happy (and warm, despite the freaky Pacific Northwest weather)!

Spring Spin

2008-03-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

I finally knit all of the yarn that I spun and am ready to spin some more this weekend. Luckily hubbie has to work all day tomorrow, so I should get plenty of spinning in. Of course, I should be knitting hubbie's neck on his sweater, but a girl needs her priorities, right?
I can't believe how far my spun yarn went! I'm almost at the armhole shaping.

I've also been taking advantage of our spring weather by sneaking in some (light) gardening. Hopefully we'll have pretty pictures to show before too long!

The Tortoise Springs Forward

2008-03-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

My daily minutes of bus-knitting have finally added up. I have seamed (a little poorly, but it's done!) hubbie's sweater. All that is left is the neckline and a good blocking. Hopefully I can make it a little longer and more slender... I don't know if my blocking is really that miraculous.

Since hubbie's sweater is on the downhill slope, I began my own sweater. I chose the Henley Perfected (thanks for your opinions!). I'm already at the bust increases. I'm carefully rewriting the pattern since my gauge is different, so once I get closer to the lace, I'll have to slow down (and probably spin some more yarn).

And a sign of spring time:
These are our starts for our garden. Hubbie and I planted them on March 1st. Our salad is huge (comparatively), and the cabbage is looking good too. Almost all of the starts have, well, started. Hopefully it warms up and we can plant them in the ground soon. I've also been stalling on some serious weeding until our yard waste bin was up and running, which should be in 6 business days, and then we'll be full garden ahead!

Sleeve Drudgery

2008-03-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

I'm still hard at work on hubbie's sweater and have finally started the sleeve caps! After these puppies are finally done, I can sew it together and he'll actually get to wear it. I'm sick of talking about this project and I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it! I'm also a little embarrassed of how long this has taken...

After the sweater is done, I am knitting myself a sweater. I've been spinning the pretty green yarn and it's almost ready to be plied! I can't decide between two patterns: The Henley Perfected (ravelry) or Cheri Amour (ravelry). Any opinions would be highly appreciated!

In other fronts: I've been hard at work on the Self Challenge and have finished week 1! My father in law even commented that I look thinner (but it's only been one week, and he always says that, so I'm not too disillusioned).

Micro Progress

2008-02-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

After all of my spinning excitement, I decided to spin yarn for a sweater! It's a big project (2 lbs.) that should take a long time.

I bought some great super cheap roving ($.81/ounce!) that is a merino/alpaca blend. I'm planning on knitting the Henley Perfected (ravelry). Of course, while I'm not near my spinning wheel, I'm still diligently working on hubbie's sleeves, but it's a slow (and boring) process.

In an attempt to remain energetic, I am beginning the Self Challenge '08. I think this is my third (or fourth?) challenge, but I usually peter out around month 2 (it' a 3 month challenge). Wish me luck (or feel free to talk some trash to help motivate me)!

Spinning into Control

2008-02-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

Over the past week, I feel like I'm starting to gain control again over life (I go through cycles... I'm guessing that's normal?). My house has been spotless for the past week, with a sustainable plan to remain so very exciting). I have begun running (okay, I started yesterday, but I went two days in a row with plans to go with a friend tomorrow). I have made more of a bus knitting effort (the slow results are below, with a shiny quarter to show scale).

I've also fell in love with spinning! I bought a wheel last spring (I know I mentioned it, but I'm not sure I ever showed it in it's adorable beauty):
It's super small and portable - perfect for my tidy duplex! For Christmas, my sweet mother in law bought me a two week spinning class which ended yesterday. I had done a little spinning with my wheel before the class, but now I have a much better understanding of how my wheel works and I LOVE it. Over the course of the past week, I have finished spinning all of the fiber I have:
Now it's time to go back to the store so I can get more fiber for my addiction.

Speaking of addictions, hubbie and I recently bought a Macbook (our poor Toshiba laptop had seen some much better days). The real reason my knitting has been so slow lately is my obsessive computering (I heart my macbook!). It's the second greatest inanimate object in our house (second to the spinning wheel, of course).

New Shirt 2 (or "How I Spent my Wednesday/Sunday Nights")

2008-02-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I was excited to make another shirt that was more "my style". By "my style" I guess I mean a little boring: dark, plain material. I used the same size pattern, and, although the first shirt fit perfectly, this shirt felt way too big. Here I am in the gargantuan version I made Wednesday night:
My mom visited this weekend (she kept me company while shopping till I dropped on Saturday while hubbie was out of town), and she helped me pin the top so that I would know where to alter the huge top. Here I am in the same shirt after a little alteration on Sunday night:
Yeah! It's so much cuter and actually shows off my girlish figure (instead of making me look pregnant). This will fit nicely into my wardrobe (along with the new/used tops my mom helped me purchase at Buffalo Exchange this weekend).

In unrelated news, I went to the first of my two part spinning (yarn, not bicycle) class today. I am so excited! Hopefully by this time next week I'll have some pretty yarn to show off!

New Shirt (or "How I Spent my Tuesday Night")

2008-01-29T21:45:00.000-08:00

Since revealing my new year's resolution, I have been struggling with wether or not sewing is on the same level of the clothing consumerism food chain as buying new clothes. I've thought of arguments for and against, and right now I'm leaning on the pro-sewing side of the argument.

That being said, I have been plotting my next sewing project for the past week. I found a pattern (Built By Wendy), I picked out two types of fabrics (for two tops of course), I went on a shopping spree on Sunday afternoon. And today, after just over two hours of hard labor, I emerged from my crafting nook a new woman. I had created a top. And not just any top: one that I will conceivably wear in public. Now, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but most of my sewing projects that have made it onto my blog haven't ever left the house (or at least not comfortably). This one will make it's debut tomorrow, and hopefully it will become a staple in my wardrobe! Look for another top soon, that is a little more my regular style (and by "my regular style" I mean not such a fun print).

Basketball Frenzy

2008-01-22T21:43:00.000-08:00

That's right... another week, another Sonics game. We finally used the free tickets we won at the last game (and by "we", I mean "hubbie"). Also, in another burst of basketball frenzy (I heart winter sports), we went to a big exhibition game this weekend where we got to watch an exciting victory (and then a crushing defeat). It was high school ball, which is much more my style anyway.

I have, sadly, fallen off the crafting bandwagon lately. Sure, there is the occasional bus knitting, when it's not too crowded and I'm going far enough (usually just on the way home from work), but those sleeves aren't just knitting themselves!

As you may know, I have vowed not to purchase any new, first-hand clothes in all of 2008. Hopefully this will inspire more crafting. I already have some fun sewing ideas (look for tops coming soon) in place, so to jump start my craftiness, I had my own re-use challenge.

This evening I made a scarf and matching mittens from an old cashmere sweater:

And a skirt from a pair of hubbie's old pants. I think the length is spot-on, but my junior high home ec finishing at the top (aka: thick elastic band) isn't going to cut it. I think that I have some room to play around with, and I was thinking of refinishing the top with a sailor-pant button top... Now if only I can find an on-line tutorial.

Finishing Touches

2008-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

So, I finished a v-neck sweater for my mom this summer, and at the time, she asked for an unfinished neck. After wearing it a few times, she changed her mind (smart move) and finally brought the sweater back for a little finishing touch. Here is a close up on the newly added neck:

Here is the entire sweater:

And here is a bonus picture of me in front of the whale's tale in Seattle (taken while waiting for some friends to go to the movies).

I just bought a new bag (much to hubbie's dismay) that I can take to work and will hold knitting and a book in addition to my lunch and normal purse-y type things. Hopefully this will mean a surge in knitting is coming soon!

Best Year Ever

2008-01-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

So the end of 2007 saw the most lucky streak for hubbie that I've ever witnessed. He's actually a little unlucky overall in life (did I mention the time that his snowboard came off his car last winter when he was on the freeway doing 70 MPH?), so any lucky streak is uncommon.

In the past two weeks, hubbie has won at fantasy football (a large profit, surprisingly), he won at his bi-weekly poker game (another surprisingly large profit, which is a first), and last night at the Sonics game (which I got free tickets to anyway) he won $100 and 2 court side seats! I hope this means that 2008 is shaping up to become a great year as well!

Home for the Holidays

2007-12-27T22:06:00.000-08:00

I was able to finish all of my holiday projects on time, but just barely! I was finishing the mitts for my nieces the morning that we had to drop them off. Sadly, this means that they have not been photo documented.

In the midst of the holidays and the traveling to visit families, I also started a new job! I am super excited to be at a dream job doing something I'm passionate about that does not involve commuting an hour or more home from work (and where I can get home at a decent time!). This should provide more time for knitting and general craftiness...

While I was traveling, since hubbie is so gracious in almost always driving, I did get some quality car knitting time in. I knit myself a Colorimetry to match my So Called Scarf (and my red jacket). I have enough yarn left to make another matching hat so that I will have some different options.

(Here I am showing it off with my mom on our Christmas Eve hike)

I've also been working furiously on hubbie's sweater that I started last summer. I'm hoping to finish on (or near) his birthday on January 7 (what a great 30th present!).

