The Knitted Apron

I received my IWK magazine this week. What a shocker it was and I don't mean in a good way. The layout changed: it was hard to find out who designed what, patterns are in the back of the book now. Overall, I have to admit that I do not like it and want it changed back.

As far as the designs are concerned, it was not much of a shocker that most of them just plain sucked. I'm starting to think that truely awful designs are the requirement to get published in a magazine.

Magazine: "How about this design?"

Publisher: "Does it suck?"

Magazine: "On the suckiness factor of 1 to 5 I say this gets a solid 4."

Publisher: "Well don't keep me in suspense Bill, what's it supposed to be?"

Magazine: "An apron I think"

Publisher: "Call up that designer and let them know they are in."

Now why I ask, would anyone knit an apron let alone spend good money on the Collinette yarn it calls for? This question has been driving me crazy. So I came up with a list.

Why I would knit an apron:

1) I need to practice my stockinette stitch.

2) If I put on a strand of pearls and some heals, I'll look just like June Cleaver.

3) I'm substituting the Collinette for the acrylic I have marinating at the bottom of the stash.

4) You mean not everyone wants a knitted apron?

5) Its a great way to hide my voluptious back side.

6) I need a challenge. I'm trying to figure out how to get all of the food stains out of expensive yarn. I call it research.

I'm glad that I came up with the list. I can clearly see why one would find it beneficial to actually knit an apron. However that person is not me!

Butterfly Kisses

For about 2 weeks, every now and again, I have been feeling sensations in my belly. I have been second guessing it. I'm pretty sure its the baby but how can you know for absolute positive certain? Is it maybe gas? Nope, it can't be that cuz I don't have to fart. Is my tummy grumbling? Nope, I just ate.

Then this morning I felt a distinct kick. There was no mistaking it! Just a simple thump on my left side to let me know that he is there but not enough to make a full fledged announcement.

Thanks baby for a great Valentine's Day present.

Cuttin' Cotton

As you all know I'm having a baby! So far this pregnancy is completly different from my first one. You would think that because I have been through this before I would not worry as much but the exact opposite is true. I'm worrying about everything! For example, I have only gained 1 pound in 4 months. Is this a bad thing? I am overweight to begin with but still. Then at the 12 week Dr. visit, we were supposed to hear the heartbeat and didn't. So we had the ultrasound and found out that everything was all good. Then again at 16 weeks we didn't hear the heartbeat (granted I was coughing so much it was hard for the Dr. to actually hear anything), which warrented another quickie ultrasound. Again everything is OK. And then there is this whole being sick thing. I have a bad cold and cough which is getting better thanks to OTC meds. And lets not forget the occasional morning all day sickness.

Well I decided to do something about all of this. I decided to knit the baby a blanket. That will bring good luck right? It just has to.

Now not just any baby blanket will do. It has to be a one of a kind original blankie. One that is really soft and cuddly and that no other baby on the planet has.


I found a poem that I like:

Matthew Mark Luke and John
Bless the bed that I lie on
Four angels round my bed
Two of them stand at my head
Two of them stand at my feet
All will watch me while I sleep

I'm using Knit Picks Shine and I really like this cotton. Its machine washable and soft and cuddly as all get out. I'm gonna use the left overs to make a matching hat.

I decided to knit this in the round as I am more proficient at knitting with colors than with purling. Of course this means that when I'm done, steeking will be involved. Now I hear that it is possible to be successful at cuttin' cotton and I'm going on sheer blind trust here cuz I have not actually done this myself.



Suprisingly enough, the knitting went fast. I think it took about a week.

OK Now let the fun begin!!!



I'm securing the stitches with my handy dandy Brother. Of course I double stitched just to be on the safe side. This is cotton and not wool after all.



After both sides of the knitted stitches are double machined stitched in place we must prepare for the cutting. Right about now I'm really second guessing myself and I'm hoping that I'm right. Isn't there a yoga exercise or pose that can prepare you for this kind of stress? And wouldn't you know it, there isnt any chocolate in the house.



Scream with me now. AAAAAWWWWWWW AAAWWWWWWWAAAAAAWWWWWWW



Holy God that was painful yet successful! I have to say I get a rush every time I cut my knitting. Good God that was fun! I'll have to do that again sometime.

Having Some Fun

I have decided that a change of pace is in order. I have been bitten by the design bug and it sure is fun. However there is a downside to it. I can't be posting pics or talking about what I'm wanting to submit to be published on the off chance that the publishers will want it. This is what is really really hard cuz I'm just dying to tell ya'all about it and say "See? Look what I did!"

Well thats all gonna end right here and now. From now on I have decided to have a bunch of fun with my knitting and let you all in on a piece of the action as well. I'm gonna start posting about the process and then have a free pattern section on the side bar!

