Small Things

In addition to the bear sweater I have knit a few other little things. First is a tiny pair of baby booties that I am not sure will fit a newborn they are so small.

I also made myself a felted bag to keep my spinning wheel tools close at hand while spinning (I used some yarn leftover from my hand spun sweater)

Last but not least I got a good amount of hand carding and spinning done. This purple Romney yarn is destined to be paired with some natural grey Romney on the loom (I still need to spin that). I am not sure what the end product will be yet, I just know I want to weave with it.

Fly By

Here is a quick pic of the sweater with the buttons on...it went off in the mail today to it's tiny intended wearer.Loved knitting it...

Backyard Visitors, Crafty Things, Halloween

We have had several backyard visitors lately, only one of which I have managed to get a photo of. The guy I captured on camera is here:
A cute little common tree frog that I rescued from the children and placed on the branch of one of our backyard trees. The others have been birds. A couple of small ones and then there is the great bluebird that comes by. It's color is so vibrant and I just wish I could get a photo of it but every time I try to sneak up to get my camera it flies away. I am nearly ready to just sit with camera in hand but it only comes by about once a week.

As for the crafty things, there have been several. First I combed up some fiber I bought while at the Puyallup fair for the Sheep to Shawl...I ended up with these rolags in addition to the combed fiber:I decided to spin one up and I LOVE the color progression...however the way it looks in the hank:is so much better than when knit...
that I think I'll spin it more randomly, rather than in color order, or at least make much shorter color changes because the blocks of color remind me of 1970's appliances, but the yarn itself reminds me of fall. I'll try that and we'll see what I come up with.

I have also been doing a bit of sewing. First up was remaking some costumes for Alexis. She bought a couple from a lady on Craigslist and was sorely dissapointed...they were overalls for Super Mario Brother's but they were basically felt that was handsewn, which is fine, it just wasn't done well at all. here are a couple of shots of the originals:

Basically you have jagged edges, the button holes are just slits in the fabric, the buttons are the wrong color for the characters and the legs were simply hacked off at the bottom, they were not even cut to the same length on each leg and the straps were of variable widths.Here is what I ended up with after about 3.5 hours of my time:Buttons of the proper color, EVERY edge finished, legs the same length and hey look at that a hem:After finishing for Alexis I did some mending on the costume we bought for Abigail because she was a tad small for it but now the wings fit and the dress stays on her shoulders...here are my cutie pies in their costumes:Jacob orignally wanted him and Abby to be Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat, but chnaged his mind about a week before Halloween to be Buzz Lightyear, so Abby got to pick out a costume. She didn't care what it was as long as she got to wear those wings. We decided she was a fairy princess.

And last but not least I whipped out a sweater in a couple of days...I have been dying to make a project out of the new book I got while up on Orcas with the kids and I dug into my stash and found enough of the yarn from Jake's sweater left over to make an infant size for Mason. It only took a couple of days (real time it only took a few hours - around 5 or 6) and it was a ton of fun to kit...I may try to adapt it into an adult size it was so fun and easy.and it's cuter with the buttons on, but I took the picture before I had bought the buttons...oh well I'll have to try to remember to post a pic later.

TTFN.

Not much blogging - but there has been knitting!

I have been spending less time on the computer this last week or two and more time with the yarn and needles. I don't actually have any pictures to show y'all what I have been knitting on but I have indeed been knitting.

Mostly on 3 things. The first is that darned ol' black lace shawl that I started a year ago in May. I am determined to have it done before the end of the year. Also a beautiful knitted shirt that I can't wait to wear. It is found in the book French Girl Knits and is the pattern Anjou...I can't get a pic to upload so pop on over to Ravelry to check it out ifyou are so inclined.
The third thing (well set of things) is two teeny tiny hats and a pair of socks for my brand new nephew Mason Everett James Silvers. He came 10 weeks early on August 7th at 12: 57 am, as his mom was stricken with preeclampsia and had to be delivered but everyone is doing well. He weighs in at 2lbs 13oz and 15inches long.

I used one ball of Sublime baby chasmere merino silk and it was so deliciously soft! From an 11 dollar ball of yarn I was able to get two hats and a pair of socks that seemed impossibly small for a human being but I think will actually be to big for him for a little while (which is ok because I think that they have lines in his feet for now). The best part is that it is machine washable wich was awesome to find with someth that has cashmere in it.

I didn't have a chance to photograph them as I started knitting on them on Thursdsay and they went out the door the second they were off the needles on Friday afternoon so they could hitch a ride with Grandma and Papa to meet little Mason.

Some Productivity

I have been rather addicted to my little turkish drop spindle. Ron (Brian's step-dad) noticed and made me a couple more! I am impressed and I am ready to start spinning on them...For now I don't have pics but I'll take some soon.

Also I finished the singles on my second skein of the alpaca on Friday and yesterday I plyed and set the twist so this morning I have more yarn! I have also decided what I am going to do with it...I will be making a lacy scarf by Nancy Bush. The pattern is called A Stork's Nest Scarf and it can be found in the Knititing Traditions special that was recently put out by Interweave Press.

