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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Fine film

I am still chuckling about DiscoDame's reaction to our "creature feature" on Christmas day. We watched It Came From Beneath the Sea! while we were having dinner (ham, seasoned & roasted cauliflower, rosemary red taters, and collard greens). Every time the beast came onscreen I made sure to scream loudly; the first time Disco dropped her fork, and she jumped *every* *single* *time* afterwards. So worth the hassle (trying to find Barnes & Noble out in Cool Springs -- twice! -- while every freakin' redneck in three counties was zipping around there too), and the $ spent.
I am still working on the Every Way Wrap.2, and Pup's sock(s), and the tiny garter stitch kimono, and I even picked up Dolly Blankie #3 a few times. Shall I make a resolution? Continental knitting is supposed to be so much faster; I believe I'll make it my goal this year to become proficient in Continental style knitting. I have enough yarn for another Every Way Wrap--which I'll make ala Continental style, once I feel I can handle it. There's lots of purling in the EWW, so I'll have to really get good at Continental purling before I attempt another EWW. I was reading about a similar wrap, the Every Which Way Wrap, with lace in it. You know I loves me some lace. Anyway, I'll have to search Ravelry for it. Meanwhile (back at the ranch), I've still got the second Janet beret on the needles; my current lace fixation.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

WIN IT!!

OOO, I'm trying to win this HP Touchsmart computer, and if I blog it I get another entry! Go to here:
http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2011/11/hp-touchsmart-320-pc-review-and.html
and enter to win, gotta do it today 'coz it closes real soon! Good luck!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Then again--

Oh, the Knitting Gods are laughing now. "No holiday knitting, huh? GUESS AGAIN!" What can I say, I've been thinking of dear old Dad a lot lately, and just had to start on his Steelers socks. I bought six hanks of the Steelers colorway by Claudia Hand Painted, meaning to make a pair each for Dad, Disco & myself. Well, Dad wears size 10.5 shoes, and his socks were gonna take more than two hanks. So last Thursday I carried Disco over to the Haus of Yarn & bought some kettle dyed black fingering Malabrigo--my very first Malabrigo, woo-hoo!--which I'll be using for the heels & toes of all 3 pairs. If I have any left over, I might make either Tiny Baby Bunnies or Hamsterbeans--you seriously need to search Ravelry for Hamsterbeans! Very silly & cute. The Tiny Baby Bunnies are by Anna Hravoc (?sp?), some of her mini-mochi's. Also very cute. Neither of these patterns is actually suitable for small children, but for bigger "kids" they'd be cute to tuck into unexpected spots (the lunchbox, the linen closet--that kind of place; get yer head outta the gutter!). Check the comments on the last post--got a reply from the Thanksgiving Creature-watcher! And I corrected the effects guy's last name...I think. While I was gone from the office, my name was drawn for the October perfect attendance prize--4 free movie tickets!Sounds like I'll be seeing a holiday movie soon.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Holiday knitting...NOT

Seriously, what with the reception my holiday handknits have had in the office, I've decided to just not knit for these folks. As for the family, well..Miss A has her gorgeous hat, Princess T's hat & mitts lack only the embroidery on the mitts, and I haven't a clue what I'd knit for Sis. Pup still needs his Steelers socks, but I've told him not to hold his breath.
I have started holiday shopping: I bought a calendar for a friend, and a movie for ME. When I was just a little sprout, dear ol' Pup loved a particular cheesy monster movie. It's a 1955 release from Universal Pictures, which would be a real stinker except that R. Harryhausen did the monster. Ready for the title? It Came From Beneath the Sea!! Whenever this grade B came on the Saturday afternoon movie, Pup would have to watch & laugh, and wanted all us kids to see it too. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen this silly thing, but none of them have been recent--it stopped being in the weekend movie rotation a long time ago. I'm saving it for Christmas morning, and I'd like to make it a tradition in our house, so of course when I saw it in the Barnes & Noble catalog, I had to have it. Pup will be tickled when I tell him I've got it. Anyway, one of the bloggers I follow has a Thanksgiving tradition of watching The Creature From the Black Lagoon, which I checked out of the library for our Thanksgiving (what a hoot!), in a spirit of solidarity. However, It Came From Beneath the Sea has a little more of a family connection for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again. I will probably knit through it.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Hey, guys! I got pictures!

Oh, I had such a terrific time in Texas back in October -- didn't really do a whole lot, but relax! First, I have to show you my gorgeous niece in her fabulous lace beret:
Is she gorgeous, or what?!?!? She's very bright, plays the cello, and is just the nicest young gal you could hope to meet. And proved her "knit-worthiness" by wearing this beret almost the whole time I was visiting; I think she took it off to sleep & bathe, but that was it. The younger niece, Princess T, wanted a hat too. I had a ball of K1C2 Ty-Dy sock yarn with me, and access to Ravelry--so started a beret based on the Feather & Fan aka Old Shale pattern. Had some issues with it, didn't try to get it done while I was there, but frogged & restarted it once I was home. It's turned out well. Voila!:
I had quite a bit of yarn left, so I'm whipping up some itty fingerless mitts for the Princess:
And, taking an idea from Knucks in Knitty, I will embroider the right mitt with "PRIN" and the left with "CESS" -- which should make her mother crazy.
I did visit Hill Country Weavers, down on Congress in Austin, and took a picture or three:
Yes, I bought some from the clearance section (the first pic) and I bought a ball of this lace yarn, which I haven't seen since -- Sis is supposed to be mailing this stuff to me; I hope it gets home soon! I mentioned sitting in on a class, that didn't seem to really be a class so much as a sit-n-stitch, and here are the ladies of the class (if any of you see yourselves, please give me a holler--I'd love to know who you are!):
Well, we had a lovely visit, and I really should write another thank-you note. I've sent one to Sis already, but her Mum-In-Law, my "other" Betty, was kind enough to spend part of the Saturday with me--we two went to the neighborhood's Garage-A-Palooza yard sale! Most streets in this large (& well-to-do!) neighborhood had several yard sales in progress; we just cruised around until we saw several close together, then jumped out & visited all of 'em. I picked up several cashmere sweaters for pennies, practically! I don't think they'll fit me, but they can be unravelled & the yarn put to other uses. I bought some purses, and some earrings too. All in all, it was a splendid haul for very little $. Thanks, Betty Too!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Oh well (deep subject!)