Remember that hat that my sister asked me to make for her? Well this is what I came up with and she loves it!

I was inspired by Elsebeth Lavold in her Viking Knitting book. There are some gorgeous cables in there. Tons of eye candy! Anyway I'm getting off track. I had some Highland Wool lying around in just the right amount and decided that is what I was going to use. Now I didn't swatch (you would think that I would have learned my lesson by now) but I have used this stuff often enough to know what my gauge is. Next I did the math for how many stitches I needed to fit around a head and worked it all out from there.

I found the cable that I just fell in love with, charted it, then re-charted and then charted again. I didn't use any fancy computer software, just a plain ol' paper and pencil. And you wanna hear something completely crazy? I actually liked the process. It was fun trying to figure out what should cross and where and how and all that stuff!!

When it was all said and done, I have a hat! I'm calling it "Garmisch" because my sister wanted a hat to ski with in Germany. Well Jean often tells us about Garmisch and how much fun she and her family have there! I'm hoping that you like my hat. Now I really need one of these babies for myself considering we are having ourselves a heat wave over here in Michigan. I hear we are supposed to get up to about 8F today! WAAHOO!

A Poem

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.
It was to me, and it's very well written.
" WINTER "
a poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre


SHIT!
It's Cold !

To Stash Or Not To Stash...

Stashing is a dilemma which many the majority of knitters face. It starts off as a simple skein of yarn. Then it becomes just a basket, then a couple of baskets. One knitter I chat with has an entire room full of yarn. (Lucky girl!)

As intriguing as this is, it got me to thinking while I was hard at work growing rust. Is stashing yarn really all that bad? This led to my list of reasons to stash.

1) One never knows when the next sheep shortage will take place.

2) Helps to pass on a legacy to your children.

3) Yarn is cheaper than cigarettes.

4) Knitting, which requires yarn, helps with the weight loss. If I have some knitting going on, I can't very well be eating can I?

5) Knitting, which requires yarn, is cheaper than therapy.

6) Nothing says "I love you" like a hand knitted sweater.

7) The stash is a great conversation starter.

8) I have always wanted to be the crazy yarn lady.

9) I'd bet Julia Roberts has a great stash.

And last but not least...

10) I consider it saving for retirement. I have absolutely no desire to knit with acrylic.

Socks, Socks, and More Socks

I first started knitting socks shortly after I started knitting. I saw the article in the magazine and all the fun sock yarns on the market and thought "I can figure that out. No problem!"

So I acquired some sock yarn and 4 pointy sticks. Shortly thereafter, I realized it would be much easier to use 5 pointy sticks and adjusted the knitting appropriatly. I should probably mention that this was the first time that I have actually knitted with double pointed needles.


When it was all said and done I ended up with these. My clown socks. I'm extremely proud of my clown socks. There was not a human being on the face of the earth that was able to ridicule them at that moment in time. No mam, I was proud to be able to join in the ranks of hundreds of sock knitting women that came before me.

So why wasn't I wearing them? If truth be told, they really were not all that the magazine article had them cracked up to be. The toes were just to pointy, the heel didn't really fit quite right, and I made the foot section entirely too long.

There just had to be a better way, and decided my next quest in life was to find the perfect sock pattern. Next month another magazine came in the mail with a different way to turn the heel. It was a slight variation on a theme but it created a shaped cradle for my precious heel. (I think that I should mention that I was meticulious about making gauge and it helped the outcome considerably.)


Sweet Success! The slightly different heel made all the difference in the world and I didn't knit the foot length until kingdom come! Nope, I measured my foot and knit until about 2 inches short of the final length just like the instructions said! This seemed to work out great and it produced a sock that was comfortable to wear.

So why wasn't I knitting more of these? Simple. The yarn keeps getting all tangled up, I lose half my stitches cuz the needles keep falling out and I'm tired of dealing with all those stupid pointy sticks.

So I said "Self, there simply must be a better way." And of course that lead to doing more research and I found about the 2-circ method by Cat Bordhi. Now being the cheap thrifty person that I am, I found places on the internet which explained this method in complete detail (later I eventually broke down and got the book). Around this time, another magazine article showed me the Pricilla Gibson-Roberts short-row heel method. Off I went and produced these.


These socks were much easier to make using the 2-circs than dealing with all of those stupid pointy sticks. And did I mention that they are the most comfortable socks to date?

The problem? I keep getting these annoying little holes in the heel. Holy socks. We will not be having any sort thing. Back to the drawing board.