I have been really inspired by Nacy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia that I got for Christmas and will be knitting several of the patterns from there as soon as I finish the Fountain Pen Shawl that I am working on for Julie. I had set is aside for a while and getting this book has really inspired me to work on it again.

I also decided to make some socks for Abby with the yarn leftover from my Soxual Persuasion socks...I am using the same pattern with one less pattern repeat so they are 40 stitches around instead of 60. They should fit her just right.

The sock parade continues

I felt the need to make something that would grant satisfaction fairly quickly so I whipped out a pair of socks for Abby out of my handspun...took about 2 days (only a few hours really but you know all the running around over the weekend slowed me down).

I also did a little bit of the yarn crawl on Saturday and made a couple of purchases:

Above is a beautiful sock yarn that I have been eying for a while. Below is a linen/rayon blend that I will use for a soap sack.

Hang Ups

We all have our own little quirks and whatnots. I have finally figured out one of my hang ups. For some reason I can't get it out of my head that I can't blog unless I have pictures to post. Now I realize that this is ridiculous but for some reason that has been why I have been putting off posting.

So I am trying to get over it. I'll post pics when I have them and not worry about it in the meantime.

Projects I am working on:

The pukish/black colored socks for Andrew. Trust me the colors are totally him. I will be glad to be done with them because I feel like they are taking forever and I am getting tired of looking at them. He does have some pretty big feet though, so maybe that is why it feels like they are taking so long. Actually, I think I may have a pic of the first one finished...

Just a size refrence in the above photo the foot is 12" from heel to toe. This is not a HUGE foot, but since the only other socks I have made are for newborns and myself it is quite a departure size-wise.Everyone thank the reluctant foot model, my Husband, for posing in socks that make his teeth itch (Don't worry, he isn't the sort to wear handmade socks, or wool at all for that matter, the intended recipient however, is and will love them).

I am also working on a pair of Corsett gloves for Amber for Christmas...pics to come later.

The only other thing I have currently in the works is some handspun yarn...I am proud to say I have finished my first bit of spinning with a drop-spindle. I really really love it. The yarn came out to be about worsted weight, maybe slightly bulkier, is of course a single ply and sort-of a novelty yarn as it goes from thick to thin to thick, etc. (common for beggining spinners). I have hanked, washed and set the twist, now I just need to ball it up for use... Not sure what it will become yet, probably a scarf and/or hat. 120yds was the yield so I am not exactly sure what I can get out of that much yarn...at least a scarf though. I am also working on making some teddy bears...Here is a pic of the first one I made...since then I have gotten some much neater fabric to use: No eyes you say? I want them to be completely infant friendly so no buttons, etc. to be chewed on.

I have recently finished a hat to match the sweater for Abby,
And a pair of newborn sized socks for my neighbor's brand new baby:
Some other things...I am finishing off the roving I used for the blue yarn in a finer thread so I can attempt to teach myself plying and possibly get a pair of socks out of it (we'll see if I have enough...I have tiny feet...it helps).
Also I made a drop-spindle just to see if I could make one that functions and I want a lighter weight spindle for finer yarns:
Ta-Da! It works but the whorl needs to be heavier (stops spinning too soon and rather rapidly reverses direction)...I'll look to see what I can find at the store today that might do the trick, not sure if I'll be able to find what I am looking for as I had a hard enough time as it was finding the one I did (a toy car wheel purchased at a large chain craft store). The construction was easy...drill tiny hole in dowel end, insert tea-cup hook, slide dowel through wheel (the dowel and wheel are a perfect tight fit so there is none of that whorl sliding down business and no glue, etc. involved). Total cost was about $0.80.

In other construction news...I decided that instead of spending $17.00 on a niddy-noddy (for hanking yarn) I would make one:
That's nothin' but pvc pipe folks...5 lengths, two 't-joints' and 4 end-caps. Total cost: about $5.00. The beauty of having one of pvc is that I can set the twist without having to move the yarn off of the niddy noddy. My Darling can not escape the Engineer inside and has already brainstormed a way to put it on a stand so it will spin around as I wrap the yarn (similar to a swift).

Oh and I got some goodies too!

At the fair I got some of this beautiful roving. It is very pretty I think. I am eager to see how it spins up. I don't know enough yet about fiber to tell you anything more than it is wool and I think alpaca.
The other goody I got is some of this beautiful roving that is silk and something I can't remember. I got it at my LYS.That's about it for right now.

The sweater is finished!

After much searching Brian found some really nice grey buttons that compliment the two pinks to complete the sweater for Abby. I like the way it turned out. Now I just need to put it in a safe place that doesn't involve me forgetting where that safe place is once I want to put it on her a year from now.

While finishing the sweater I had a little too much 'help' from Jake...So I gave him a set of (dull, don't worry) circulars and the other sweater I had finished so he could 'knit too.' Maybe I have a future knitter...
And also...what is on the needles now...I am trying the 2-socks-at-once method on circular 'magic loop' needles...we'll see how it goes...this is the current mess I am wading through:

I am a firm believer in just following the directions/pattern and it will all eventually make sense (barring any errors in the pattern of course). I have cast these on 3 times and I think the third time really is the charm...