I was studying the pictures of her Austin visit, on the Yarn Harlot's blog. I'd let Sis & Miss A & MeMaw & even BIL Steve know that she'd be coming to their home territory. I can't find either Sis or Miss A in the Harlot's photos, so maybe they didn't make it there. Too bad, Stephanie's such a fun speaker.
Sunday I finished the knitting on Princess T's lace beret, and tried it on -- it appeared to be more of a beanie than a beret. Last evening, I washed it and blocked it on one of our huge dinner plates--and I think it will actually be a beret! Success! I have quite a bit of the yarn left, so would like to make a pair of fingerless mitts for Princess T, to match the beret. And I will get a pic of the beret blocking.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Home on the range

Ah, back in Texas! I've been at Sis' house for a few days, just unwinding & playing with her "foster" dog. And knitting, of course. Miss A has received her lace beret, and was gobsmacked with it. I think she's worn it three days straight now. Her classmates are also gobsmacked; they should be so lucky as to have knitting aunties. Sis used to teach at the Austin School for the Deaf, so she made up a sign for Auntie Ann; I will have to see if I can get it on video for Plaid Patrol. Miss A's little sib, Princess T, may have been struck green-eyed with envy of the fab hat. So now I'm knitting her a lace beret as well, although it's considerably simpler in design (& hopefully a lot faster in execution!) than Miss A's.
I took a field trip to South Congress, to visit Hill Country Weavers! I'll have some photos of that later. I found some lovely yarn, and sat in on a sit 'n stitch -- which was supposed to be knitting lessons, only everyone there looked quite competent. I had all of 90 minutes there, so made the best of it. South Congress has a lot of fun-looking shops, and the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop -- none of which I got to see this time, but I'll remember them for next time. Well, I'm on Sis' laptop, & not sure how to load up my photos here, so I'll close by saying "stay tuned".

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Oxymoron

I was going to title this "More or Less Random",and thought of a shorter way to say it.
Do we like lists? I made a list of things to bring in to my new cubicle at work:
Magnets done
3" X 5" photos can't seem to remember these
Small folding screen collage frame & smaller photos for it nor can I seem to take the time to find these
Seat cushion I've actually been shopping for this, and have decided to make one instead. Because, hey I don't have enough projects in progress; it's not like I'll save some money making my own.
I'd mentioned a need for magnets to DiscoDame. She got me two, imprinted with cute stuff. One (my favorite!) says,"To Err is human. To Arr is pirate."
I get a chuckle when I see it. Disco wants a felted tri-corner pirate hat for next International Talk Like A Pirate Day, which will be September 19th next year and every year.
The baby kimono in K1C2 sock yarn has been frogged. I started another, using the leftovers of the Serenity sock yarn and Paton's Lacette, and I must say it's definitely more girly. Lotsa pink, here. But the Serenity sock yarn is self-patterning, so that breaks up the intense pinkness of this little sweater. It's going fairly quickly, knitting 4 rows of each yarn & carrying the unused yarn up the edge. I may have to apply I-cord to that edge...hmm. I'll figure that out later.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Movin' on

Hopefully to better things, if not actually bigger. I've started working on a garter stitch baby kimono, with some nice cushy superwash merino fingering wool that I got at Bliss Yarns. They had discounted the sock yarn, so I got some. I'd thought to show it to the gal at work who wanted glitts (gloves + mitts; keep up folks), but it's so pretty & this baby thing came up, and the Harlot had just done one...I'm weak. Anyway, it's all knits all the time around here. No pics yet; one never knows who might be reading.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Remember "Sorry"?

I'm talking about the board game; if your opponent caught up to your game piece, you got sent back to the starting line. The deep plum colored EWW has been completely frogged, and I'm back to the start of a new & hopefully better EWW. However, it's just occurred to me that I'll be in Texas for Sis' birthday, and haven't got a gift for her! Horrors! Should I a)dig thru the basket of finished objects for something suitable? or b)pick up a UFO & finish it for her? or c)cast on & knit something meant for her from the get-go? Option A would be really easy, I suspect she'd wind up with the light blue beret. Not too sure she'd use it, but it wouldn't be cluttering my basket anymore. Option B is a bit trickier--I have two really nice things I was making for myself, and some silly things that I could part with easily if I'd get 'em done. The obvious implication being that the two nicer knits are my size & too fine to part with. Then there's Option C--my own preference, could I come up with a pattern, the yarn, and the time to work on it! Decisions, decisions.
All hail to the Yarn Harlot's friend Jen & her sweetie, baby Marlowe! I'm glad for Jen, who seemed to be going for a Guinness record for longest human pregnancy, but kinda sad to see the end of the baby knits parade. O_o, and I just got an invite to a baby shower. Let's see, today's the 14th, the shower's the 22nd--another pair of Saartje's booties, perhaps? Love them!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Throwing in the towel

Dear Loopy Ewe(s)
I'm sorry but I will not be completing the third Camp Loopy project, due by 9/15. You see, I'm about half-way thru the Every Way Wrap made in a wool/angora blend (bunny fuzzies!), and have just discovered that there's a major misprint in the key to the cable pattern chart. Now, I've been ambivilent about the fuzziness of the yarn,thinking it was obscuring the stitches so that it was hard to see the cables, and with this new-to-me info I see that I've made all these cables incorrectly. This version of the EWW will make a trip to the frog pond. I'm ready to start over with some Paton's Classic Wool, which should have much better stitch definition, but there's no way I can get it done in two days. The angora blend will have to wait for an appropriate project, which I hope to find soon -- it is teh beyootimus! and so so soft! So, alas & alack, but no Project #3 this year. I'll likely try next year.
Best wishes,
A completely frustrated knitter

Thursday, September 8, 2011

What was I thinking?!?!?

Ok, I can see that the Every Way Wrap is not likely to be finished by 9/15; I'm probably the slowest ever at cable knitting. But I'm determined to have it done by my birthday, as my present to moi. Still loving the soft angora, though the fuzz kinda obscures the cables (!!!)which keeps it right in line with my usual poor choice of yarns for projects. Still adore the dusky dark plum color.
I've put some pics over on the other page, for My Patterns. Someday the patterns & pattern revisions will be written up, to go along with the pics. I really need Sis to send me a shot of the Tall Latte cozy. You know, since I made that silly thing I think I've found four other similar designs...of which I was blissfully ignorant while I was making mine. The lace beret had to be changed so much from the original designer's pattern, that it is an adaptation at least and a whole new ball of wax at best. The Chunky Monkey Hat was another on-the-fly effort, just from seeing a few like it on Etsy. Patterns, we don' need no stinking patterns. Just lots of knitting magazines and Ravelry & Etsy!