I do like the short row method. I actually like it alot and its quite comfortable especially if you short row the toe as well. But the holes have got to go. SO after quite a bit of thought I remembered that I short-row stuff all the time and don't have the hole problem. Well this means that its the way that the short row is being executed. You see, Pricilla has you wrap the yarn around the needle which adds bulk to the that stitch, and when you have to re-wrap the yarn a second time when you are coming back on the return.

Now all this wraping and re-wraping is just way too much work. And its confusing as well. Just way too much to keep track of. So I'm short-rowing like every one in the sweater knitting community short-rows. I'm doing exactly what Elizabeth tells me to do. Just simply slide the stich you are gonna skip to the right hand needle, wrap the yarn, slip the stitch back to the left hand needle, turn the sock, and purl back. Then just keep slipping stitches, wrapping yarn, and either knitting or purling across the row until you have about 1 inch worth of stitches. Now on the increase part, you still have to wrap and turn but there is a trick or the stitches are mis-directed. On the knit side of the fabric, you have to slip, slip, slip, knit. On the purl side you have to purl the 2 wrapped stitches plus the actual stitch through the back loop.

This is my result!


Am I pleased? Extremely!

Crazy Pregnant Woman!

Me: "Honey, I'm cold."

DH: "What can I get you dear?"

Me: "Granny's quilt."

Ten minutes later

Me: "Honey, I'm hungry."

DH: "What can I get you dear?"

Me: "Ice cream with chocolate sauce."

At First Glimpse

"Hi mom!"

I'm Humbled Yet Excited!

Curiosity had got the best of me and I started to wonder. I wondered if anyone actually knit the patterns that were published at Elann. So I Googled it and would you believe that I found someone that knit "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"? Her shawl turned out great as well!!!

Ramblings and Such!

1) Last week I went and bought some kangaroo pouchers, aka mommy pants. I honestly thought that I would have more time in my normal pants but I guess that it is true about popping out sooner with the second baby. I think that I'm as big as I was after being 4 months pregnant but I'm only 3. Crazy huh? I'm feeling like a beached whale. Now of course cuz I'm a short shit I have to alter all of my pants. These are no exception. I got that all taken care of today! Now I don't have to put the rubber band on the normal pants and worry about the zipper coming down every 5 minutes.


2) There has been no knitting taking place to warrent a conversation about. I have been working on the EZ adult suprise jacket every so often. I'll have to take a pic and show you.

3) The resolution has some issues. OK I have some issues. Did you all see what Ann has coming up? I'm OK with everything but the DB Merino. This is merino we are talking about here. I don't happen to have any merino. However I do happen to have a $50 Elann bonus burning a hole in my account. Does it count against me if its essentialy free yarn? Honestly, I EARNED this yarn. I spent enough money to earn the bonus money and Ann really wants me to use it up right? OK I'm trying to justify my way out of adding to the stash and when I get the yarn I'll add it to the count on the sidebar.

I've Been Tagged

It seems that I have been tagged for a meme and while I thought about rebelling and not playing along, I realized all the fun you would miss out on if I didn't.


“THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

1) I startle extremely easily.

2) I have problems falling asleep when I'm not in my own bed or when my DH is not with me.

3) I still like PB&J for lunch!

4) I truely believe that chocolate is its own food group.

5) Rodents gross me out even though I had hamsters when I was a kid.

6) I can eat just butter. I know it sounds gross but I can just slice off a pat of real butter and eat it. Karolyn does the same thing.

I know that I'm supposed to tag 6 more people but I'm gonna rebel and not do it.

New Year Resolutions

New Year Resolutions. We all have them. Usually they consist of loosing weight, taking a trip or doing some sort of home improvement.

Well I'm getting tired of the usual resolutions that usually loose steam about mid February. So this year I'm gonna try something different.

There has been alot of talk about going on a yarn diet and there are all sorts of rules involved. Rules that dictate which yarns are calorie free, meaning you can get as much of that as you want to. And which yarns are strictly forbidden. And how many yards you should knit in a day. The list is endless and everyone has their own variation.

So here is what I'm going to do. Now the point here is to use up what I have and not add to the stash.



1) Count the yardage on the ball bands from last year. The total was a staggering 4913 yds. Now those are some smoking needles!

Saving ball bands is an easy way to keep track of how much you have knitted. When you are finished with the yarn, take the ball band and put it in the "gift with purchase" bag that you get at the make-up counter.

2) Promise to knit at least 80% of what was knitted last year.

90% = 4422 yds
80% = 3930 yds
70% = 3439 yds
60% = 2947 yds
50% = 2456 yds

I'm going with 80% because I'm gonna have another baby which will most definately cut into knitting time.

3) Yarn purchased counts against me.