Speedy Stitching

2007-12-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the sewing was much faster than I thought! I managed to make three presents and a little something for myself.

More importantly, I think I've finally found something that I can sell on Etsy. It's my goal of the week to sew up three more of these bags to list. I'll let you know when I succeed!

Winter Craftiness

2007-12-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

I LOVE winter! No, really. Almost to an insane amount. I have been patiently waiting for the first day of snow, and it finally happened! I was at the greatest arts and crafts sale of the year, and I looked out the window, and big fluffy flakes were gently falling. It was like a Christmas card.

I have been inspired to do a myriad of crafting for the holidays: I am making gifts for 8 people (some more involved than others) which include sewing, knitting, and scrapbooking. I am still working on the scrapbook from our vacation, and there are a few projects I want to make for myself. Unfortunately, this means a lot of secret crafting. Hopefully I'll be able to show some crafting soon!

Here's a sneak peek of the fabrics for my sewing projects:

November Knits

2007-11-25T20:54:00.000-08:00

This month I have been busy doing a lot of things: knitting, working, running, scrapbooking our vacation pictures (which I finally printed today).

Today was the culmination of the running. My dad and I ran the Seattle Half Marathon today. Last year we finished in just under 1 hour 58 minutes. The official times aren't up yet, but I think we were just a few seconds slower this year. The weather was much nicer than last year, and it was great to know what hills to expect. Here we are at 7:00 this morning anxiously waiting for the race to start.

I've actually finished two things since my last post! I made myself a scarf to match my new red winter jacket (I have a problem with red- I love it!). It's a So Called Scarf, but I made it skinny because I was too cheap to buy two skeins of yarn. I think it still works well. I did break down and buy a second skein in Ellensburg this weekend at one of my favorite out-of-town yarn shops. I'm going to make a matching hat sometime...

I also finished a hat for my baby niece. She has a lot of clothes, but lives in Michigan and I'm sure her little head might get cold. I love the square hat look, but definitely still need to add some little tassels on the corners. I hope it's not too big... I based it on a pattern for 6-18 mo., but that's pretty broad (I took out a few stitches to make it a little smaller). I also bought a ball-rattle thing on etsy that will be a fun addition! I heart Christmas and babies!

Flailing Motivation

2007-11-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Hubbie and I on Formal Night

Hubbie and I have been back from our vacation for a week now, and I'm having a hard time readjusting to reality! I want to vacation all the time and had some harsh reality with coming back to work. I did get a chance to knit some on my cruise, and I'm just about finished with my double knit hat! For all of our vacation pictures, click here.

Knitting in our cabin

Knitting on the Lido Deck

I need to finish the top and sew in the ends, and it will be ready for it's new owner (whose birthday is tomorrow, so it's perfect timing).

I need a new project and deadline for motivation. I did start a sweater for Hubbie a long time ago that I'm sure he would love for me to finish...

Shopping Barganza

2007-10-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hubbie and I are going on vacation in just over a week for a six day cruise. One of the packing requirements is a suit jacket for the formal dinner. Hubbie has many strengths, and outfits for many social settings. Unfortunately, formal wear is not on his radar. We started our shopping spree at a thrift store, because I naively thought that it would be no problem to find a stylish jacket that fit him for under $30. Case in point: these $3 pants that I found while we were there.

I'm strangely short and have a super hard time finding pants that fit, but with a little patience and $2.99 plus tax, no problem. Why isn't finding a suit coat this easy?

Obviously we had no luck at the thrift store, so we headed to Macy's (where I still thought a suit for $100 was totally possible). Hubbie was fitted for a suit and I talked him out of spending more than the cruise itself to look good at one dinner. He was feeling desperate. We looked at JC Penney's, which was full of great suits for 60 year old men. In a moment of weakness, we went to Ross (I know, I know! I never find anything there that works out). Another no-go (the only suit they had was blue with gold pin stripes). Then, we headed to Target (mainly because it was in the same building and I have a huge sweet tooth). There, we found the perfect jacket (for only $60) to match his pants and shirt:

He is elated (and hot)... did I mention this was only $60!

In knitting related news, I started the hat over. I decided to do it right this time, now that I know (kind of) how to double knit. I feel this is looking much better already! I have a limited time line though, so am hoping I will have some time on vacation (the travel time should help) to finish the hat!

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun

2007-10-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

As you know, I love trying new knitting techniques. It's my secret drug. A friend of mine is turning 30, and while planning a fair-isle hat, I decided that nothing would be better than a reversible double-knit hat! It's taken a long time to get this far, but as you can see, it's working!

Then, reality set in. While car knitting with hubbie driving and looking on, he sadly pointed out to me that it was way too big. I knew it would be a little big, but when he tried it on and it fell over his nose, I knew it was time to stop pretending. I will begin frogging it today (after I measure the gauge, of course, so that this won't happen again)!

We also got out and enjoyed some nature this weekend (which was a good pick me up after my hat debacle). We went Skakagrall hunting at a local nature hot spot (an oasis in the suburbs!).

Another Day, Another Sweater

2007-09-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is two finished sweaters in two days. When it rains, it apparently pours. I really like this sweater and am looking forward to wearing it all fall long (I'll blend in with the leaves!). The neck is a little strange, and I sewed the wrong sleeves on the wrong sides (no one will notice, but the leaf sleeve is too close to the leaves on the bottom of the sweater). I found the perfect button at a yarn store near work (there is a button on the neck that is hard to see).

Finished Sweater

2007-09-23T21:15:00.001-07:00

The carnage:

The Result:
Surprise mom! It's finished, and it will be in the mail soon (along with the chocolate you left). I might test wear it first for a morning. You know, just to make sure it was knit correctly (just kidding!).

Seattle Sunday

2007-09-23T14:50:00.001-07:00

My parents came to visit us today, and we thought we would take advantage of the nice weather by walking around in the city. We hit a market, visited a chocolate factory, and finished our tour with a stop at our favorite bakery. It was a delicious day!

Since my parents aren't from the city, we took them to a local landmark. Here are hubbie and I looking adorable:I'm also almost done with my lace leaf pullover. I have about 1 inch left on the sleeves. It's hard though since I'm short, so I know that I should shorten the sleeves a little, but I'm not sure how much I should shorten them. I don't want them too short! Urgh!
On a totally unrelated note, I am training for a half marathon in November (and going on a cruise in a few weeks) so I've been running like crazy to train (and to look good in a bikini). Yesterday I went on a 12 mile run through the city, and I felt GREAT! I'm not sore at all today, I made good time, and I saw some great areas and views!

Lace Leaf Pullover

2007-09-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Since I already had the yarn, I chose to start the Lace Leaf Pullover for myself. I am trying to keep to the nature theme for current self-knits (Lace Leaf, Tree Jacket... staying true to the theme). I started this sweater on Sunday, when I was being lazy at home (poor hubbie had to volunteer at a local soapbox derby which lasted all day so I had a lot of time to myself). I have already finished the body! It has been a fast knit.
If you look closely, you can see where I kitchnered the top and bottom together. I'm hoping to finish the sleeves by next Sunday (and to set a fastest-sweater record for myself!). It's a lofty goal, so I need to start knitting now...

Slacker

2007-09-16T09:34:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this summer kind of got away from me. My knitting (and blogging obviously) took a backseat to other exciting things: hubbie and I have been exploring the city on our precious days off, I've been training for a half marathon, and I've been sucked into watching episodes of Nip/Tuck on DVD (I'm currently on Season 3).
Yesterday, I finally picked up the sleeves to my current project: my mother's v-neck sweater (with the stolen-then returned yarn from earlier this summer). I almost finished the sleeves before I ran out of yarn. Of course the store where I bought the yarn has none left and is going out of business (which is why I bought the yarn in the first place). After looking everywhere online, I finally found a place in Oregon that sells the yarn I need. Hopefully it should arrive later this week!
Now, I'm ready to move onto my next project. Should it be the Lace Leaf Pullover by Teva Durum, or should I knit the Tree Jacket from Zephyr style? I already have the yarn for the Lace Leaf Pullover (more of the stolen-then returned yarn), so that will probably be the choice. It's my secret goal to complete two long sleeved sweaters for myself this winter.

Yarn Woes

2007-07-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Every summer, I try to pick a ton of blueberries up by my parents house to last the year (or for one delicious month). Last year, I learned how miserable it could be to force hubbie to join me, so this past weekend, while he was working, I headed up to my parents house alone. We picked 10 lbs. of berries, and I am working on freezing it in batches as I type.

While I was there, my mom convinced me to go to a yarn sale at a store that is going out of business. It's a great store, and we bought enough yarn for a sweater each (for a lace leaf pullover for me and a plain v-neck sweater for mom), and some other odds and ends. On my way back home, we stopped at Daiso (apparently the largest in Washington) and I bought all kinds of Japanese goodies (I love their puzzles!). While we were in Daiso at the mall, someone broke into my parents car (it was unlocked, so at least there was no damage) and stole my things! This, sadly, included all the yarn, a backpack with some of my favorite running clothes (including the best sports bra ever), toiletries, and a bag of groceries. Luckily, there was nothing valuable, but it almost made it more annoying, since no one wants my stinky bra but me!