Bad blogger here

Ok, I've really slacked off on the blog. Not that anyone wants to hear excuses, but I've had a lot on the plate lately. It appears that Disco's 2nd student loan has ballooned and is currently the equivalent of a new KIA (that's a car!!!), and hey isn't it convenient that I just paid off the 1st one? (insert alternate sighing & cursing) Someone close to me needs to get a &^$*@#$ JOB!!!
On the Camp Loopy front, I have been working as furiously as possible, but I doubt I'll finish the Every Way Wrap by the 15th. Oh well, if I get it done on or before the 24th, it'll be my birthday gift to me. I haven't even thought about the glitts (gloves + mitts -- what would you call 'em?) for the co-worker whose first question was what would I charge to make them. Never mind that there isn't even a pattern, although there are sorta similar items (two in Knitty) that I may use as guides if I decide to go for it. But, here comes holiday knitting! So I just don't know if I have the time or energy to design & knit these weird things. I have a flight ticket to Austin next month; I do hope Texas stops burning before then.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Camp Loopy, 2 down & 1 to go

I finished my cabled mittens, which I'm calling Sunset Columns, for Camp Loopy Project II. Sunday I sent pictures to Shari@theloopyewe.com, so now I'm free to cast on for the last Project! I'll make the Every Way Wrap from IK Fall 2009, which I've wanted ever since fall 2009 but hadn't the nerve to attempt before now. The width I'd like will use over 1,000 yards -- so it will meet the (only) requirement for Camp Loopy Project III. The yarn is from stash, a very cushy & soft wool/angora blend, in a dusky purple. It's darker than the lace beret made for Miss A a while back. And it should be real fun keeping track of two different stitch patterns at the same time! This is the first project I've started from an IK pattern -- which is weird, since I've been reading & buying that magazine for years. Still, it is such a nifty pattern that I may want to work it again in other colors -- WEBS has a truckload of worsted yarns on sale, which is very tempting. I may have to order some as my birthday present to myself...unless I decide to get some Colourmart cashmere instead!
Or not, as $ is kinda scarce lately (too many doctor bills!). Plaidman & I went to the eye doctor a couple of weeks ago, he needs both regular and sunglasses replaced. I need "computer" glasses -- the $ for a whole new pair was going to be over $350! So I've sent the doctor my old frames, and they've put my lenses in there, and it should be about $170. I shudder to think what they would've charged for Plaidman's two pairs! He'll take his prescription to someone in our network; maybe WalMart. Oh, this is just the tip of the iceberg: the hospital outpatient clinic where he had his colonoscopy called last week, because BCBS wouldn't pay them--need the COB info first--on a $1700 bill. And we're still paying on the two cataract surgeries he had. He's definitely not an easy keeper. [Plaidman's warranty may have expired;)]
Hey,y'all, this is post #147!! Three more for 150!
What glorious thing can I do for #150?



Thursday, August 4, 2011

"Oh Canadia..."

All who've read CAP today, sing along! Laurie, the post before today's made me laugh out loud at work. If I could comment on it & tell you so, I surely would. How could someone so funny and cute and real have such self-doubt about dating? She's hiking the hills of Hollywood alone, but is in fear of a date...go figure.
I suppose I can't really say much, as the Plaidman & I have celebrated our 34th anniversary already. I have not the clue how one would go about dating now. Wish I did have, 'coz then maybe I could get DiscoDame a date; and maybe I'll live long enough to see her married, when pigs fly.
Disco called me a while ago, and I told her my thought about putting a label on her stitchmarker sets. I'm thinking of a small tag, maybe round or oblong, attached to the ring holding the set, with her name & a website (probably this blog site). That way, folks who've seen them could get in touch to order some.
I'm getting soo close to being done with Camp Loopy project #2. I've seen the requirement for project #3, and I'm pretty sure I've got enough of one or two yarns to meet the requirements. I just don't know if I want to embark on such a large project, knowing I only have a month to finish it. I'll let you know.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Camp Loopy project #2

I've just been "winging it" with the mittens I'm making for the 2nd Camp Loopy project. The first one is nearly done, just one round of knits and Kitchner stitch the top of hand, then pick up for the thumb. I believe I'll be able to get the second one done a bit faster, which is good as I have a paying customer wanting me to make her some gloves. I feel another learning experience coming on...
She's got an idea to have gloves with removable tips on (all) the fingers, which sounds like way too much work to me. I'm going to show her Cigar from Knitty, and see if she'll accept tips on just those 3 fingers each hand.
***
Ok, ETA next day: I've finished the first mitten! Plaidman & I went to the eye doctor yesterday & had eye exams, my issues turned out to be severely dry eyes. I have a very expensive drop I have to use, plus I'm supposed to use artifical tears a lot. I'm also getting glasses just for working on the computer. Plaidman needs new glasses too; but the doctors we see aren't providers in our vision insurance, so we'll go elsewhere for the glasses. I think WalMart is a provider.
I got the fall IK in the mail yesterday! There are a couple of things in there that I'd like to have. OOO, and we bought a new printer for the computer; it scans & copies too. Looks like I can stop making copies of patterns at work! That's if we can get the thing installed....the installation is on a CD, and our hard drive's reader is borked :(. But there's a support thingy on the manufacturer's site, for folks without a CD reader--I came to the library to get on their site, and have copied the install program onto a thumbdrive. Sure hope this works!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Stitchmarkers galore

Here's some DiscoDame made with the lobster claw clasps, good for crocheters & for use in knitting as row markers:
And here she's modeling them as a chain filet:
Here's she's hard at work on some other markers:
I have such a slew of markers now.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

If I could turn back time...

