Spinning!

I go to knit night at a local coffee shop on Thursdays. And every Thursday there is usually someone spinning. Naturally I've been eyeing everyone spin with that look in my eye. Toni knew that look and asked me if I wanted to borrow her wheel. HELL YEA I DO!!! She gave me a quick lesson and told me to take it home to practice.



She did say to keep the wheel in a place where the kids couldn't get to it. OK Toni, I'll try but please remember that these are the same kids that play with garbage and use the eyeliner to draw dragons.

Every night after the darlings went to bed, I took out the wheel. I would spin and spin and then spin some more. Ray even got into it and had to check it out to see if he could figure out how it worked. He told me about it but quite frankly I was to busy trying to not let too much roving be spun at once to listen to a word he said.




I succeeded in spinning that gorgeous yarn you see there. And quite frankly it wasn't as relaxing and peaceful as everyone makes spinning out to be. There were a lot of swears involved. My thumb and forefinger got the spinners ache (my own personal made up term). And I had to concentrate on this bit of spinning a lot. I had entire conversations in my head about how much roving I needed to pull out and how thin I needed to make it so the resulting yarn would not be too thick or too thin.

Eventually I did get the hang of it. The spinners ache went away and the conversations stopped. A pleasant surprise was how soft my hands were. Lanolin from the wool worked its way onto my hands and made them buttery soft.

I did return the wheel back to Toni and as much fun as I had with spinning I decided not to pursue it. I'm sure that I'll want pick it up when the kids are a bit older and not prone to get into my stuff.

Angels

I always know when the angels I live with are up to something when its a bit too quiet. If you know what I mean.

So I start calling names and asking whats going on. No answer. That's when I started looking. I started with their room first, found nothing and then moved onto my room. I happened upon this.



Yes, that is my angel playing with the garbage. We do have toys. Tons of toys. Fun toys that make all kinds of sounds when you touch them. No, we have to play in the garbage.

Then I look up and see big sister drawing dragons with my eyeliner. MY EYELINER!@!@##$



We do have crayons. ALL kinds of crayons in different shapes and sizes, a whole bucket of them. And if they made crayons that made noise and lit up when you used them, we would have them.



Now I realize why I work. So I can escape these crazy people that I gave birth to and have an adult conversation that doesn't involve dragons or garbage.

Thank you Dear God for letting it be Monday tomorrow!

Cute Pics Friday

Summer T-Shirt

I love my new t-shirt!



I ended up using all 10 balls of Schachenmayr Toy to make my brand spanking new summer t-shirt.

Someone commented on what a great top it was and I told them it was a Libby Grant!

I STILL Have Left Overs!

This is how much yarn I had left over after both sleeves were put in.



Can you even stand it? I did it!!! I added 2 short sleeves and STILL had some yarn left over.

Now I have to crochet the neckline and we will be good to go!

Sayings

I'm starting to sound like my mom. A thought that completely scares me because I always said that I wasn't going to be like her when I grew up and here I am JUST like her.

She would always say the same things to us kids:

"You kids are gonna be the death of me"

"I'm gonna trade you in for a fifth of whisky" Which was always followed by "You're so ornery I don't think I can get that much for you"

"Put a lid on it"

I’m saying these lines so much that my husband is picking them up! LOL

We have a large amount of toys and one would think that its enough to entertain a 9 month old. Apparently not. Sydney decided that her toys aren’t good enough for her and wanted to play with daddy’s toys. So she crawled over to the entertainment center and get into daddy's computer CD's. Bats them off the shelf with her little paws and almost gets to eat them before I get over there to tell pull her away. Karolyn is right behind her saying "Sydney makin mess mom, Sydney makin a mess"

Then I go downstairs to do some much needed laundry. Before I know it, I hear this very loud and very scary CRASH. No one is crying which is a good thing. I drop everything and run up the stairs to see if anyone is hurt. There is Syd next to the plant stand, the plant and dirt all over my freshly washed floor. Karolyn is pointing to her sister "Sydney makin mess mom, Sydney makin a mess. OH NO Sydney trouble."

I get that cleaned up and decide to check my email when I hear another crash followed by a crying baby. I get up and find that Sydney managed to pull the very overflowing kitchen garbage can on top of her. I scoop her up and check to make sure she's OK and comfort her all at the same time when I hear. "Sydney makin mess mom, Sydney makin a mess."

You kids are gonna be the death of me.

Sydney, I'm gonna trade you in for a fifth of whisky, in fact you're so ornery I don't think I can get that much for you.

And Karolyn, put a lid on it.

Tank Top?

I love the length that I added. Its just perfect and no one gets the pleasure of seeing my tummy!

BUT, I don't really like how the armholes curl inward so I decided to add some sleeves. So instead of a summer tank top, I'm gonna have a summer t-shirt. Just for the record, I'm down to a ball and a half.

With this kind of pressure, I decided to knit the sleeves from the top down. I read about this in a book and am assured that it works. Basically you pick up stitches at the top of the armhole and work your way down, picking up a stitch on either side of the armhole.



This is the first time that I have ever done this and I really like it. The advantage is that there is no sleeve to sew in once its all said and done because its already knitted in!



I gotta say, I am really liking how this top is turning out. And whats even better is that its all mine. My very own creation which started from just an idea in my head! Not from a pattern out of a magazine that you have to read every line and knit 25 rows before you do the armhole shaping. None of the knit 20 stitches, cast off the middle 15 sts and knit the rest of the 15 sts with a separate ball of yarn. NONE. Its all just free form. Now THIS is knitting. And its so very liberating. I thought I wanted a tank top and now I'm adding sleeves that I'm not sure if I have enough yarn for. How crazy is that?

Left Overs

I did it! I managed to add on about 4 more inches and still have yarn left over!



I binded off in the strechiest bind off that I know of. The Kitchener Bind Off.

Disappointment

So I tried on my creation and about cried. The damn thing is too short! Can you even stand it? TOO SHORT...

Of course if the world was interrested in seeing my all stretched out to the max, post baby belly then it would be the perfect length. However, I consider it my civic duty to not reveal that to the rest of the world.

What am I gonna do? The better question is "what would Svetlana do?" I havn't got a clue!

So I decided I have 2 choices.

1) I can rip out the top of the tank top that contains my perfectly fitting arm holes and fantastic V-neck shaping. All of which, I feel the need to mention, is in my head as I didn't write down what exactly it was that I did.

2) Rip out the cast on and knit in the round in 2x2 rib until I get the length that I want.



I went with option 2.



I went to go and see how many balls I have left and I counted 3. THREE balls to add some length.

I can do it. I will not go and search to see if anyone on the planet has some of this discontinued yarn.

Signs Of Spring

Spring is finally here!!! After months and months of snow and ice and more snow, we finally have a day that is in the 60's.




There is no snow on the ground, the grass is dry, and the air has a warm breeze.



The birds are chirping and the tulips are trying to poke their heads through the ground.



So to celebrate, the girls and I went outside and played a bit!

Making Progress

I'm making progress on the tank top which is GREAT! I casted on, joined in the round and started knitting a 2x2 rib for about 3 inches. Then I continued to knit in plain knitting to the armpits where I divided the tube into front and back stitches.

Up until now there has been no purling. One of the great advantages of knitting in the round. The other advantage? Well there are no seams to sew as you are knitting the front and the back at the same time. So on this great knitting adventure I was thinking of how I wanted to do the neckline. I decided on doing a V-neckline because I hear that is flattering on Little Miss Chubby.

Here is a pic of my progress so far.



I did a 3-needle bind off on the shoulders because that is easier and faster than having to bind off and then sew the front and back together.

Looking pretty good! I'm getting excited over here.