My parents graciously offered to replace the items, but it wasn't quite the same (and I don't want them to have to pay for my things that only I want either!). My mom called the yarn store this morning to see if they had any more yarn for our sweaters, and to warn them in case any one tried to return my yarn (I left the receipt in the bag). Apparently, some man did try to return it this afternoon, claiming "his aunt bought it". The yarn store lady said that she thought it was stolen from the backseat of a car. He claimed he found it, but left (without the yarn) anyway. Although I still have to replace some of my things (he didn't try to return my 10 year old backpack), at least the yarn is safe and accounted for! Hopefully this doesn't mean the Lace Leaf Pullover is cursed!

Baby Bonanza

2007-07-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister in law had their baby today, and to celebrate, I finished her presents. I was going to wait to send them with my parents in August when they visit the baby, but since the booties are on the small side, I might mail them and have my mom bring the fair isle booties and cardigan. I love all of the FOs, but the fair isle booties are way too big, and I wish that I had picked up the stitches differently for the cardigan, but oh well!

Day Trippin'

2007-07-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

To enjoy the beautiful weather today, hubbie and I decided to go on a day trip (since we were too lazy to put together a last minute camping trip). We were trying to find somewhere close to Seattle, and since I knew there was a great yarn store on a nearby island, I convinced him to head downtown to the ferry terminal.

During the gorgeous commute (and also while waiting in line at the DMV this morning), I made this:What is it? you might ask. Well, my friend, that is my first embroidery project ever! I am so excited about the possibilities and have a million projects (or just five) in my head already.

While on the island, we visited the aforementioned yarn store (although I didn't purchase anything! I'm very proud) and a great bakery that has special food for this special girl. We also went by a great bead store. I'm not a huge beaded necklace fan myself, but did find a fun pendant and (a la etsy style) purchased a few things to make this necklace for myself (for $2.77). I assembled it in a few quick minutes on the ferry back to Seattle.
Now it's off to the infamous Cinco de Mayo party in July that our neighbor throws every year (if you know my husband, you've been hearing about this party since last July!).

Babies and Urban Nature

2007-07-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hubbie and I have been uber active lately (well, at least for us). Today we took advantage of the nice weather and did all of the free tourist things I have wanted to do for a long time in Pioneer Square. There is a surprising amount of nature in this urban area, including the Waterfall Garden Park (birthplace of the UPS!).
We also visited the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park (I'd call it a museum, but who am I to argue with the national parks department?), and Elliot Bay Book Company, where I fell in love many times with books I don't need. This is my new must-see area for Seattle tourists!

We were excited to hear about the new Simpsons Kwik E Marts that 7-11 has opened. There are only 12, and Seattle happens to have one. Of course, we had to make it part of our outing. Imagine our disappointment when we realized that it was only for the month of July (to promote the new movie).

This weekend I've also had babies on the mind. My brother was hoping his baby would be born on 7/7/07, but he'll have to wait a little longer. This is lucky for me though, because now I have more time for knitting! The sweater is almost done, it just needs to be finished.

Also, I made booties to match the sweater, but they won't fit her until she's 3, and the sweater will be way too small by then (and what 3 year old wears booties? Maybe they can be slippers). I decided to make some more booties that might actually fit and still match the sweater.

I still need to get some buttons for both sets of booties and the cardigan, but all systems are a go!

Finished Floves

2007-07-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

In honor of the color explosion from Tuesday's post, I give you slightly more explosion (in less colors, but more fun!). This is my second pair of Endpaper Mitts, and definitely not my last!

Color Explosion

2007-07-03T20:09:00.001-07:00

In honor of the week o' fireworks (I grew up close to Canada, so on years that I was really lucky, I would see fireworks multiple times in the first week of July), I've been hard at work on the fair isle baby cardigan. Apparently the baby is going to be born early, so I'm not sure this will actually be finished before she arrives, but it's a 6-9 mo. sweater, so if it's a few weeks late, I'm sure it will be fine. Hopefully she can wear it during Christmas time! The sweater is for my niece, and my parents will be heading out to visit her in August (when she'll be a few weeks old), so that is my goal! I'm also trying to finish the ever-growing diagonal baby blanket for her too. It's starting to get huge (like the baby, I'm sure)!

Now only the sleeves and button band are left!

iPod Miracle

2007-06-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

After complaining to my mother (the genius) about my lost mp3's, she inspired me to look into uploading songs from my iPod to my computer. I was really nervous about this idea, but after a detailed description on wikihow (oh, how I love you), I successfully uploaded my purchased music from iTunes as well as all of the other music I had lost! It's a Christmas Miracle! Now if only I had an iPod miracle cure for my quicken account...

Flove Obsession

2007-06-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

Much to hubbie's chagrin, I have been secretly working on more floves rather than working on his intarsia sweater (although I did get a few rows in last night, honey, I swear!). I now have four colors of fingering weight yarn, and think that I can get a full six pairs out of them (with six color combos, of course).

Also, to make up for my heartbreaking computer situation (I'm still working on getting everything back up and running. I'm too afraid to even think about my iTunes/iPod situation), I am now on Ravelry! I'm so excited!! It has given me a great distraction for when I'm feeling sad about the lost files...

In other randomness, I haven't been to the garden in a few days, but here are some pictures from last week. Of the six items we planted from seeds, it seems like four are growing, so we are going to buy some starter plants soon for the other two areas of the garden.

Test: Mom in car

2007-06-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

Computer Malfunction

2007-06-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've been starting a new job and tying up ends at my old job the past two weeks. Next week I will be out of town for work, but when I get back, I will blog until my heart's content. I will also put up exciting pictures (I won't ruin the surprise for you, but it's been an exciting few weeks). Also, just to throw a kink in my plans, the hard drive on my four year old laptop just died. It was replaced and it's up and running, but it will never be the same (translation: I couldn't retrieve all of my old files and I am heartbroken).

Nature vs. Knitting

2007-06-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

The spectacular Northwest weather won out over knitting this weekend and I spent more time outside than I have in months! I went for a walk and enjoyed some fabulous baked goods on Saturday with a friend, and yesterday hubbie and I went boating with his sister and her new husband. It was great weather and great company all weekend long! Unfortunately, I have very little new knitting to show for it (although I'm pretty far on my flove!). Tonight we're heading to a baseball game, so depending on how good the teams are, I may, or may not, have some great pictures of my baseball knitting tomorrow!

Pictures Galore

2007-05-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Pardon the picture-heavy post, but as you can imagine, a lot has happened in the past week! As you may (or may not) know, I had a birthday, a FO, and an extra day off (although some say holidays don't count, it was a welcome three day weekend).

Before hubbie and I left on our big weekend adventure (which involved a lot of knitting, naturally), we finished planting our garden. Notice how much happier we look here than in our last garden photo! We planted kale, chard, onions, nasturtiums, broccoli, and summer squash. We'll see what pops up first!Here is Kyle doing his voodoo magic on the soil (or maybe he's just sniffing it?):I finished the floves just in time for a friend's birthday this weekend (Yes, I took this picture on the way to her house. I also weaved in all the loose ends on the short drive as well).
My friend is also surprisingly crafty and embroidered some sweet tea towels for my birthday (which I forgot to photograph for you... just trust me - they're sweet).

I also worked on the baby cardigan (I'm currently picking up stitches for the yoke).

In the dark on the LONG drive out of the city, I finally got to the exciting part of hubbie's sweater. Unfortunately, that makes it no longer good for knitting in the dark. I guess I'll have to find some daylight time for this project yet! Last week, I started going to a local SNB, so maybe that would be a good time to work on this... the real question is: do I want to work on this in public?

Love Floves Take 2

2007-05-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

After a failed attempt at usable floves a few years ago, I've never really put my heart behind a flove project since. While browsing someone's website (I'm sorry, I can't remember whose!), I stumbled across the Endpaper Mitts. I LOVE them. I have been trying to do more color work lately, and saw this as a great opportunity.

So, on Sunday, in the poring rain, I walked to my local yarn store and purchased two skeins of fingering wool (since I had a punch card for $25 off, I bought the wool and some needles and only paid a nickel!). The wool is only $5 per skein anyway, so look for several repeats of this project (in Technicolor). A few short, obsessive hours later, and I present to you my flove:

Yes, I am already working on a mate. Don't worry, though. I still found time to do things with hubbie (such as attend a meeting about our garden, cook dinner tonight, and most importantly, beat him at a match of tennis).

Kaleidoscope

2007-05-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Although I've been knitting away on hubbie's sweater waiting for the fun (aka intarsia) to begin, what I've really been dying to do is some fair isle. I love the way it looks, but am usually too cheap to buy the extra yarn (there is so much of the little colors that is left over! I know I may use it eventually, but still).

I chose a great fair isle sweater and Mary Jane booties for my unborn niece (she should be born in July), and I ordered some Knit Picks Shine Sport. I was prepared not to enjoy the yarn. I've ordered Knit Picks before and found that you pay for what you get. Hubbie's last sweater was made from Knit Picks Andes Wool, and I bought some sock yarn I couldn't stand to use from Knit Picks before. I am pleasantly surprised with the Shine Sport and will definitely use it again. It's soft, and I love the way it feels.