Written 7/13/11 I'm down to the last three days to finish my first ever Camp Loopy project, which is driving me batty -- I think I'm just too anxious to "get 'er done", so anxious that I keep leaving off yarnovers! I have three more rows, which are of course the longest three rows in the history of the world, especially since I've knit the last several rows like, oh, four times!!! Talk about shooting yourself in the foot....but I'm determined to finish on time, even if I may "cheat" a little on the blocking: I'll put this on the ironing board & steam block it for the picture to send to Sheri @ The Loopy Ewe. Later, I'll give it a good wash & wet block it. I've got an entire hank of the Serenity Green sock yarn leftover. Guess I overestimated the amount I'd need. But I'm sure I'll find something to make with that one hank. For my second Camp Loopy project, I was thinking of making socks, but after reconsideration of the time (like, forever!) it takes me to knit socks, I'm selecting a mitten pattern (with cables) -- I've never knit mittens, so this should be interesting.
7/19/11 ETA: I did in fact finish my first ever Camp Loopy project #1 ON TIME!! I took some pics & my DH took some, on the 15th, of a lovely albeit small shawl -- which I'd spent most of the morning trying to steam block on the ironing board. It's cute, but if I were to work this pattern again (Wendy Johnson{Wendy Knits}, Seriously Simple Shawl - free on her website or possibly thru Ravelry), I would a)make it symmetrical and b) work another Chart B repeat to make it lots bigger. The yarn from the Loopy Ewe was fine, although I did notice that the blue (Ice) seemed thicker & fluffier than the green (Serenity Green). It was as if the green were more tightly twisted in plying. I should get a ruler & do a WPI for both colors; betcha I'd find a difference. Anyway, I started some mittens, which I'm "winging" without a pattern per se--I did look at some patterns, but just to get an idea of how many to cast on & how long the cuff should be made. I have one mitten all the way from the cuff to just past the first knuckles of my left hand, and it's pretty. BUT! dummy me put the thumb gusset on the wrong side, so I want to frog 'em & start over. Towards that end, I'm writing my own pattern for the #2 project for 2011 Camp Loopy! Di'ya suppose I'll get extra credit if I send the pattern in to the LOOPIES?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Oh why not

DiscoDame got busy again yesterday. When I got home she presented me with a set of 10 double-ended stitch markers, each with different sized rings at either end, and all with either charms, buttons, or both between the rings. AND all 10 have lobster claw clasps at one end too, so they can be used as removable row markers. I gave her a really nifty work lamp, with a magnifier lens in the middle of the circular light, that she can clip onto a work surface and bend around to suit herself. Disco was just about beside herself over that lamp! She's quite far-sighted, so close work isn't at all easy for her, but with the magnification & bright light she's finding it a lot easier. Anyway, I was playing with my (or possibly your?) new stitchmarkers, and linked them all together--around my neck! We'll have to get some pictures; I'm sure it's pretty funny.



Didya see/hear about the prank played on Julia Roberts on the set of "Larry Crowne"? You know she's a knittah too. Anyway, Tom Hanks talked about half the crew into one part of the set, and had someone go fetch Julia. When she walked in, everyone in the room was knitting! Even the cameraman was knitting, & holding his work in front of the camera. How cute!




























Here's a shot of the June giveaway handknit, made from 6 colors of Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe - read up on this yarn in Ravelry for care:

Monday, June 20, 2011

Faster & furious-er

Just a quickie, to let you know DiscoDame has been real busy lately. Have a photo or ten (just kidding! -- I think Blogger would explode if I put 10 photos on here!)


Ok, I gotta go get something off Ravelry, send a search party if I'm not back in a week.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Giving it up

Seems like when the weather warms up (& we're NOT being flooded), I just lose all interest in snail-mail communications. I still haven't sent out the last round of blog giveaways--Mea Culpa!--which I must do this week! As God is my witness, etc, etc. Since I have this problem, I want to do this giveaway thing a little differently: I'm going to package, weigh & number each giftie before drawing the winners! That way, as soon as a name is drawn & I can get a shipping addy, I can just slap a label on & send them to the post office via the Plaidman. Honestly, as SMRT as I am you'd think I would have figured this out before now. I have something to show you:

Just a little background, this is my reply to a friend's asking how long this took:

"Let’s see, I guess I started the first one in January –Christmas knitting was done, so I started this for her birthday (February!). The first one was worked exactly per the designer’s pattern, and came out very tight around the brim (but still wearable) and the top part was more like a lace skullcap. Frogging ensued; back to the drawing board. Another one had just one [extra] repeat of the lace pattern around, worked on bigger needles, and stitches added to the brim. Still turned out to be a beanie rather than a beret! Back to the frog pond it went, maths reworked to add 2 more repeats of the lace without increasing the brim anymore, then I thought I’d run out of yarn (!)—so I got on Ravelry & found someone who’d sell me hers (couldn’t find this color in the stores here), & had to wait for her to send it. Once I got it, I couldn’t find my notes about the brim size….so made it too big, & had to frog again when the notes were found. It’s a good thing I like the process about as much as I like the product, ‘coz this one was all about the process! As far as actual knitting time for the pattern, it’s not that much—hats are fairly quick (Mwah-hah-hah! Famous last words….)"


Is that fine, or what? No, this isn't for a blog giveaway, although it is a gift for a special young lady. It's so lovely, that I've already started another one! And I'll likely make one more in blue or pink, for another special young gal. None of these will be finished this month, as I'm "attending" Camp Loopy this year. I have 3 hanks of Loopy's Solid series fingering yarn, 2 in Serenity Green & 1 in Ice, for Wendy Johnson's Seriously Simple Shawl -- in stripes! I'm also working on Sis's socks, which I should really put down for a little while. The first Camp project needs to be finished by July 15. But what will I give away this month? Maybe a nice cowl? I'll get back to that in a later post.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Survivor, Roadtrip!