So lets say that I knitted 1000 yds and then bought 500 yds of yarn. Then I have to subtract the yarn bought from the yarn knitted to end up with the re-tallied yarn knitted. SO 1000 - 500 = 500 yds knitted. I'm glad that you are following me here!

4) Have a really really good prize. This way I'll want WANT to stay with the program.

I was going to go to a knitting retreat as my reward for being good but I dont know how fesable that will be with a new baby. So I'm gonna have to think of something different. Any suggestions?

Now of course ANY yarn that leaves the stash counts, so if you happen to donate/ get rid of yarn, you can add that yardage.

I'm Home!

This past week has just been a whirl wind of activity. It all started with a 14 hour drive from Detroit to Atlanta. This is one very long drive. Thank God that we purchased a DVD player that attaches to the back of the headrest. It was a lifesaver as it managed to entertain Karolyn for the entire ride down there. We watched Ariel. The Little Mermaid that is. I did get to watch "Eight Below" and a couple of other movies but for the most part it was Ariel.

We stayed with my in-laws and had a wonderful time. We took Karolyn to a winery (more about that in a minute), to the mall, and then to the playground. Many pictures were taken by her grandparents. Were any taken by me? Not so much. I have to say I'm not very good in the picture taking department.

Now about this winery. Its called Chateau Elan. I could hardly believe it myself. My favorite internet yarn source is also a winery! I was elated and felt right at home. The wine is superb of course and DH bought 6 bottles. He says that its OK because you get a discount if you bought 6. I wasn't complaining. Now the tricky part is to convince him not to drink the stuff until after the baby is born and then we can drink all that we want to!


As far as Christmas goodies are concerned, DH thought I needed more diamonds and gave me some earrings. Did I tell you that I love that man? He also got me the KIP bags by Knitpicks, blocking wires, and the magnetic chart holder.

My DMIL gave me the Knitting Calender and Stephanie's book.



My brother John gave me some Alpaca yarn that he traveled all the way to Chile to get. He is in the Airforce and is sent down there quite often. When he is there, he gets me yarn and buttons and other cool things that he finds.


An online friend gave me this wonderful silk yarn. Have you ever seen colors this vibrant?

We stayed with my in-laws for a week and got home last night. We had a wonderful visit and look forward to seeing them again.

As I went to sleep last night I was thinking that as great as it was to be with family for Christmas, it was also great to sleep in my own bed.

I'm hoping that all of you had a wonderful Holiday Season and will have a plentiful new year!

Christmas Questions

Warning: The sergeon general has deamed this post to be blasphemous and quite possibly unaccaptable for Good Christian Eyes. Read at your own risk


I have a question that has actually been on my mind for quite some time now. Coming from a very religious Catholic family and have completely lost the faith, I can't really ask them. Basically cuz they will tell me that I'm going to hell (which has completely lost its effect now, being told that on a regular basis) and then light the candles to pray for my damned soul. I figure since I'm already doomed I may as well enjoy it right? So asked my mom to pray that Satan sits me next to Mr. Daniels and The Captain.

Now on to the question. You all know that song "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Of course you do, EVERYONE knows this song. Well there is a part in the song that goes....

A child, A child shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
let us bring him silver and gold

This is the part I have issues with. First off, if anyone brought my shivering baby silver and gold I'd be pretty upset. A blanket people! The kid is freezing over here. Don't you people have any common sence?

Which brings me to my next question. It is widly known that there were shephards watching their flock by night. Even the Bible says it so I'm not making that part up. But generally shephards watch sheep right? And sheep produce wool right? I'm pretty sure that they knew how to spin wool cuz the Egyptians spun wool and I think that it was common knowledge by that time. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this but I'm just saying that they did have the means to whip up a baby blanket.

So I'm wondering what everyone elses take is on this. Or am I just thinking too much again? I've been accused of that you know and its OK to tell me. I wont take it personal!

Announcement

I would like to take this opportunity to interrupt our regularly scheduled program and announce that there is a new ticker on the blog! Yep you got it, I'm having a baby!!!!!

See Eunny Knit!

I got my IK the other day in the mail and it was just jammed packed with great stuff. The patterns were ones that I would see myself making. The pictures were great and so were the articles....Until I saw the tutorial on steeking by Eunny.

I've done my fair share of steeking and find it fun and exhilarating! Just the idea of cutting open what you just spent countless hours knitting is a rush indeed. As I'm reading the article, it was just a refresher course until I got to the next page and she mentions sleeves and steeking!

Who would have thunk? Honestly? It sure as hell wasn't me but hot damn! I just have all of these new ideas in my head for this. And why not? It would make the sleeves go sooooo much faster AND you can knit a set in sleeve in the round and still have a great looking sweater. This clearly warrents investigation. I'm excited about it and really look forward to pursuing it!