The yarn came Thursday night, and I've been knitting like mad ever since (well, the booties are small, so it has only taken a few hours of TV and lunchtime knitting). I'm almost done and am now confident to tackle the sweater. I've been reading some great Elizabeth Zimmerman books and have tried to use some of her fair isle techniques.
Hubbie has to work all weekend, so while he's off playing in the woods, his sweater might be put aside for another (more fun) project!

P-Patch

2007-05-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hubbie and I have been on a wait list at our local p-patch since last February. Finally, last week, I got an email saying that a plot was ready for us. Today, we went to look at it and start working on clearing the 10'x10' plot (which basically was covered in grass and other various weeds).

Here is the plot at 1:00 today:

Here it is at 1:10(with hubbie hard at work):

And here it is at 2:15 (when I'm starting to get tired of all the hard work):

Hopefully we'll have it all cleared and planted next weekend! Look for bountiful crops from our patch this summer.

Natural Consumer

2007-05-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

Just in case you haven't discovered it yet, I'm a shopper. That's right. I love to shop. My idea of a great Saturday afternoon always involves some window shopping. I love spending money too, but for hubbie's sake, I try to control myself. And usually I do.

This week has involved some great purchases, and there are a few more yet to come. I bought the yarn to make my unborn niece a sweater and booties (I'm very excited about this project... I can't wait to master more color work). Hubbie and I bought another car (we are selling our Subaru Outback if you know any new Seattlites looking for a car to fit in the neighborhood).
Yes, our new car is a Prius. We apparently are uber Seattlites with the Prius and the Outback. How much more Northwest could one couple get?

I'm also buying a swimsuit (or two) for our Mexican cruise (there are some good prospects at the Gap that I will try on this weekend). And, now that I have no more excuses, I am buying some new running shoes so I can get off the couch and put my knitting down for at least 30 minutes a day. That way I can be a faster shopper.

I'm thinking of training for the Seattle half marathon in November. Anyone want to join me?

A Few New FOs

2007-05-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

After some prodding, I finally upgraded the look of the blog. I was reluctant since I put a lot of time into the old template, but I really like the new options that blogger has, so I'm totally happy. What do you think?

In my knitting life, I've finished my last bus knitting project, complete with blocking (although some say it's silly to block socks, I thought they looked weird until after I blocked them). I'm still not 100% sure who I am going to give them to, but I think I have a pretty good idea.
I also started a net shopping bag yesterday which is already finished. I didn't realize it would be so fast! I think I might make a few more so that we can have a stash of bags at home and in the car (usually our stash is in one place or the other, and it's never in the right place at the right time).

Hubbie's sweater is still going strong. Actually, I haven't worked on it in a while, since I cast on the front and, a few inches into it, realized that I had been following the directions for the wrong size.

Inspired by Nature

2007-04-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

In an effort to cultivate the best possible NatureKnitter, hubbie took me out on a tour of Seattle this weekend to make my inner and outer beauty shine. We started at a great crafty store where he implored me to find the inspiration to make one new thing and eventually sell it (more about that in a future post). Out of that store came the inspiration for this:

We also toured several boutiques to find items that flattered the very best of my physical frame.

We found some great dresses that I will look at again when getting ready for our upcoming vacation (we're taking a cruise in October to Mexico... look forward to hearing all about it later). Of course, we also took time to stop and smell the roses.
After the trip, I am more inspired and ready to make my world, and my life, a better place. This involves big exciting changes in hubbie's employment (which equal less stability, but more happiness and together time), potential changes in transportation (that will make nature happy) and of course, the aforementioned selling.

Marathon Knitting, Knitting Marathon

2007-04-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

I found ample knitting time this past weekend while driving up to visit my parents (2 hours), driving down to where my dad ran a marathon (1.5 hours), waiting for the ferry home (1.5 hours), on the ferry (30 minutes), and on the rest of the drive home (30 minutes). Of course, the highlight in this knitting marathon was watching my dad run his first full marathon (at 54 years old!). We ran a half marathon back in November together, and dad ran the first half of his marathon faster than we ran before (which was already pretty fast!). I'm trying to convince him to run another marathon next year so that I can join him (it's been a dream of his to qualify for Boston, so I just have to convince him it's a reality so he'll run another with me!). Hubbie won an iPod Nano during March Madness, so I am now equipped with the Nike+ to help keep track of my running (including my pace... I'm very excited about it!).

Anyway, down to the knitting...I worked on the back of hubbie's sweater, and got almost done (please note: My husband is as large as a chair).

I've also been continuing my bus knitting. I'm turning the heel of the second sock and should be on the foot in two more non-crowded rides.

Gone Fishin'

2007-04-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

After looking through hundreds (okay, maybe just dozens) of buttons for the baby cardi, I settled on the fish seen below. I know this isn't the easiest for buttoning, but they are smooth glass (like they were just washed up on the beach in this shape and color), so hopefully that will help!

Anxious to start my next project, the yarn arrived for hubbie's Tribal sweater (from Knitting with Balls) the other day.

Hubbie is excited to have a new sweater, and I have yet to knit him a sweater I feel truly proud of. First there was the monkey sweater (no pictures exist... I'm too embarrassed). The sleeves reach his knees. Next was the druid sweater. The last was the most successful, but I'm not happy with the yolk or color of the sweater. I'm hoping this will be the piece de resistance! The color is nice, the yarn is decent (and only $6 per skien at Hello Knitty!), and the pattern looks good. I started it in the car yesterday, but after about 10 rows, it looks gigantic! I'm going to check my gauge today and think about starting over.

Two Projects Equal Spoiled Babies

2007-03-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

I finally finished some baby projects I started a long time ago. I have a question for each, and would love any opinions!

The first is a cardigan, but I need to get buttons (4). Any suggestions as to what would be adorable? It's a boy sweater for 12 to 18 months.

The next is this owl (I've been keeping this secret for a while... he's so cute!). The pattern calls for a scarf, but since it's April, is a scarf a little too much? Is it perfect the way it is, or does it need more? There's also a tail that is hard to see in the photo.

Also, since I keep cutting off my head in my photos (I've been having a hard time learning how to do my hair!), I have a photo from yesterday where I took time to look pretty (and wore the wrap dress out in public for the first time). Now I need to knit a cardigan for spring weather so I can wear this dress more often without freezing (like I did yesterday).

Finishing

2007-03-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

I took a class last night at Weaving Works on finishing garments. I've always been stumped when it came to blocking, and finally think I have it figured out (thanks to the class, of course). I had to go to the store and buy a new iron (mine didn't steam very well), and it paid off. Finally finished, here is the rusted root sweater:
Notice how uniform the lace looks! Also notice the great new shoes that go so well with the outfit. I fell in love with them online this weekend and found out that they were on sale when I went to the store to buy them. Unfortunately, I bought the wrong size and had to drive to the suburbs to get the right size (and randomly bumped into a friend of hubbie's... that doesn't happen often shopping downtown).

In other shopping news, I bought this dress this weekend at Banana Republic. I love petites that aren't "old lady"-esque, and BR fits that bill for me! It's my new fancy-ish dress that I can wear on those rare special occasions (I realize the new shoes don't look quite as great with this outfit... don't worry, I won't wear them together in public!).Now the only question is: what's next for Nature Knitter? I guess I still have some baby items to knit, including a sweater and toy that are still half finished, and a sweater and booties for my brother's fetus. Look for adorable small things (properly finished) coming soon!

Sweaters Galore!

2007-03-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

After all my perfectionist fits, I finally finished the baby cable sweater. It's super cute! It was a big hit with the mom (pregnant coworker).
There is still another baby sweater on my needles, and a fun baby toy that are both almost done. Look for updates after I give them away (I don't want to ruin any surprise).

In selfish knitting, I'm almost done with the Rusted Root sweater I started last week. I still need to finish one sleeve and neck, and sew it all up. Look for a finished picture soon!

Sniff, Tear

2007-03-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

I was so excited about finishing the sleeves for the cable sweater that I didn't realize my gauge was WAY off until after I finished the first. Then I was too lazy to start over, so I just kept going, telling myself it would look fine. But then, after sewing the first one on (and having hubbie confirm my greatest fears), the perfectionist in me came out.
Darn it! It's not perfect, and therefore, I will have to rip out the sleeves and start over. Urgh! I'm on a short time line, so the majority of my Sunday will be spent on redoing what I should have done right in the first place (and purchasing a wireless card so I can watch trashy TV online while doing so!).

March Madness

2007-03-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently I was waiting until spring officially starts (which in our house is the first day of March Madness) to be truly inspired. Hubbie has a lot at steak in this year's madness (not a lot to lose, but a lot to win), so keep your fingers crossed for VCU to make it to the sweet 16, and for UCLA to win it all (if that happens, I will be blogging to you from Cabo San Lucas!).

I have so many projects that I am excited about knitting! In addition to the blue baby sweater, I am also working on an adorable knit toy. It's too cute to show in progress (plus I want to surprise the baby's mom!). Waiting in the wings is another baby sweater (with matching booties and fair isle involved) and a sweater for hubbie (with a tribal intarsia pattern and maybe a iPod nano pocket involved... the pocket depends on how well VCU does).