We made it back to town without killing each other. Actually, DiscoDame cracks me up whenever we go somewhere together. She's a much better traveling companion than the Plaidman. That may be a bit harsh; before he became 50% hearing-impaired, he was alright as a roadtrip buddy.
I frogged Sis' socks (again...), and was working on them a bit during our downtime at the hotel(s) in the evening(s). I have no idea why I bought this wild lookin' yarn, but Sis admired it so she can wear it.
Oh, yeah...you're curious about where 2/3 of the Plaid Patrol went! We drove up to Kentucky, hitting Paducah about 10 a.m. Thursday. We toured the National Quilt Museum, which is terrifically full of fabric Art (capital "A"!). Go see it sometime. After, we cruised along the Riverfront until our brains started to cook, then decided we'd better get indoors somewhere & cool off. We had a nice late lunch at Doe's Eats. I was getting pretty achy (sciatica strikes again), so we found ourselves a hotel room & just chilled--we'd brought some microwave dinners, and had the appliance in the room, so we didn't even bother to leave the room until the next morning. Free breakfast got us up & out the door by 8:30 a.m., and we found Hwy. 68-80 & the start of the 400-Mile Yardsale! Yes friends, we drove for a while, then plodded around in the sun for a while, then back to the car & do it all again--over & over & over. Lots of sunscreen saved our skin; but we were burning up from the heat. We did this for two whole days, getting another hotel room when we just got too tired & hot to go on. On Saturday, we made it to Bowling Green, with only a few stops along the way. At one rather large sale, we found some items for the Plaidman--he who so inconveniently has a birthday just before Father's Day! Those were my biggest purchases of the whole trip. Sunday, we skipped the free breakfast at the hotel, and went over to Bob Evans restaurant for a great breakfast. Disco said she was about yardsaled out, & could we do something else. Well, I figured the Corvette Museum would be a good diversion, but is it open on Sunday? (Yes) and could I find it again? We'd gone round in circles trying to get to any of the hotels near the museum, Saturday afternoon, so I wasn't looking forward to trying to find the museum again. So...I pretty much decided to just head on home early, and we'd see a movie Sunday evening. We saw THOR, which was kinda "meh", except for the lead's shirtless scene. Speaking of shirtless scenes...many years ago we saw the Conan movie (with AH-nold), the one with the big snakes controlled by the bad guy. Remember when Conan & his team were sneaking into the temple, and Conan wore a loincloth, a headband & some paint? I remember there was a collective intake of breath throughout the theater, followed at once by giggles. Very telling! Anyway, Thor wasn't quite in that league, but he's a lot cuter without than with a shirt. And could the costume/make-up folk not have come up with an actual beard for Thor? His "bad boy" look was laughable--he should have been clean or bearded, but not scruffy. Loki's beardless-ness is more or less explained by his ancestry, at least in this story. No spoiler, I won't say anymore about that!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

OOO, shiny!

DiscoDame has been busy making stitch markers. Check out these lovelies;




This is a short week for me, with the holiday followed by a mini-vacation (Weds thru next Mon). Disco & I are off to the 400-Mile Yardsale along Hwy 68 in Kentucky! First stop will be Paducah, so we can visit the quilt museum. Paducah is a pretty arty little town, I'm sure we can find all kinds of stuff to see. And then it's on down the hwy to see what else we can find.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Fall down go boom

I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon lately, not much to say but an awful lot to do! I started a reversible cable scarf in the Bamboo Ewe, using 6 (six!) colors -- I really want to use it up. The scarf is, needless to say, eye-poppingly loud. I don't think I can find a new home for something so fugly, so I guess I'll wear it with my bright red coat. Why don't I just get a purple hat to go with the ensemble, and retire to the Senior Manse.
Are you reading Crazy Aunt Purl? Finally, some good news! I won't spoil it, in case you haven't seen it yet.
Mother's Day was super -- we went to the TACA Crafts Fair the Friday before, and our friend John had a booth there. Check out Center Earth Pottery (Google it; what am I, your librarian?) to see his lovely wares. I'm particularly fond of his "Monet" glaze; a couple years ago I got a teapot in that glaze. This year he had a berry washer (ok, it's a spiffy colander for all you Philistines) in the Monet. When he brought it out I wished him a happy Mother's Day and left my family in the booth! It doesn't work to be too subtle with my crew. Anyway, I now own a lovely berry bowl that matches my teapot. DiscoDame gave me the cutest card, and some hair sticks that I'd admired, although I believe I'll be using them for shawl sticks. The Plaidman also got me a sapphire pendant--my birthstone, he remembered.
Gah! I started this post over a week ago, I just don't have the blog bug right now. Oh well, for what it's worth here it is.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Lace hat giveaway

Oh, it's almost time to give away the aqua lace beret -- which had to go back to the knitting basket briefly, to have elastic thread woven into the brim. Seems the preponderance of bamboo fiber in Bamboo Ewe makes it stretch out without bouncing back. But all is well, 'coz I've put about 4 rounds of thin elastic thread in there, and now it bounces back.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

(Crash of cymbals!!) Tanis Fibre Arts giveaway!!

Go HERE: http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.com/
And I hope either you or I win this!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Once more

I've been bitten by startitis. I have a serious jones for small & quick projects -- I made a nice wash cloth from some Lion Brand Recycled Cotton in seed stitch, to see if that was something I could do quickly enough to make several for the Spring baskets. Unfortunately, that one cloth took about a half day of working on it exclusively, which can only happen on the weekends, and I'd need 10 more by Friday. So, then I started a headband in little arrowhead lace, very cute but still too time-consuming. Drat, I may have to settle for lip-balm holders done in crochet. I have lots of lip balms, so ... holders & balms, plus some "Easter grass" & a few sugarless candies, I have plastic cups already printed with bunnies & ducklings...I guess I can whip up something. Meanwhile, the wash cloth actually matches my towels! DS in Austin-adjacent sent me a box full o' yarn, including 3 skeins of the Lion Recycled cotton (and one little ball of their merino-cashmere blend -- ymmmy!), so I see more washcloths in my future.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Buzzy

We went straight from the tag-end of winter into 91F summer over the weekend! The wasps & hornets have hatched! Run for your lives!!
Knitting news: I finished a Gwen Slouchy Beret, even blocked it! It is so purty! I used Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe in colorway Beach Glass, which is a really nice light aqua-teal color. This was a free pattern, and is on Ravelry. Being a wool-bamboo blend, it's a bit more suitable for spring & summer than just wool. So, who wants it? Yes, I'm giving it away! Comment on this blog between 4/12 and 4/29; I'll draw a winner 4/30 from all commentors. This hat will fit a head up to 23", while the ribbing is stretchy so will hold onto a smaller noggin.


I've heard from Fleegle, so I'd better get it together & pack up the March goodies. I still have not heard from Ele, either on the blog or on Ravelry (I'm AnnBan). So..the suspense is killing me...

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Still waiting . . .

. . .to hear from ELE; I have sent the Japanese Garden pattern, have contacted fleegle, have Paige's address (still gotta get that packed!). Here's the deal -- anything not claimed by the end of May (two months to get back to me) will go into one super-gift of all drawn-but-not-claimed items through October, which will be given away at the end of November. Comment on any of my posts in November, and you're in that drawing. Everything drawn for in February has been claimed.

Friday, April 1, 2011

And the winners are...

I put the names of this month's commentors on nearly identical slips of white paper, folded & placed in one pile. Then each giveaway item went on a similar slip of paper, also folded & placed in another stack. Drawing one from column A & one from column B, the winners & their gifts are:
Itty bitty button markers set for fleegle
striped washable hat for Ele
pastel beaded markers set for Paige
Wendy Johnson's Japanese Garden shawl pattern for Amy (aka knitterofhats)!
I will be in touch with all, for shipping addresses.
No, this is not a prank. Even if it is April 1st.