Toddler Olympics

In the spirit of the Olympic games going on right now I bring you a brief list of events in which my son and I have competed in the last few days:

The 100m Diaper Dash - in which toddler tells mom 'poop' while pointing at diaper (style points awarded for creativity) and then runs away as soon as a fresh diaper is in view. Again, style points for creativity such as running under the kitchen table or making it to the stairs.

Fingernail Fencing - in which mom tries to cut the long, scratchy fingernails of a squirming 19 month old. (rules clarification - if you must use distraction technique like cartoons, points are deducted from overall score).

Hammer Throw - how many toys can we get taken away in a single day for hitting with/throwning them? The bigger the tantrum, the better your score.

Dancing with Mom Decathalon - Dance with your mommy. Hold her hand. Show her how to stop your foot and swing your hips. Spin all around, make her pick you up for a slow song. Better scores are generally awarded to those who can get Daddy involved too.

Yogurt Wrestling - Freestyle - Eat your yogurt. Ask for more. Eat half of it - spread the other half about yourself and your surroudings in the most creative messy way possible. Extra points awarded if mom has to lift you straight into the bathtub from high chair.

Toy Box Relay - Help mom pick up toys and get them into the toybox. Better scores awarded to teams in which the toddler is the one to do the most bending over.

Thwart the Clean Floor Exercises - As mom tries to sweep the floor, take your broom or the dust pan broom and systematically sweep moms pile around the room - winner is the one that makes mom give up and wait until nap time to finish sweeping.

Highchair High Jump - See if you can escape from apparatus while mom is getting the rag to wipe you down. Higher difficulty points if you are a)properly strapped in and b)if you can do it without hurting yourself or any household pets.

And now some photo highlights of these games:

Here is our athlete giving his best pout/tantrum face during the Hammer Throw:

Here we are enjoying Yogurt Wrestling Freestyle - this athlete was awarded 'straight to the tub' points:

Dancing with mom Decathalon - both of our athletes are looking pretty tired, but never the less have put on a stunning performance in front of Dad.

Last but not least after our Little Olympian went to bed I made progress on the sweater. I would have finished but it was just to damn hot to knit last night (crazy I know, but even the smallest amount of wool in my lap made my brain itch).

Domesticity

Yesterday was pretty much 'do all the housework day.' Nothing exciting unless you find dishes and the vacuum exciting (I don't want to know if you do).

I finished the body and neckband of the sweater. Just arms and button bands to go...I may finish tonight or tomorrow. Then I can get back to the socks. Or maybe something different alltogether, like another scrapbook page or finishing that quilt that I started (which one you ask? ha! I'll never tell - we all know I have at least a dozen unfinished projects hiding in my sewing room.

Anyway, here is the sweater:

Starting to look like a sweater

See I told ya. It's for the little person growing in here:
Looks a little big for her at this point...It probably won't even fit her for another year but it's still looking pretty cute don'tcha think? Brian picked the colors...I think he did an awesome job too. So hopefully I will have the body finished, a neck and perhaps an arm by the end of the day (assuming there are no more attempts on the lives of the fish that is).

Knitting fever

Well I have been doing several things over the last few days. Mostly knitting and cleaning the house. By cleaning the house I mean the crap that no one ever wants to do like wiping the cabinet faces and washing windows...stuff you never really notice until you do it how much of a difference it makes in how clean things look.

Anyways the fun stuff...the knitting...here is what I have been doing:

Started a pair of socks for a friend...Then stopped when the Olympic torch was lit so I could begin my projects for the Ravelympics...
Then started to finish this:

Yay the sweater is done! Then I cast this on:

Yup, yet another sweater...but this one is for my daughter so I have a little more motivation...then again these sweaters do come together pretty quickly...anyway I'll keep the progress coming...back to knitting...

Some stuff I've been doing

Mostly just cleaning the house because we are trying to sell it...

However since 'my room' (sewing/crafting space) is now clean I have been more motivated to do things. I also have been knitting like a mad woman cuz I think I love it and I think I am ready to try to draft a pattern (we'll see how well that goes).

So...here are a few pics of what I have been up to:

These are the socks I made for our daughter to be. Brian asked me to make them for him so he could have something for his wall at work. He even picked out the yarn.

Here we have the sweater I made for Jake. I loved making it and he seems to love wearing it. Yay!

These are the socks that I made for my Aunt Patty for Christmas. I improvised a pattern I found in a magazine. I hope she likes wearing them.

These are the socks I made for me. I love them so much. I think they are by far the prettiest socks I have ever owned and certainly the most comfortable (made just for my foot, go figure).

This is a sweater I was actually paid to make (cool huh?). It's just like Jake's only with a hood and I learned how to get the button holes even n this one too. Look at that model, ain't he cute?

I have a few more things in the works but I am out of time for posting as said model is awake and hungry (and probably needs a clean diaper from the smell of things).