After finishing my sock fiasco, I finally cast on a new, fresh pair. These are my bus knitting project, because socks are small enough to fit in my purse and pull out on the bus without having to carry extra baggage or bump into my neighbor too much. These aren't for me, since I'm not crazy about the color (or how the pattern is turning out). These are the Monkey socks from Knitty (on top of my new favorite bag from Fossil. I also love their clothes and can't wait to go on a shopping spree there soon).

In other baby knitting news, I am working on this sweater in addition to the blue sweater. The yarn is Blue Sky Organic cotton yarn in Sage and is the best yarn I've ever used. Yeah. That good. It makes me wish I fit into this sweater! The color is really off in the picture and is gorgeous in real life.

Current Projects

2007-03-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is a glimpse into my world as of today.

I finished the cable and rib socks from the sock exchange. They aren't a mirror image, and I had a really hard time (mainly because I am apparently not good at paying attention to detail), but they came out all right.

I also finished sewing a skirt today. I took a class this afternoon entitled "Copy Your Favorite Garment". I had a dress that I love, but it's the skirt-section that makes it so wonderful. With the help of the instructor, I created a pattern for the skirt and picked out some Tencel fabric. I came home and sewed up a muslin copy, followed by the completion of the actual skirt. I always feel semi-naked in items I sew, since they are poorly finished, so I hope this skirt is different!

I've been working on some baby stuff for various babies (in addition to some socks for convenient bus knitting). Here is a sneak peak at one of the baby projects (no, I will not tell you who it's for... there are several baby possibilities...).

Inspired Crafter

2007-03-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a post in a while because I've been uninspired in life, and in crafting. There has been a (temporary?) upsurge in inspiration lately with babies to knit for, and a sewing class. I have two new projects in the work and a few on the wings that I will start later this week.

Look for photos soon, and sorry for the delay!

Life Away From Knitting

2007-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

After finishing my beautiful sweater, I've been struggling to find more knitting inspiration. Maybe I knit the sweater too quickly and felt nothing could compare.

While taking a few weeks off from knitting, and therefore blogging, I found other things to do (shocking, I know). The highlight was when my grandma came to visit and take me to the opera. Don Giovanni was amazing and I only wish that I could convince hubbie to take me to future fancy cultural events.
I did get him to take me to a play recently, but it was the worst play ever!

I finally picked up some stash yarn and started knitting after being inspired by Hip Knit Hats and their wrap cast on hat idea! I loved the top down hat and am looking forward to knitting more.
I've also begun knitting a random baby blanket for no one. When I'm done, I can add it to my other random baby stuff: raglan handknit sweater (from the fall, which still hasn't been sewn together completely), onesie, and burp clothes. It's a little feminine, so I'll need to wait for a little girl to be born (most of the rest of my baby stash is masculine, so at least I'm evening it out).

Seahawk Hangover

2007-01-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

While poor hubbie was busy crying over his Seahawk loss and drowning his sorrow at his favorite pub, I was busy knitting.

I finished the Central Park Hoodie in record time! I started over New Year's weekend, and today, it's ready to wear!

It is beautiful and I'm calling it my pièce de résistance.
I spent a lot of time making sure everything was perfect: I picked up exactly 2 stitches for every three rows on the button band.

Button band (look closely to see dragonfly button)

I was very careful when picking up stitches for the hood and used kitchener instead of binding off.

Kitchener stitch (look closely across the middle)

I used the perfect mattress stitch when possible and carefully seamed the rest.

Under arm (mattress stitch, with the sleeve set in)

It's wonderful and it fits great. Sorry for all the gratuitous seam shots. I'm just so proud!

Sad News

2007-01-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

Oh, and about that stripped hat that I'm wearing a few posts ago- I did some laundry and washed it on COLD in the DELICATE cycle. I then dried it (this may have been my undoing) on COLD on the DELICATE cycle. It came out too small. Much too small. We gave it to our friends at Whirlyball who have a three month old baby. It's too big for now, but at 9 months, it should fit perfectly (in the dead of summer. Right... good point).

Hubbie Birthday Bash

2007-01-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

Hubbie is now 29. I know, he's feeling very old. His paternal clock is starting to tick very loudly. To celebrate, we played his favorite game: Whirlyball. Although it's expensive, it's totally worth it, and I have to recommend it for any party (especially when there are males involved... I had fun, but the guys seemed to have the most fun). It was great, because it was such a random "sport" (basically like lacross or trackball but in bumpercars with basketball-esque hoops), so no one was really good at it before we played (although some of the boys, hubbie included, had played before).

Hubbie the super star
Here hubbie and I are on different teams (look at the color of the car). Unfortunately, I lost.

On Sunday, hubbie's real birthday, he went snowboarding at a nearby mountain that gives you a free lift ticket on your birthday while I stayed home and knit. I finished the front panels of the Central Park Hoodie and am now on to the sleeves.

In other fun news, while shopping at the newest Whole Foods to open in the area (hubbie and I can't turn down a trip to an overpriced gourmet grocery store), I purchased my first pair of Earth shoes. I. Love. Them. They are the most comfortable shoes ever and were worth every penny. Plus, they show off my socks, and will look great with some hand knit socks. Here they are with my fun work trouser socks (hubbie thinks that trouser socks should be much shorter than knee high... maybe they are on taller women!).

New Year Knitting

2007-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

How much knitting can one get away with on a zillionaire weekend?

About that much.

I conned hubbie to stop at the yarn store on the way out of town on Thursday night so that I could get some Tahki Donegal Tweed yarn (in color #803) and I got started on my Central Park Hoodie right away. Since the Zillionaire lounge is a long drive from our place, I had a lot of time on my hands. I also snuck in some knitting while riding in the Grocery Getter II to the local ski mountain. Although I will never be tempted to buy a mini van, the GGII is very impressive. It was hard to go back to opening and closing my own doors after the remote open/close of the GGII.

Here I am cozy in the back corner (with 6 other adults in the roomy vehicle).

Now I'm back to work and have a lot to do for the next few weeks. I'm hoping to wear the new hoodie for valentine's day, but that might be a little over ambitious. We're planning some more driving vacations for the next few weekends, so I might get some more quality car knitting in.

Selfish Knitting

2006-12-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

Since I finished all of my holiday knitting in record time, I moved on to knitting for myself with my beautiful handspun yarn. It's knitting up beautifully and I wish I had enough to make a sweater with. That will be my next inspiration when I go to the fiber store.

Anyway, I decided to knit a mini clapotis for myself. It's more like a scarf than a shawl, but I think it will work.

Also, in an early Christmas exchange, I got to reveal some secret knitting to hubbie! I made him this hat sneakily and he's been asking for it for months. I kept trying to lie and say it was too hard, but he knew better! Here it is in all of it's glory:

Shhh...

2006-12-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

So, the baby knitting is not for my unconceived child. No, I'm knitting for a real baby. I have a lot of friends, family, and co-workers who are in some stage of baby-having (a lot of pregnant couples, and a few with actual kids). I'm knitting a top secret adorable present for one of them. Here's your only hint:
By the way, do you notice that amazing intarsia? I know. I'm amazing.

I've also been spinning lately in hopes of convincing hubbie that I need a spinning wheel desperately.
You might have seen some of these skeins before, but now I'm through with all of the fiber in this series. I'm thinking of what I should make. Maybe some sort of cabled floves (fingerless gloves... more like an arm tube, really), or a mini clapis (but this might not be enough yarn for that). We'll see!

Seattle Heads

2006-12-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is our first full winter in Seattle. I can’t believe it’s been a year since we moved up here. We’ve settled into life and I’m starting to feel like a true Seattleite. Hubbie and I love being a resource for everyone we know about any hot spot in town: where to go to get great coffee, chocolate, burgers, yarn, you name it, we want to be the ones to tell you where to get it. We still haven’t explored some neighborhoods, and there are still tons of restaurants and bars that we haven’t hit up, but we’re slowly making headway.

Since it’s hubbie’s first winter out in the elements, he’s been begging for a big, warm winter hat. Voila, Hear No Evil from Knitscene. I knit it from Frog Tree Merino Wool Worsted Weight. It’s super soft and was an easy knit. Besides, it looks great! I’m thinking of stealing it from him when he’s not looking.

Up next: adorable baby knitting and possibly something for myself. Stay tuned!

Bitty Baby Booties Galore!

2006-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

So after much procrastination, I finally sewed up the bitty booties last night.
My poor sweet co-worker embroidered them ages ago, and the babies are too big to fit into them (or at least almost), but they are too cute for words. I love the little boy booties. I'm learning to embroider so that I can make an unlimited supply for my kid someday!

SSK v. K2togTBL

2006-12-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

I learned to knit when hubbie and I were still dating. I spent the summer doing an internship with the county parks and rec. department near my hometown. This meant I had a lot of time to myself that summer, since hubbie and friends were far away. My grandma taught me how to cast on, knit, and purl and helped me make hubbie a sweater that took three months of constant knitting.