Ele, I hope you'll check in with me here or through Ravelry (AnnBan), as your profile isn't available through Blogger.
Paige & fleegle, I will need addresses ASAP.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Once again

The time draws near for the drawing; I'll put up some photos of the lovely finished stitchmarkers:




Odd, I could have sworn I'd already posted some pictures of these. I guess they've just been on my mind so much, it seemed like a "done" thing. Well, be sure to comment on the 2/26/11 post in order to be in a drawing for these cuties. The little buttons are only .25" across; I've used them on baby booties--too tiny & sweet! Disco got a little carried away, and there are 7 stitch markers in that set. She's so silly--the alphabetic set will include "LDIR" after the Harlot's response to knitting that's kicking her arse. I may get her to include "MSB" also; if you can tell me what these abbreviations mean, you're a real Harlot follower!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A quickie

Please send good thoughts (if not prayers) out to Laurie aka Crazy Aunt Purl. The universe seems to have picked her out for more than her share of unpleasantness, which is a d**n shame 'coz she's such a nice lady. Go over to Wendy Johnson's blog, http://wendyknits.net/, & take a look at her Japanese Garden shawl -- one lucky commentor to my 2/26/11 post will win a copy of the pattern! If you're on Ravelry, I can gift it to you directly, but if not we'll work out something!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

True story


It's a bit on the Seinfieldian side -- not much happens, but it's funny anyway. The Plaidman has been going deaf for a while now, and we're just living with it as best we can. DiscoDame & I aren't above getting a laugh out of his problem(s), far from it! I guess this "running gag" started in 2009, when we had dinner at Richard's (local Louisiana fare). There was a live band, and the only open seats were at a large table just half-way back into the dining room. So, there's a large expanse of table between us, and we're trying to have a bit of conversation with the deaf guy--an exercise in both hilarity & frustration. At one point, Disco said something to her Dad & got a puzzled look from him. Just then there's a lull in music, and he asks her, "What about Canadian sign language?!?!". She puts one hand behind her ear, asks "EHYA?", and then she & I just died laughing. So Canadian sign language has becoume our little way of ribbing the Plaidman. Many, many years ago he & I were listening to the radio in a car (long since gone!) that had no air conditioning, and he almost wrecked us because he thought the basketball team being discussed was the Hamilton Road Apples. (I heard the ad as Hampton Road Admirals, which turned out to be correct.) Wait for it. Two evenings ago, the chitchat over supper turned to March madness, and some team's miscue lead to the Plaidman saying that the Hamilton Road Apples were using Canadian sign language to communicate their next move. Rimshot! Yes, the Plaidman can even use our mockery of him to make a funny. BTW, thanks to all for sending good thoughts out on his behalf; he's much improved now, and is going today for a follow-up visit to his primary provider. I hope he remembers to call me after his visit, but I'm not holdling my breath--he'll likely go home & turn off his phone!
Not much to report on the knitting front, still plugging away at the pink stole. Last night I flipped through some of the knitting magazines I've got, looking for a beret pattern with some lace, that I could work up in place of the failed Janet beret. I will keep looking, there's gotta be something nice for Miss A.
3/26/11 ETA: I have selected another pattern for Miss A's hat, the Gwen Slouchy Beret, which I'm working up in Bamboo Ewe in a pale turquoise color. Let's hope this doesn't turn out to be a beanie!
Newsflash!: The drawing for the giveaway did not go off as planned. The stitchmarkers weren't ready, and without posting a picture I didn't feel like I had something to give away. Anyway, I've extended the deadline for comments on the 2/26/11 post to 3/31/11 (midnight, CDT). Please go & re-read that post, as I've editied it to show a picture & explain a VERY SPECIAL GIFT that will be in the drawing! Good luck!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

See the lightbulb?

I mean the one over my head, as in, "Boy do I have an idea!" I follow http://wendyknits.net/ and I love her patterns. I'm not usually keen to buy patterns, since there are so many available for free if you do a little digging. BUT! Wendy has a shawl pattern, Japanese Garden, which is lovely and for which all the proceeds (after PayPal's cut) in March & April will go to the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. I am going to purchase one of these patterns as part of of my giveaway for March! (& I will likely get another just for me!) So, go to my post of 2/26/11 "Drumroll, please..." and get a comment on there WITH your Ravelry name, so if I draw you for this gift I can gift it directly to you through Ravelry.
Last night, DiscoDame & I discussed the stitchmarkers for the March giveaway, and she'll have something ready to ship out before the end of the month--but I'm not sure we'll have a picture before the draw date of 3/25. Sorry!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

T minus 3.5 days...

To the March giveaway! Not much other "news" per se, just stuff I/we have been up to:
The weekend of St Patrick's Day wasn't too dreadful. I did finally get to put the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes & carrots (plus 2 bottles of Killian's Red beer!) into the crock pot for Sunday dinner. Did that about 7:30 a.m & we ate it at about 5:30 p.m. The beef was delish & very tender, the veggies tender & flavorful. I cooked a good size slab of beef, about 2.75 lbs., and so have some left for hash or sandwiches.
The purple lace hat has been frogged again. All I can figure is that the designer must knit extremely loosely! I went up two needle sizes for the brim (still using same # of stitches, tubular cast on)--the brim was fine. Then I went up two sizes for the rest of the hat AND added another horizontal repeat of the lace pattern. I wasn't sure I'd have enough yarn to work 4 complete repeats vertically, but the lace was very much "lacier" so I thought 3 repeats would work for a beret. Well, it didn't work..I still had a beanie when I got to the top. (Are the knitting demi-gods laughing? Hope so; somebody ought to get a kick out of it!)
I got some more Paton's Lacette in Maroon Mist! So I'm back to work on the pink stole, with one minor glitch: I was going to pick out the bind off edge & continue on, only I unpicked the cast on. Of course, it's not unravelling--I just don't know what to do with it now! I've put the stitches on a holder, picked out the bind off & am adding more lace panels for length. Now that I have plenty of the Lacette, I can think about putting a wide border on the long edges, and a narrower one on the short sides (ends). Which should I work first? I think working the side borders first would allow me work the end border across the entire width, and might pull the thing together.
Disco says she needs more beads....girl needs to get a job; her hobby is costing me! We're still wrangling the stitchmarkers for the giveaway, so I need to hold her feet to fire now.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The wheels fell off