As you may see, I have a Christmas Knitting Deadline ticker at the top of the page. Well that is when MY Christmas knitting needs to be completed so I can get it all in the mail. SO far I have my sister, neice, and mother-in-law completed.

Now for the dilema. I'm seriously considering selling a pattern. Its the hat that I designed for my sister for Christmas. I have the pattern written and all charted out. The quarks are all squared away. I just have to take a picture. Now for the tough part and I need your help with. Should I submit it to the pattern companies OR just offer it as a free pattern here on the site? The choice is yours as I'm incapable of making this decision on my own!

The First Time, Ever I Saw Your Face...

Every time I hear that song sung by Celine Deon on her Miracles album, I think of you. Dad says that they showed you to me right after you were born, however I don't remember that. I do remember them placing you right next to me by my head on the bed as we were wheeled from the operating room to the recovery room. You just looked at me with your big blue eyes and dimpled cheeks and rosy lips. I could just look at you forever.


That was two years ago today. Its hard to believe that you have been in my life for two wonderful years. Its seems like forever. I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives! I love you baby, Happy Birthday!

Mission Accomplished

This is Christine.



Christine has been working on this mitten for quite some time now. This mitten has been started, re-started, frogged and then re-started again about 5 times. There actually came a point when she was tempted to buy a mitten. I told her she worked too hard to just buy one. Sweat and tears went into this mitten. She has learned how to knit in the round on 2 circs during this process, add a thumb, and increase and decrease stitches. I'm extactic for her!



The look on her excited face telling me she finished? Priceless.

Trick-or-Treating

We went trick-or-treating last night and had a great time! I just love watching her do fun stuff.


At first she didn't get the hang of it. At the first house she tried to give the candy back!

After a couple of houses, she knew if she put her bucket out here, she got candy. Its all about the candy! We went to one house that had the light on and they didn't answer the door. Did she ever get mad cuz she didn't get the candy. Luckily Bob, our neighbor, made up for it. He let her just grab what she wanted.


We had a great time and Halloween is starting to become my second favorite holiday. Christmas being the first!












See these? These were found at JoAnns one day and I thought they would be great on my Kiri.

I got them and decided to add them to the edging. I really like that they are not all the same color and that they all magically match. I love it when a plan comes together.

Bri asked if this was for me. She was hoping that I would wear this with a slinky black dress. The answer is no. No this is a Christmas gift for my MIL. I'm hoping that she likes it. All of the ladies at Knit Night are in agreement that she will adore it.

Curves

I officially joined Curves. I'm pretty excited about it and I'm going on my lunch break 3 times a week and then on Saturday. I have more energy now and I'm feeling great. I also noticed a little muscle in my arm.

For those of you not familiar with Curves, its a 30 minute workout for women. They have these hydraulic machines and cardio boards set up in a circle they call a circuit. Well you just get on at any point, get off after you did 2 rounds and then stretch. They calculated if you do this you will have exercised for 30 minutes. You do each machine and then board for 30 seconds. And hey, I can do anything for 30 seconds.

Friday was my weigh and measure day. We do this once a month to track progress. Well I lost 1.5 pounds and 5.5 inches. I'm really excited about this.

Noro's Next Move

Now that I'm at the armpits and have decreased 2K (76 sts) at each point, Elizabeth tells me the next thing to do is INCREASE at the same point until I have recovered my 76 sts. Release the cows! Send them back to greener pastures.

Elizabeth dear, I just decreased all those lovely stitches. It was starting to become managable not having to knit all 342 sts at once. And now I'm supposed to add them back? Anything you say Elizabeth, Anything you say!

Making A List, Checking it Twice

Anyone who is a knitter knows perfectly well that the Christmas season really starts in July/ August. Then the relatives remember that Christmas is coming around September/ October. And yes, you are expected to complete all 354 items requested.

My sister was the first to actually request something. All she wants is a "mother/ daughter hat set." Now mind you this is not just any mother/ daughter hat set. That would be too easy. She wants one that is cool that she can wear on the ski slopes, and "can it please not be neon green." (That was the color of our house growing up, but that is a story for another time) It also must be personally designed for her and Alana. This would ensure that it is a one of a kind. Please no pom poms on the top... and while I'm at it nothing too offensive....

So here I am thinking while she is talking about something....

mom/daughter hat. check.
no pom poms. check.

I'm thinking maybe some fair isle or intarsia... and then she mentions.... "Libby, no animals... I don't do animals."

no animals... check.

"no geometric shapes"

no shapes..check.

"maybe you could do snowflakes, but they have to be cool looking. Nothing dorky"

maybe snowflakes..

"no scratch the snowflakes, definately no snowflakes"

So now I'm just wanting to play with her a bit..


"Mary, maybe I could make you a neon green hat with some orange dots that resemble snowflakes. On the top I'm thinking of leaving off the pom poms but adding a flying saucer. It would be a one of a kind and the talk of the slopes! Alana would be just darling in it!"

Now she is hystrical... "Libby, are you kidding me..I thought we just covered this..no ...(yadda yadda yadda)"

OK Mary, mommy/ daughter hats it is... coming right up!

Tag, I'm It!

Four jobs I’ve had:
Mt Rushmore gift shop sales: I once had this kid convinced that the Indians invented ice cream and they kept it cold by keeping it in ground cellars. I'm sooooo going to hell.

McDonalds girl: "Would you like fries with that?" I'm proud to say that if I ever get fired from growing rust I still have options!

Paper girl: It paid the rent in college.

Telemarketer: I had to call people during dinner time trying to sell them an add so they can sell their car.


Four movies I can watch over and over:

The Little Mermaid
The Man from Snowy River
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Elmo's World~ Karolyn loves them.


Four places I have lived:

Post Falls, ID
Toledo, OH
Moscow, ID
St. Clair Shores, MI


Four television shows I love to watch:

House
Battlestar Galactica
Flip this House
A Baby Story


Four places I have been on vacation:

Mazatlan Mexico
Hawaii
Glacier National Park: See Picture
Niagra Falls


Four of my favorite dishes:

My mom's pierogi~ sauerkraut all the way!
Grandma's chocolate chip cookies~ yes this does actually count as a dish. If you had them you would completely understand.
Aunt Pat's Cranberry Pot Roast~ This stuff is to die for.
My husband's salmon~ that man can make a mean salmon. I'm spoiled!


Four websites I visit daily:

Elann.com
various blogs
ebay
cnn.com


Four places I would rather be right now:
In Germany with my sister
Salt Spring Island
In a log cabin sitting next to a roaring fire knitting. There would be no TV, phone, kids, husband...this is to ensure that there would be no interruption to the knitting. There would be servants.
Diving the Great Barrier Reef.

Kiri

After all of the sts associated with Noro I'm needing a break from that one. So I casted on Kiri. I'm using Acapella by Austermann. Its a mohair/ acrylic blend that I'm using US8's on. (I can't use the 7's cuz those are being used by Noro.) The fabric is light and airy just as I want. I currently have 3 repeats of chart 2. I'm thinking that I need about 7-9 more repeats. Its an easy knit and now that I have the pattern memorized its going quite fast.

Hat Questions Answered

Money Question
I still have some of it but the bulk was spent on some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I got some blue and is it ever the most wonderful stuff. Cuddly soft, no itch factor. It passed the bra test ladies! Its a keeper. If it ever comes up again, I'm getting more. Lots More.

Technical Question
I tried the hat on me and while it is snug, its comfortable. You can make the hat out of another yarn that doesn't have elastic incorporated into the yarn but I would suggest to add more stitches. This hat was designed with a negative ease in it. Basically its smaller than what you would normally make a hat. I did this on purpose cuz the yarn is elastic and I'm counting on that to stretch when wearing. It worked out great!

To make it larger for use with a non-elastic yarn would be incredibly easy to do. The decreases are based off of multiples of 5. So increase the # of sts by a multiple of 5. (5, 10, 15, 20) However many YOU need to fit your noggin. Don't know how big your noggin is? Well you're gonna have to measure it then!

1) Find YOUR gauge with the yarn YOU are using.

2) Measure head and subtract about 1 inch. So if your head is 20 inches...you will be casting on 19 inches. This is so that when the yarn stretches the hat will still fit. Also you want the thing to be a bit snug don't you?

3) Determine number of stitches you need for the hat. If your gauge is 4.25 sts / in and you are gonna need 19 inches... just do 4.75 * 19 = 90.25. Because I have abolutly no idea how to knit a quarter of a stitch we are gonna call this 90. Is 90 devisible by 5? As it turns out it is! 90 / 5 = 18. Fantastic. We can now move on! What do you do if your # isnt devisible by 5? Well pick another #, usually going up or down a couple of sts will get you where you need to be. And dont be worrying about a couple of sts...its not that big a deal in the grand skein of things! Everything is OK, just settle down.

4) When making the strip, make it 19 inches long and then put your twist into it.

5) Pick up 90 sts around the Moebius strip band. (Remember we figured out this in step 3).

6) Knit in stockinette until the hat is about 2-3 inches from the top of YOUR hat. You will most likely need about 10 - 11 inches in total length. So when the hat is maybe 7-8 inches start the decrease.

7) Decrease.. We figured this out in step 3. This is where the divide by 5 business comes in. We want 5 swirl things on the top right? Well if you want more just make sure that the number of swirls divides by your sts evenly. No remainders...its important. Our magic swirl # was 18. (18 * 5 = 90) This means that we knit 16 sts, then knit 2 together, 5 times. (16 + K2tog = 18 sts). Next row is K15, K2tog. Decrease in this fashion until you have 5 sts remaining. Draw the loop through the remaining sts...weave in the ends.

Your Done!!!

Noro is playing with EZ!

Remember the Noro that I was going to make the EZ adult suprise jacket out of? I raided the stash a bit more to see if there was anything in there to match Noro. Nothing. Well I found some more of this color online. I'm taking that as a sign that this jacket was meant to be. Purchased it before anyone else could and started to read the instructions.

Elizabeth tells me to find gauge. Thats easy enough. I figured that I'm getting 4.75 sts/inch.

Next she says to figure out your body width, multiply it by my gauge and divide that by 3. Now here is where I actually have to sit down and figure out exactly what it is that I'm wanting. I know that I want a coat/jacket. I know that I want to line it and I'm still debating on buttons or a zipper. I'll figure that part out later. No need to concern my pretty little head about that just yet.

So I got my fave sweater (the Fair Isle I was raving about on my first post) and it is 50" around. Divide that by 2 and I get 25 for the body width. Unfortunatly that is not divisible by 3 neatly. 25 may not be but 24 sure is! I'm in luck.... So I'm deciding on 24 to be my lucky #.

My Key Number is 24 x 4.75 = 114. 114 / 3 = 38. 38 = K. I'm guessing that everything is based off of this lucky number. I sure as hell hope that I got that right and I'm wanting a 48 inch around jacket. I'm a bit nervous here but I've got Elizabeth on my side telling me to settle down!

Reading on she says to cast on 9 x K... ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? That is 342 sts.... Redo the math... Nope 342 it is..... Good Lord Baby Jesus....I'm gonna be casting on till the cows come home. They might not be coming home. EVER!

Next I'm supposed to mark 2K (76 sts) from each end and at this point do a double decrease on every other row. When I have 5K (190 sts) remaining I'm at the armpits.

The cows actually did come home and I made it to the armpits.

Now no offence to Elizabeth, but I have to say that I'm just blindly following along here. She has never lead me astray in the past and I'm counting on that now. I'm not really seeing where this knitted fabric is going but I'll just follow along. Extensive research has confirmed that there are other people that have done the very same thing that I'm doing and have been completely successful.

The worse that can happen is that I'll have to frog the thing right? OK that just sounds very very painful and we will not be speaking of that ever again. EVER!

I'm Published

A couple of months ago Elann had a contest. The rules were simple. Create a stylish chemo hat out of their Esprit yarn that covered the back of the neck.

I thought, and thought, and thought some more. By the time that I did all my thinking, there was about 2 weeks to finish figuring out what I was gonna knit, knit it, write the pattern and send it to Elann.com for judging. Well I knit, and knit and knit some more. Wrote up the pattern instructions, sent them in and won the contest!

I would have posted about this sooner. Don't you be looking at me like that cuz I would have... I was pretty excited about getting $100 in yarn money for a hat! Well when I finally sat down to blog about it the next day, the winning pic was taken down. So I decided to wait until today when it was offically published to tell you all about it.

You can find the pattern here. Enjoy!

Katrina

I finished the top I was making with her and just for the record, I didn't cheat on her at all. I may have lusted after Noro but there was no actual cheating. I think that I should be awarded a medal or something. The temptation was definately there.




Details:

I didn't actually make gauge. I was a half a stitch more than I needed when I swatched but that didn't seem to matter, for she is still a tad bit tight. Ray thinks it looks fine. I'm concerned about the curling at the bottom. OH she likes to curl. Did I mention that? I couldn't even block the curling out. I made the size that I would normally make to fit me (Large) but it was a bit too small for my personal comfort. I may make this top again but a bit bigger.

The fabric is thick and lovely and oh so warm next to the skin. I'm glad that I got the amount that I did. I'm thinking that I could use a v-neck t-shirt out of it as well. However this will have to wait as Noro is calling.

Pot of Gold

Today I went to Chelsea Michigan to the Spinners Fest. There was a ton of roving and would make any spinner salivate. I saw some ladies from Thursday Knit Night and they were trying to talk me into spinning. I have to admit, I almost went for it and then remembered the size of my home and we absolutly DO NOT have room for a wheel plus the roving stash I would eventually accumulate. I did find some yarn, some buttons and a book.

Now I know that I'm spending a lot of time with Katrina. And I'm almost done with her, and I know that there is more Katrina that does in fact deserve my attention. But there has been alot of talk about miters lately and I'm not really all that interrested in making a bunch of squares.

Then the stash was calling. "Libby, Libby remember me? The Noro at the bottom of the big crate in closet? I'm perfect for that project you have in mind" Well I came a runnin' and swatched and sure enough I agree with it. The Noro is gonna be EZ's Adult Suprise Jacket. Now I know I don't have enough for the jacket but then another yarn came a callin' and I said that it was OK for it to play along as well!

TGIF

Its over. Its finally over. I keep telling myself that. The week that is. I really didn't think that it would never end and next week is worse. Honestly, but more about that later.

Around July at my daughters 18 month well baby visit the doctor was concerned about her not talking. Sure she talks but not as advanced as other kids her age. I think that she says about 10 words and those are hard to distinguish. Sure I know what she is saying cuz I'm the mom and all but others? Well that is gonna take some getting used to.

The Dr. said that there wasnt anything that we could do about it at that time and to come back in 3 months. We did and he said to go to the Ear Nose and Throat Dr. He ran some tests, said she has "diminished hearing" and recommended for Karolyn to have tubes because of the number of ear infections during the summer. Apparently the winter is worse. Is that even possible? The surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. I'm scared to death.

We also saw the Speach Pathologist. She agreed that K has diminished hearing and said that she is about 3-5 months behind other kids her age. I told her about the upcoming surgery and she thinks that while Karolyn can in fact hear, to her it sounds like her head is under water. I just want her to talk. I keep thinking "Please talk, Please talk, Please talk"

Dinner is always tough cuz she is a picky eater. On the menu tonight was chicken and cooked carrots. She fed the dog all of her carrots and then ate the chicken.

Then she said "Nana" She was asking for a banana, I gave it to her and thanked God.

Wednesday was homework night. We colored and put the stuff she did at day care on the frig! Thursday was Purple Day at day care. We wore puple.

Next Wednesday I have to talk my way out of jury duty so I can take Karolyn for her surgery on Thursday and then we can recover on Friday.


So tonight I'm having a drink!

Morgantown, WV

Morgantown is gorgeous. It is a quaint little college town, home of the West Virginia University. Everything is on a hill. If you have to go anywhere there is a hill involved! It reminds me of my college town of Moscow, Idaho, home of the University of Idaho. It too is situated on the top of a hill. I think that the University developer said.... "Joe? Where is the tallest hill/mountain in the state?" "Why Bill, I think that is located in Moscow." "Then that is where the University is gonna be located!" Oddly enough about 10 miles across the border into Washington state is the Washington State University which is as you guessed it, on a hill.

Now Labor Day weekend in Morgantown is fun. There was a big game going on between the WVU vs. Marshall. From what I understand, Marshall is a lesser University and not even in the same league as WVU. Well Marshall really really wanted to play the University so they got the governor to mandate it and now its called the "Friends of Coal" Bowl. It was on ESPN and everything! Jonathan and Andrew were able to get scalped tickes for about $65 a piece. Ray, me, Cathy and their aunt and uncle stayed at the house and heard all of the commotion going on at the stadium (down some hill and up another). Everyone had a great time! While the guys were at the game getting drunk, we were at home getting drunk on some local wine.

This stuff is simply great! We were feasting on the "Niagra" wine. I have an incredible sweet tooth and I'm not a fan of dry wine however this stuff was not dry and just sweet enough. Cathy, Ray's sister, and I enjoyed a bottle with some of Aunt Darron's bread pudding with some wine sauce. It was soooooo good I thought that I died and went to heaven!

Knitting Reviews

On the 7 hour drive to Morgantown I was reading my new book. I have to say that I'm not all that crazy about it. Sure its chatty and has some funny moments but for the most part, I could live without it. I know I know, I'm gonna go to hell for saying that but its the truth. I think that the majority of the projects in the book are not by the authors and the one blanket that I did like which was pictured, did not include a pattern. To their credit, they did tell you where to go and get the pattern, but still. I'm wanting instant gratification here and it just wasn't there for me.

Dear Ann and Kay,

Please refrain from giving us a picture without the pattern, that is just plain cruel and mean and could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. I think that there should be a law against that sort of behavior. I'm tempted to get the governor of West Virginia on that cuz he has more time on his hands now that he got the game between the WVU and Marshall all sorted out.

Thanks
Libby


Questions Answered

Sandra asked if the knit picks needle cord was long enough. I have to say that I believe that it is. I was knitting with them on the drive to WV and had no problem with the needles being short. I was using the 24" cord with the US6 and US7 needle and had no problem at all.