After that sweater (hearafter refered to as the monkey sweater, since the arms nearly reached the floor), hubbie and I got married and moved to California. Since then, I've been knitting more exciting and challenging work and have had to learn a lot through online videos and books. I'm still learning new things.

For example, I just learned this week that I've been doing SSK all wrong. I didn't realize the difference between SSK (slip, slip, knit) and K2togTBL (Knit 2 together through back loop). They're similar, but now I finally see a slight difference.

Take into evidence exhibit A and exhibit B. I knit A earlier this year and just finished B today. Look closely at the bottom stitch in the vertical rows (hint: Exhibit B has a better, straighter bottom line). This stitch was K2togTBL on exhibit A and SSK on exhibit B. Does anyone else notice a difference? It's a little more visible in person, but here is proof that even knitters who have been at it for a few years still learn new tricks.

Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:

Crafting in the City

2006-12-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Seattle is transformed into a mecca for craftiness! Today, I hit two huge 100+ vendor craft shows full of crafty goodness. The first, Urban Craft Uprising, has been hyped for months. It was full of things I wanted for myself, but couldn't justify buying during the holiday season. I did buy a onsie and burp clothes for non-existant babies. When I see a deserving one, I'll have a gift prepared!

I also made it to a neighborhood show with 115 vendors. This show was amazing and was a much more traditional bazaar. I found some unique, fun gifts here, such as some stamp jigsaw puzzles.
On my walk home, I stopped by the yarn store to pick up the new Knitscene (I'm in love with the Central Park Hoodie) and some hat yarn.

Also, tonight I dragged hubbie and some friends to the local tree lighting celebration. There was cider and sausage dogs, caroling, stomping (very "urban", I know), and jazz. Hubbie won the raffle (along with 3 others) to pull the candy cane switch to light the tree grove (6 measly trees that are tiny... I'll try to go back and take photos of the grove later this week!). I was so proud, and sad that we forgot the camera. After the trees were light, the croud lit candles and sang "Make New Friends" in the round. It was beautiful!

Official Time

2006-11-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

The results have been posted, and dad and I ran the 1/2 marathon in the freezing rain in 1 hour 56 minutes and 35 seconds (dad was a second slower). Amazing!

I'm contemplating several knitting projects and will update you soon on which one(s) I choose.

Winter Wonderland

2006-11-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

After much anticipation and training, dad and I woke up early this morning to be with 6,998 like minded individuals in running the 1/2 marathon in Seattle. Through the rain, cold and puddles, we survived 13.1 miles and managed to do it in under 2 hours (exact time will be bragged about later). Since my goal was 2 hours, I was very happy. Also, I managed to complete yet another running goal by beating my dad in the last few seconds. Here is the photographic proof:
And here we are after we finished, with our finishing metals on, of course!After entertaining my parents for a few more hours, I took a nap and woke up to a true winter scene. I'm sure those of you from snowier places won't be impressed, but it doesn't snow in Seattle! Considering most of the city is under 500 feet, it's no wonder that people are excited about this measly amount of snow (it's doubled since the picture was taken, but I can't go run out every 10 minutes to update you!). Oh, and yes, this sweater was a deal at $20 at Old Navy this weekend.

Okay, finally, I have some knitting to show you. I whipped out a hat last week with leftover scarf yarn from mom's Christmas scarf last year. Look closely to notice the pony tail coming out of the pony tail hole in the back of the hat. It's a tiny bit too short, but I literally had 10 inches of yarn left over when I was all done.
I heart these socks and want to make a pair for every woman I know! Let me know if you're interested and I'll put your name in the pool. They're from a Debbie Bliss pattern (from her Home book), and are knit with Baby Cashmerino yarn. They are delicious, warm, and adorable. If I'm not careful, I am going to buy my yarn store out of all of this yarn!

On a Roll

2006-11-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

With hubbie away for the weekend (or at least a good portion of it) at a work conference, I got some crafting done, at the expense of my duplex which is disgusting at the moment. It came back to haunt me this morning when I couldn't find my bus pass in all the mess. I found it after cleaning tonight, but that was a $3 lesson that I regretted when I had to pay for the bus like a commoner today.

So, after finishing the scarves and other exciting objects posted earlier, I went to the yarn store on Saturday (instead of running... a girl has to have priorities!) to buy some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino to make some delicious house socks for yet another present. I've gotten pretty far on them, through football games and the DaVinci Code:

I'm going for a new sock record. I cast on Saturday around 5:00 pm. I'm going for less than a week. With two days off, I think I have a real shot.

I also finally sewed up this hat:
The hat, though adorable and fun to knit with three different types of cables, is too small (look- you can see ears and eyebrows!). I'm hoping to give it to some little girl. Too bad. I like red. It would match my hat. If only my head was smaller...

Holidays, Here We Come!

2006-11-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

So after wallowing in self pity last week, I finally picked up my knitting to make some progress. Without admitting that I have no life other than knitting, running, working, and sleeping (although I did sneak in some bowling at the Garage, and going to a Sonics game), I finished 4 projects this weekend.

Super secret finished project:

Here are two of the fastest scarves ever! They're just rib (k1,p1) with 6-7 stitches per scarf. They're for two girls who love pink and purple. I'm hoping they're a big hit... I'm not hip to what's cool for little girls anymore.

This project is super top secret, but I wanted to show off my finishing skills. Seam? What seam? This is my first super successful mattress stitch seam (look very closely)!

I still have some big plans for more holiday knitting. I cast one a new pair of socks today and am hoping to finish them and make another pair or two. They're bulky for socks, so that should help. They're also made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Who wouldn't want these socks for a present?!

After such a successful mattress stitch, I think I might finally finish some project that just need sewn together (a hat that is too small... maybe one of the little girls would like it?), and a baby sweater for my unconceived child that we're not yet trying to have, but apparently are semi-prepared for (hey- it already has a sweater... almost)!

Knitting Stand-Still

2006-11-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

With all of my running and cooking (I've been loving squash season!), I haven't had the energy or motivation to knit. I am working on a secret knitting project at work, but haven't gotten nearly far enough. My three home knitting projects have all been neglected for weeks. I'm ready to turn two heels (one project), I realized that my cable count was incorrect on another pair of socks - I started doing 8 row cables and switched to 6 row cables mid-sock. Now I'm not sure how to continue. Do I let the anal side take over and rip out all of the 6 row cables (more than half of the sock that I'm 2/3 done with), or do I just keep going, knowing that it will not match the other perfect sock (which obviously wasn't knit by me). The third project is a felting project that is going super slow (I started in July. It needs to be 44", and it's around 15" right now).

The first part of conquering your problem is admitting it, right? Well, if that's true, I should be back to crafting, and therefore blogging, in no time!

Halloween Running

2006-10-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

Since the awesome high of finishing buttony, I've had a hard time picking up any of my old projects, or starting anything new. I'll work on changing that this week. I have been working on these booties (from Heather Bailey's pattern) for a co-worker's baby. All I really have done so far is cut them out so that another co-worker could embroider them (didn't she do an ab fab job!). I still need to sew them all up, which will be the hard part. I'm hoping this will be the first of three or four pairs we do together for various new babies.

The main reason I haven't crafted lately is that I've been too busy running. I'm still training for the 1/2 marathon (I ran 11 miles earlier today). Yesterday, my friend Willa and I ran the Pumpkin Push 5k. We ran really hard and had a great time!

We also got a free pumpkin at the race. I carved it earlier today (the first pumpkin we've carved in a while). I used my crafting tools to carve the front, and we did a traditional jack-o-lantern face on the back.
I bought candy today and am anxiously awaiting my first trick or treater. As a candy giver, should I dress up too? I just had my old wedding dress hand delivered from my parents house... would it be silly to wear it to give out candy?

Finished Buttony

2006-10-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

This summer, a new bar opened a few blocks from our house. Luckily for hubbie, they serve 130 different beers (yes, hubbie is a beer snob). Unluckily for me, they only serve beer. However, this can work in my favor when I need some knitting time. This Friday, while hubbie was off gallivanting, I finished the buttony sweater.
It looks even better from the side:
A few details for you curious knitters out there: I used just over one skein of Cascade Eco Wool color 8015. Knit on size 8 circular needles (smaller than the size 10 recommended, but perfect tightness). I added some waist shaping to the pattern, but followed the rest (except for length of ribbing). If I could re-do the sweater, I'd make the neck smaller, and make the sweater a tiny bit longer. I still haven't blocked it, so I'm hoping to fix a few mistakes then.

In other exciting weekend news, the in-laws came over and we went to Seahawks Stadium to watch our alma mater smash our rival. Very exciting! The only disappointment was the lack of beer at collegiate sports. For my alma mater, I'm sure that's not such a bad thing...

One Skein

2006-10-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you have seen the huge skeins of Cascade Eco-Wool at the yarn store. I know many of you wonder how far that one skein will go. Apparently this is it:

Please note that this is an XS/S sweater, but having said that, this is amazing! I ran out to buy a second skein tonight from my local yarn store (luckily it's open until 9 PM on Tuesdays!). This yarn is so economical, I'm thinking of knitting hubbie a sweater from it (that is, if I ever take on the task of knitting monstrous sweaters again). At $15 a skein, it's a steal!

In other random news, I'm doing very well on the 1/2 marathon training (I ran 10.5 miles last weekend at once). I'm also back to #2 on my running goals I started so long ago (see sidebar). It may be awhile before #3, but I'm working on it!

Zoo Knitting

2006-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hubbie and I tried our best to enjoy our last day "before the rains", which was sadly yesterday. We had some tickets to the zoo, and, with much emotional/do-humans-have-the-right-to-do-this turmoil, we decided to finally check it out. The animals were amazing! We were slightly reassured in our moral dilemma to know that the zoo does a lot of breeding for the purpose of replenishing the wild popluation. The highlights (although not necessarily the favorite animals) were the grizzley bear and the orangutangs. The bears were massive and beautiful. We watched the orangutangs for a while. One was outside eating broccoli. When he was finished, he took something out of his mouth (which turned out to be chalk) and started drawing on a slate in front of him. It was absolutley amazing! I think he could knit if he was taught (maybe not purl and do fancy-pants things like, well basically anything but knit, but you know what I mean). Speaking of knitting like an animal, I've started feverishly on my next project. I'm knitting a Buttony sweater out of Cascade Eco-wool. I only have one skein (it's huge), but I think I might need a second one eventually, so I may have a hard time matching dye lots (although I think the yarn isn't actually dyed...). The yarn looks scratchy and hippie-esque, but it's actually really soft! I'm looking forward to wearing this eventually!

Bus Knitters

2006-10-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

When I got on the bus this afternoon, there was only one seat in the front section. Imagine my surprise when I sat down and realized the woman next to me was knitting socks! In my 10 months of riding the bus, I've seen less than 6 other knitters, and I've never gotten to sit next to them (or wasn't brave enough to move in order to sit next to them). I'm still working on the secret socks (which I proudly showed off to my fellow knitter). In my SSS socks, I've turned the heel. I know that Holly Jo had a lot of issues with the heel and was worried that I wouldn't be able to copy it. I didn't follow directions exactly (I figured that a yarn over was a yarn over, no matter how it got there), but you can see very little (or no) difference between the two heels. Yeah!

First Heel (by Holly Jo):

Second heel (by me):

I'll keep you posted when I get more knitting done!

Not Much Knitting

2006-10-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I haven't knit much this week, and don't have much progress to report. I did go to the coffee shop and knit with the neighborhood knitting group. I also have been training for the 1/2 marathon that I'm running in November with my dad. I went on my first long run (it was only 7 miles, so I still have a lot to go) today. It was great! I think the new shoes I bought from the local running store was what made the whole thing so great. I've also been brushing up on my tennis skills... hopefully next time I play, I'll beat hubbie (we played earlier this week after I ran 5 miles, so he was at a clear advantage).

More knitting next week, I promise!

Finished and Dyed

2006-10-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here, as promised, is the new cardigan/shrug in "professional" mode:

Finished Cardigan/Shrug

2006-10-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve been wanting some cardigan for a long time, and keep complaining that I don’t have any good “cover up” warm stuff for fall. I started working on something to solve that with some hand spun yarn a long time ago (yeah, I spun it, so it’s pretty uneven... especially since this yarn was from my first “big spin”). I had a hard time because I realized half way through that it wouldn’t have front panels, just sleeves and a back, so it would look a little funny. I was trying to figure out how to pick up stitches (without looking like I was knitting sideways), when I stumbled across this.

I immediately frogged my first project, and started Saturday afternoon knitting away on the new and improved design (it was actually on the way to a birthday party, so I missed some significant knitting time that night), and this evening, I have a new cardigan/shrug! I also had to help hubbie today at work, so I had very little knitting time today either (it was really a very quick knit obviously).

On the way home from his work today, we stopped off and bought some Rit dye and a pin so that I can wear it tomorrow.

I dyed the yarn with koolaid, but am not a huge fan of the barely-pink-and-green results. I also don’t wear much pink or green, so I thought a nice shade of grey would be much more versatile. I was nervous using Rit, since it doesn’t mention wool anywhere on the package, but it looks like it turned out very nicely. It’s drying now (which is mainly why the color looks so uneven), but look forward to seeing it with a professional outfit soon!

On a side note, I went on a shopping spree with a friend on Friday and realized how lame I’ve been dressing/looking. I’m kicking it up a notch (with a new bra thanks to the bra-fitting-ladies at Nordstrom.... let me tell you, I was way off on what size I had been buying... and some new pieces for the wardrobe, I’m half way there! Now if only hubbie would let me shop more often....).

Surprise and Super Secret Project

2006-09-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

This morning I was rushing out of the door to catch the bus on time, and I tripped over my second sock sydrome package. What a great surprise (especially since I have yet to mail my package)! Inside I found a great sock:

along with some Koigu yarn and a sock book. I'm so excited to work on these socks. I've never made cabled socks before, but I love cables and I love socks, so it seems like a natural step. Holly Jo seemed a little worried about the directions for the heel, but I'm sure it will be fine (and it's a good thing I'm not a perfectionist!). These socks also have a different bind off system and I'm excited to do something new.
This of course called for an emergency trip to the yarn store during lunch today to buy size 1 needles. It was a gorgeous Seattle day, so it was nice to get out!

Speaking of socks, I have been working on a super secret project. Luckily for you, the socks themselves aren't a secret, just who they are for. I'm using the Mata Hari pattern that I used with my last sock with a toe-up twist.

So now the only question is: which project deserves to be my bus knitting? Should I be selfish and start the cable sock or should I finish the super secret project first?

Finished Tivoli

2006-09-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

The Tivoli top I started earlier this year (was it spring or summer? I can't remember) is finally finished. Hubbie is not a fan, and I'm not crazy about the abrupt color changes, but the yarn was on sale, and I wanted to try the pattern.

This afternoon, while I spin some of the roving I also bought this spring or summer, hubbie and I are excitedly watching the Seahawks game. That's the number one reason hubbie wanted to move back to Washington, so we could see every Seahawks game. I admit, I'm not a big sports fan, but if it has to be played, why can't Seattle win! Go Hawks!

Razor Sharp

2006-09-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

I am so impressed with Erin! I barely showed a picture of the tank I was working on, and she knew right away that I was busy making a Razor Cami. That's a good fashion eye!

I actually used some lace weight yarn from Erin (denim something-or-other), as she was my super secret pal recently, to make this tank. I didn't keep track of gauge, but I did add 12 stitches to the pattern. I didn't use any contrasting yarn, as the pattern called for, and you can see the top is kind of wavy. I will need to do something to even it out, but I'm not sure what. Maybe I can use some of my super secret sock yarn to make one row of contrasting crochet or something... Any ideas are welcome!

I miss socks already and am planning a super secret sock project. I'll show you when I'm finished, but if you ask, I know nothing.

Sunny September

2006-09-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

In an exciting twist of fate, hubbie has lost a bet to a friend of ours and was forced to buy me flowers (now that's my kind of bet!). The flowers are beautiful and they highlight the sun that keeps shining through my window (despite foggy mornings).
In honor of the late summer, I am trying desperately to finish this tank top before it gets too cold. I'm just about to divide the front and back, and then it will be very close! It's been my bus project, and has had a few unfortunate snars (since it's lace weight yarn). I need to be more careful!

This past weekend, I put the knitting down (at least for a few hours) while I went to the state fair with my parents. My mom forced me to go on crazy rides (where she was very lucky that I didn't get sick on her).This is obviously the before picture.

Totally Rude

2006-09-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I was so rude! I thanked my secret pal, but I didn't tell you who she was or link to her website (sorry Erin!). My wonderful secret pal for this round was Erin of Swearing Off Profanity. You should go visit her and wish her luck in her first quarter at college (or maybe her school is on the semester system...).

Speaking of rude, why is it that the people who ride my bus can't keep their information to themselves?! I was standing near the front (because yes, it really was that full at 4:00 on a Thursday) and heard some lady going on and on about how sick she is and how she should really be in her car because she's so sick. This leaves me thinking either she's the rudest lady ever (thank god she didn't sneeze on me) or she's just trying to convince everyone that she really does have a car and isn't forced to ride the bus like the rest of us.

In knitting news, I finished the sock for my second sock syndrome swapper (for you non-knitters, I am knitting one sock for someone and send it to them with yarn for the second sock which they must knit for themselves). I love it and had to model it (I hope that's not gross!). As you may know, I am obsessed with finding a slimming sock, and I think this might be it. I can't wait to make one for myself!

The sock is with the Mata Hari inspiration as seen on Julia's blog. I used Koigu KPPPM sock yarn at a gauge of 6.5 st./inch on one long size 2 needle. Yes, of course that's a short row heel you see (would it be anything else)? I realize I'm pretty bad at chronicling my knitting specifics on FOs, so I'm trying to be better.

Now if only I could get to the post office to mail off the fun sock!

Sock Love

2006-09-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

In what may be the fastest sock knitting ever (or at least by me), hubbie's socks are finished. He is very excited and has been wearing them every day since then.

I'm also working on a new sock knitting record, knitting the sock for the second sock syndrome exchange. I started on Saturday and have already turned the heel! I knit during several waiting-for-concert times at Bumbershoot**, on the bus (as always), walking to and from the gym. I'm just about to start the toe decreases, but am having a hard time deciding exactly how to do it. I'm kind of picky in my pattern pieces (I have a certain heel I like, and now I need to find the perfect toe).

**No, I did not get to see the Yarn Harlot or Knitta. I chose the one day that no famous knitters were coming. We did see some great bands: Matt Costa, Andrew Heringer, Great Big Sea, and some short films involving dance (yeah, hubbie loved it) and a wonderful monologist (how do you get that job? I could totally sit on a stage and talk for 2 hours).

In other funness this weekend, hubbie and I went on a short letterboxing adventure all the way out in West Seattle (we haven't even ventured out there together yet). Yes, that's a super cute new haircut that I'm showing off in the picture. Look mom, bangs!
On the way back, we stopped off at the Seattle Yarn Gallery (not to be confused with Fiber Gallery in my neighborhood). It was a great store! I can't wait to go back when I can actually buy something (I have way too much yarn and too many potential projects right now). To wrap up our busy weekend, we went on an Argosy Cruise around Seattle with some friends and saw some great sunset views of the city (unfortunately my pictures are all just blurry lights). It was a great end to our first Seattle summer!

Yarn-tastic!

2006-08-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

My secret pal sent my grand finale present! I love all of the fabulous yarn and the fun needles. In the past few weeks, I've received two great blue sock yarns... now the only question I have to answer is which one do I start with! If that's my only problem, I think my life is set!
Thanks again pal!

Headbands Again

2006-08-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I mentioned that hubbie demanded 10 more headbands just like the first. I managed to knock three more off today. I discovered Pacific Fabrics, a great (slightly more expensive) alternative to Joann's. I love going into craft stores where the employees truly are crafters and the store isn't trashy and cheap (like K-Mart). Maybe I'll accomplish something else crafty soon, but for now I am loving the headbands!

Deja Vu

2006-08-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend, hubbie took me camping to the ice caves with his friends. It was a good thing I had time to make the headband before we went, because it went very well with the greasy haven't-showered-in-two-days hair that comes with camping.

While sitting around the campfire, I knit away on the baby raglan sweater I started in July. I finished all the pieces, but still have to sew them all together, which for me is the hardest part!

When hubbie came home from work on Friday, he was very impressed with the headband, claiming it made me look younger and fun (although how can I possibly look any younger?). He insisted on 10 more just like it. I completed one, but apparently still have nine more to go.

Second Sock Syndrome Swap Questionnaire

2006-08-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

1. What are you favorite sock yarns? I have to admit, I like nice sock yarns. My favorite is KPPM, but I also like Cherry Hill sock yarn, Lorna's Laces, and Mountain Colors Barefoot. I'd love to try a new sock yarn, but would like a similar quality yarn. I'd love to see something I haven't used before that's nice (I hear good things about socks that rock, and I'm sure there are tons of similar yarns out there that I have yet to discover).
2. What are your least favorite sock yarns? Anything you just cannot use? Anything that isn't natural fibers (a little spandex is okay). I also am not a huge fan of cotton sock yarns.
3. What method do you prefer to use (DPN's, 2 circs, 1 circ, etc.) I just learned the one circular needle method and am a huge fan. I also hugely prefer the short roe heel over the heel flap/gusset method.
4. Is there any method that you cannot use? No.
5. What are you favorite colors? I like a lot of different colors. Specifically blues and greens, but other color socks are also fun. I've included a picture of all of my handknit socks to see what I like:(the first and third are my least favorites)
6. Are you a beginner, intermediate, or more advanced sock knitter? Semi-advanced. Cables and lace don't scare me at all!
7. Any other info you want to share (such as other likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc)? I like being outside, crafting, reading, sleeping, exploring nearby neighborhoods, running races with my dad.
8. What size is your foot (so your partner can create the right size sock)? 6.5 (8" around arch, 8.5" from toe to heel)

Hooray for my New Headband!

2006-08-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

While looking at these super cute baby booties (designed by Heather Bailey) on Boogie Knits, I was inspired to sew. Unfortunately, I'm not sure these would be manly enough for my little baby friends (or, more realistically, my little father friends), but I came across this headband on Heather's site. I'm still working on my confidence in sewing (although my grandmother and the duvet helped a lot), so I gave it a whirl. While my husband was on his commute home, I quickly whipped this sucker up. I'm still not sure I can pull off the headband look, but I was inspired by a co-worker with an adorable pink headband earlier today. Maybe with a little practice (and her advice), I can become semi-fashionable after all!

Riding the Bus With My Knitting

2006-08-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

So I've instituted a new knitting strategy: bring my knitting to work. This way, I can knit while I wait for the bus, on the bus, walking to work (depending on what I'm carrying), at lunch, and on the way home. So far it's worked well and I've whipped out some dishcloths for my secret pal (who will soon know who I am, or who she is).

This leads me to some small complaints about the metro bus system.

Why are the busses so crowded? As you can imagine, I have yet to figure out how to knit while standing on a moving vehicle. This means I can only actually knit on the bus when I get to sit down.
Why are the seats so small? Apparently the average person who rides the bus in the city is not skinny (maybe if they were, they'd ride their bike instead... unless they're afraid of traffic, like me), and does not fit in the seat provided. This makes knitting awquard, as I don't want to accidentally poke anyone with my needles.
Why are people so rude? I understand handicap people, people who talk to themselves, and grossly obese people needing two seats, but on a crowded bus, why would anyone else be so selfish as to take up two seats? I asked a man with several bags today if I could sit down, and he said he had too many bags. That is crap. I've ridden the bus with obnoxious baggage before (physical, not emotional), and know how to contain my stuff in my own seat. Really!

In other, non-ranting news, hubbie and I canned some applesauce tonight. I conned the poor man into cutting up the apples (although he made me peel them myself) and helping me cook, can, and process the sauce. I don't have a canner, and my pots weren't tall enough to put the cans in upright, so I hope they all 'pop' tonight while I'm sleeping (like Santa Claus).

I heart socks!

2006-08-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, I love socks! I won a contest throught Secret Pal 8, and came home this afternoon to the below sock yarn and card at my door. It was very exciting.

This weekend, I had lots of time in the car to knit hubbie's socks. We went to visit my parents, and I finally learned how to use my sewing machine (thanks grandma!). I bought this fancy duvet cover, but it was too big (and it was not cheap people!). With grandma's help and guidance, I learned to create button holes and sew on buttons. It's the beautiful background to the sock photo. I also got to knit during the outdoor movie we went to see: Whale Rider. The rest of the family was not nearly as enthralled as I was, but I think this movie is the greatest movie this year (although it might have come out last year). Regardless. Go see it. It's great (a little slow though, so perfect for knitting socks while watching).

Of course, I don't want to gloss over our other exciting activities which included the waterslides (thank God no pictures, huh mom?), and blueberry picking. I forced hubbie and dad into slave labor to pick me 9 lbs. At $1.25 per pound, it was an incredible steal (especially considering how much I love blueberries!).
At the farm, I also got the recipe and inspiration to create sweet cucumber chips (like bread and butter pickles). Delicious!

Productivity

2006-08-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

After finally recovering from hubbie's reunion (and having more fun than I admitted at the neglected spouses tables), I've been doing a lot of crafting lately. It's been my excuse for not going to the gym. This week, it's worked, but I'm not sure that I can pull it off again next week.

I finally started another pair of socks. I'm using the Universal Toe Up sock pattern that was the surprise on Knitty this summer. They're for hubbie and I think they might be from Lorna's Laces Camouflage. I guess that's the problem when you get so excited about some yarn and wind it up into a ball right away, throwing away all labels, and then pick it up a year later to actually knit with. I also have to mention how much I LOVE the whole knitting-two-socks-at-once-on-one-long-circular-needle thing! This is the second pair that I'm using this technique (and my first ever toe up pair) and I don't think I'll ever go back to the old, archaic way of things.

I've also picked up my spindle again and have almost finished another skein (until the tragedy of the center pull ball happened... I don't want to talk about it because I will start to cry, but basically the center yarn in the ball broke and I can't find the rest of it!).

And in a final effort this summer, I've worked a little more on the picovoli. I'm hoping to actually finish it while it's still summer.

Hubbie-centric weekend

2006-08-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed over to hubbie's hometown for his high school reunion. In addition to sitting at the neglected spouse's table at the bar on Friday, the picnic on Saturday, the dinner on Saturday evening, and the bar again on Saturday night, we also had a family reunion. I'm very lucky that I actually like hubbie's family, so that was probably the better part of the weekend (although all of the high school stories were fascinating, hubbie, I swear!).

One of the lucky recipients of my handknit dishrags was my mother-in-law. I only managed to knit two when I had hoped to make three for her (maybe she'll get one as a surprise at a later date).

This is probably the reason I only knit two:

This is my iPod's new friend (they look very similar when it's closed). I won a Nintendo DS at my company picnic last week, and I've been playing the Sims 2 ever since (it's recharging right now so I have time to blog). Hopefully I can break its spell over me so that I can finish the dishcloths for the next lucky lady!