I wearing green & purple plaid, and bright green earrings. I bought a corned beef brisket & a head of cabbage, picked up some Killian's Red last night (the brisket will be cooked in it! Yum!), had potatoes & carrots in the house & a big CrockPot. But, alas, we won't be serving the corned beef tonite, because the Plaidman has to be on a liquid diet for a few days. I had to carry him to the emergency room last night, but at least he wasn't admitted. I guess my weekend will be devoted to attending a sick man--what fun.
I think we need a picture of something green -- this is the Grumpasaurus, not sure if that pattern's in Ravelry but you could search "toys":

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Count down

Ten days until the giveaway! DiscoDame is working on some pastel beaded stitchmarkers as spring has nearly sprung. She's also working on some with knitting abbreviations via alphabet beads. I've told her we need some with four-letter words, but I don't know if she'll make them!
Last night I went to the grocery to pick up two very important items that I'd forgotten in the weekly shopping: a beef brisket & a head of cabbage! Can you believe it, I got the last Savoy cabbage in the bin. There were lots of briskets available, though. And you know the Plaid Patrol needs their corned beef & cabbage on St. Patrick's day! I'll have to get up early so I can put it in the slow cooker before I leave for work. Yum, I think I can smell it now....

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Agony of defeat

I finished the Janet Beret last night; it seemed small, but I knew the tubular cast on would definitely stretch to 21" or 22". I made it in the "slouchy" version, with four 8-round repeats of the pattern as called for. Well, there was a brief struggle before I could get it on my head--and it's a beanie. A very pretty lace beanie, to be sure! But not what I wanted. So, it will go to the frog pond over the weekend, and I'll use bigger needles & increase more stitches -- a repeat of the lace pattern is 12 sts wide, adding a repeat above the brim would bring the total to 120 sts. Starting with 90 sts (actually 45 for the tubular cast on), I'd increase by 1 every third stitch. If the cast on is worked in US 7, then the 4 repeats of 8 rounds each could be worked on oh, say US 9? That should make a beret. I did have a good bit of the skein leftover, so will hope to have enough. Le sigh. I was really hoping I could have this ready to go to TEXAS real soon.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Lookee, new stuff!

Hi y'all! If it's Saturday, I must be posting from the library...and I am. I have some more pictures of this month's giveaway, which will be drawn on 3/25 from commentors on my previous post. Here's a pretty item up for grabs:

























I have pics of this month's stitchmarkers, but I haven't decided which ones I can bear to part with! DiscoDame is all about "reduce, re-use, recycle", so she's been saving the big pony beads from her old hair dodads, and put them to use in these:


I'm working on another lace beret, called the Janet Beret, and this is also done in a Stitch Nation yarn--Alpaca Love, in color Dusk. It's a lovely deep purple, which just happens to be a favorite of one of my nieces. I think I missed her birthday, but maybe a pretty lace beret would make her forget that!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Drumroll, please! Giveaway Time!

3/26/11 ETA: Due to extenuating circumstances, the drawing date for this month's Giveaway will be extended to 3/31/11 (midnight my time!). Later posts show a picture of the lace beret that's part of the "package"; here's a few shots of this month's stitchmarkers (the alphabet ones are examples; I promise there'll be more than two!):
The buttons used here are only 1/4" wide; I've used some of these on baby booties!

In addition to these cute little things & the two hats, one of this month's winners will receive a copy of the shawl pattern relesed by Wendy, Japanese Garden. She's sending her part of the payment for this pattern to the Red Cross's relief efforts in Japan, so if you have a Ravelry ID I can gift the pattern to you directly and you can be part of the relief effort. If you're not keen on the Red Cross, please check out Mason-Dixon Knitting--the ladies have a blanket pattern for sale, proceeds of which are to go to Doctors Without Borders. You know we knitters can shake & move the world when we pull together!










* * * ** * * * **

I've got a hat ready to give away for my March readers' gift:



These are really easy to make, and I just sold two to the Sarge. The yarn is Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick, machine wash & dry on low, very easy care and Sarge says his kids fight over them. They are wonderfully warm. There's a very deep ribbing, which can be rolled up for something like a watch cap or left unrolled.
I'm also working on an All-Day Beret, a Debbie Stoller design for Stitch Nation, in a lovely spring green--yes, it's Bamboo Ewe! Debbie had sent me some sample skeins she'd had from the maker (Red Heart), and this is the first I've used. No pics yet; but I'm about 6" up from the cast on edge, and it's very easy & quick. DiscoDame has been busy making more stitchmarkers, so I'll be offering them too--just gotta pick which set I'll part with! I packed up the February gift, including a little extra goodie (none of your business!), but to my surprise the Post Office was already closed this morning when I got there at 11:15! So Knitterofhats will have to wait another couple of days, but it will be mailed Monday.
Also on the needles: a Janet beret in Alpaca Love (more of Debbie's gift!), for which I worked a tubular cast on to start the ribbing -- nice & stretchy! I'm torn as to whether to offer it with the giveaway, as it's in Niece#1's favorite color. And I kinda owe her a birthday pressie...so maybe this first one goes to her, and I'll work another for next month, ok?
******I'm upping the ante this month, here's the deal: Starting 3/1/11, leave a comment on this blog post with either a link to your blog or to your profile on Ravelry. Then, on your blog or in the Blog Train group on Ravelry, mention my giveaway! I'll check these on 3/25/11, & for each mention of my giveaway, you'll get a chance to win a gift drawn on or about 3/25! I'll contact you for your particulars, and this month's drawing is open to addresses in North & South America & the EU & Australia. Just be sure to comment on this post, and leave me some contact info (blog or Ravelry). Good luck!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Next up

I'm working on a hat for the March giveaway, and should have it finished in time to post a picture by the end of the weekend. I'd like to made another hat, maybe something a little more spring-like. I was thinking of a beret, maybe in a fingering weight wool blend (aka sock yarn) or a cotton blend. If you've got an opnion either way, let me know via the comments. Tomorrow I'll mail KOH's gift; I hope the sun will come out long enough to get a photo of her items together. Whew! I think it might be time for a vacation. Oh, to lay about & do nothing for a week...

Monday, February 21, 2011

It's all over but the shouting

And I have exactly one (1) winner: Knitterofhats has claimed the larger stitchmarkers and the teal cob-stitch mitts (my design). So, the other set of markers and some of the mitts will go back into my holiday gift bin, and will not be on a giveaway here anytime soon. I have started knitting a hat for the next giveaway, and already have two sets of stitchmarkers ready to go. Would you like me to add a skein(/ball/hank) of yarn? I think I will, so I'd better go stash diving for a nice one.
I brought Sarge's hats into work, and he's happy with them. I had to break into my yarn-stash-cash piggy bank to get his change; the Plaidman took all my cash for laundry this weekend!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Hello

O.K. everybody, big news: I’m going to be co-authoring on my Mom’s blog, Trés Divine, on a regular basis (as in more often than on my blog at http://www.discodamespursuitoflife.blogspot.com/). Starting this Spring, I’ll be posting at least once a month, and I’ll also post the start/end of events on mom’s blog.
Speaking of events; Mom is having a giveaway on Trés Divine: four pairs of hand-knitted fingerless mitts, and two sets of hand-made stitch markers. For complete details, please go to my mom’s blog: www.tresdivine.blogspot.com; look for the post titled “Cha-cha-changes”,

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Claimed!

Amy aka knitterofhats has claimed the larger stitchmarker set, with the green beads. I plan to close the giveaway this Friday at midnight our time (Central time zone), so hurry up & comment on Cha-cha-changes!
I'm working on something I've never done before: duplicate stitch! I made some more hats for the Sarge, in Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick colors Barley & whatever they call their olive green (haven't looked at the ball band; it's pretty obviously olive!). For the barley (brown) I used a partial ball left from all the cowl knitting. I got to the last 3 rows, and ran out!! So I grabbed some leftover Oatmeal color worsted Wool Ease, triple-stranded it & used it to close the top of the hat. Doesn't look bad, but something made me offer to duplicate stitch in the Oatmeal on the rest of the hat, just a few simple shapes. It's trickier than I thought it would be. So far, I have a squashed-looking diamond shape, a scraggly rectangle, and a slightly lop-sided X on 3 of the wide ribs of the hat. Terrific. I hope I get better at it very quickly!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Here they are!


I've got pictures of the stitch markers DiscoDame created for our giveaway. I'll let you look; the first commenter on the "Cha-cha-changes" post earlier this month will get to pick one of these two sets:




I had a really hard time getting a decent picture of the "tiny" set, which will fit up to 5 mm needles. They are quite simple, just a jump ring with a bead for 5, with 1 ring also having a couple of teeny "crystal" accent beads on their own itty jump rings. The larger set up accomodate up to US sz 13; the beads on 5 are approximately the same size but different shades of green, with the one for the start of your row being a much bigger bead (still green!). Let me be clear: these two sets are the only ones in this month's giveaway. I had to say that, because she's given me another set which is just wonderful, so lovely that I don't want to part with it! Check out this set; she's upcycling buttons!




Now for the really big news: DiscoDame will be co-authoring this blog! Look for her to add her profile (or maybe we have to have a joint profile? IDK; she's the techie so I'll let her sort it out!); she's agreed to allow me editorial control -- which means she's to write up her posts but let me review them before they're published. I am nothing if not a control freak.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Winner #1!!

Knitterofhats gets 1st choice of the stitch markers from DiscoDame, which she just finished last night! I've yet to take a picture of these, but they turned out well. So, KOH, wait 'till I get the pics up & I'll contact you to get your selection & an address. I'm so tickled to already have a WINNER!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Cha-cha-changes!

I have been reading lots of blogs with weekly features, and was wondering if I could come up with a feature or two ("Manic Mondays"? "Thrifty Thursdays"?). I sure can't do a Fashion Friday, and couldn't bear to giveaway yarn every week (My Precious!). I'm not the greatest cook, although I do love my slow cooker! But the slow cooker blog's already been done; I'm a big follower. Both of the Make it Fast, Cook It Slow books are on my Amazon wish list. I've been knitting hats, cowls & fingerless gloves like crazy lately--and I could stand to give some of them away! I'll just post a few pics, just those little items that are available to a good home:
She really doesn't eat much, but is a nightowl for sure... No, I can't giveaway that one.
Erm, I made a slew of those silly fingerless mitts recently, but I did give some away already. Let's see now -- here's a pair that fit my hands (women's mediums)-

These are worsted acrylic, most likely Red Heart -- just be sure to add fabric softener to both the wash & dry (COOL only) cycles. I have another pair, same kind of yarn (aka "scraps"):

Then there are the ones I totally made up myself, based on Classic Elite's "Montera Cob Toque" (it's a free pattern). I've given a pair to Ms. Amanda, but I have more:
The green ones are a softer acrylic, still wash & dry cool.
The teal ones are also a soft acrylic (probably not Red Heart). These will fit an even larger hand.
Now, I don't expect a tremendous deluge of folks wanting a pair of my mitts, but I will post something in one of the Rav blog groups, and I'll put the friendly responses in a hat & draw 4 lucky ones. Be sure to tell me how to get in touch with you, in case you win -- tell me who you are on Ravelry, or give me a link to your blog. I've asked DiscoDame if she'd like to be part of my first giveaway, and provide a couple of sets of stitch markers for the First and Second responders only. I don't have pictures of the stitch markers yet, but Disco will make one set for needles up to US size 4, and another set for larger needles (up to US size 10.5). Here's how it works: you go to the Blog Comment Train group in Ravelry, find my post about the giveaway, which will direct you back here to make a comment. Or, you follow my blog (all 4 of you! Woot)and just happen to read about the giveaway here, and you make a comment. The 1st & 2nd commenters will get stitch markers, to be mailed out by March 12 if I've heard back from you as to a address. All commenters names go in a hat, & I will draw 4 out on Feb 18 to send them by March 12. I'm sorry, but I will only mail to North American addresses--this time! I hope to have a giveaway every month, which will vary between beaded goodies from DiscoDame, handknits from me, and possibly a few nice skeins of yarn (the stash is taking over the living room!) So, keep watching this space, as I'd like to do this again in March! Good Luck!

Friday, January 28, 2011

A pretty WIP


I'm loving this combo of sock yarn & Paton's Lacette. I can see that buying two more skeins of the sock yarn was the right idea; this needs at least another 24" before ending & working the edging. How about another picture?

What can I say, I'm a nut for knitting lace. I've been on Ravelry today, and found the hat pattern I needed for a commissioned project: The Sgt. wants two more of the chunky hats, please! Now I'll have to look thru the stash to see if I have two hats' worth of the Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick. If not, I guess I'll head to the store for more.
I think I mentioned that I'd won a giveaway--the item arrived in the mail last week! It's a tiny & darling neck gaiter, with the loveliest buttons:

Unfortunately, with my double chin this design doesn't exactly flatter me. So, I'm adding it to my sack of holiday gifts, to be given away. And I'll have these pictures to remind me: