Knit From Your Stash 2007

Okay, I've seen Knit From Your Stash 2007 around blog land and decided it's a good thing for me to do.

Knit From Your Stash 2007 Guidelines

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?

2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.

2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.

2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.

My Guidelines:

5. Yarn for crochet projects count.

6. I can use gift certificates I may receive to purchase yarn.

7. Purchases can be made from any yarn/craft related events such as Stitches East that I may attend during the year.

8. I may occasionally purchase yarn at Woolbearers when I attend a knit or spin out. After all you gotta support your LYS.

Happy Holidays

Back from Vacation

I just returned from a family cruise. This is the third pre holiday cruise we've taken. This go round we met in Fort Lauderdale and sailed to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.



Some of the gang. 32 of us went this trip.



My sister and me.



My three kids and their friends.

Pedicure Socks

Pattern: Knitty's Pedicure Socks
Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool, color Wedgewood
Needles: Addi Turbo 12" circulars, size 5

I modified the pattern by doing a short row heel.

Hooked on Socks

I have finished my second pair of socks.

Pattern: Cuff Down Short Row Heel Socks

Yarn: Hand dyed worsted wool by Woolbearers

Needles: 12" size 4 Addi Turbo Circulars and size 4 DPNs

Next on the needles are the pedicure socks from Knitty

Little Lady E

I decided to do another entrelac project because I like this stitch.

I'm using the Lady Eleanor pattern from Scarf Style but I casted on less stitches so this will be a scarf rather than a stole.

Yarn is Rowan's Tapestry.

Socks

My very first pair of socks. I decided to start with a basic tube sock. The yarn is Patons SWS leftover from my Clapotis.

I have to admit DPN's take some getting used to. I casted on with the DPNs, knitted a few rows then switched to a 12 inch circular.

These were really simple to do.





Next on the needles are socks done with the short row heel. These are taking a bit longer. I had to do the heel twice before I understood what I was doing. The yarn is yummy. It's a wool/mohair blend hand dye that I picked up at my favorite LYS Woolbearers. I'm determined to get these done this week.

Friends are Forever

Last night I hung out with my reserve buddies. We've been through a lot over the years, good times and bad.

Since I retired last AugustI hadn't had much contact with them. So they called and read me the riot act. We agreed to get together for a girl's night. We went and had a nice Italian dinner, boy did we pig out. Then we just hanged at one's house for a bit and do what women do. One just came back from Iraq this past August. She is going back again next month. I'm glad I'm retired but boy have I missed them.

Stitches East 2006

My LYS Woolbearers sponsored a bus trip to Stitches East at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland yesterday. To start us off, Suzie, one of the owners, gave all attendees a bag of goodies. She also held a raffle on the bus and gave away some additional prizes. I wasn't lucky enough to win one.

The bus arrived at 10 a.m. and we weren't scheduled to leave until 5 p.m. I thought oh boy this was a long time to be here. However, I was busy checking out stuff the entire time. I had to make myself eat a late lunch at around 3 p.m. But first thing I did was "case the joint". I walked up and down the aisles just checking out the vendors and what they had. Some of the vendors were familiar: Dreamweaver Yarns, Webs, Rosies (a yarn store in Philly), Interweave Press, etc. Then I got busy.

I bought some Berocco Soft Twist to make the Simple Knitted Bodice. The Berocco is supposed to be a good substitution. The recommended yarn, Tilli Tomas, which I saw yesterday in the two sweater variations, is nice yarn but the price is way up there. So the Berocco will have to do. Especially the way I've been messing up patterns lately.

I also bought some Noro Aurora. I might do another Lady Eleanor stole. I would like one for myself. And I bought some ribbon type yarn to make some quick scarfs and a bolero jacket for a 10 year old. Lastly, a few skeins of wool for some felting projects. Which brings up the subject of bags, felted ones from now on. I'm getting nowhere with sewing and lining the bags I need to finish.

Then I bought a few gadgets because I like toys. I bought a sweater blocking kit and a yarn keeper bracelet. Plus a few crochet hooks and some other little odds and ends.

There were plenty of workshops going on but I didn't sign up to take any. Just as well as I was too busy browsing. Also saw some wonderful things that other crafters had made. One of the guards at the door said that he would never of thought knitting was such a big deal. I told him to bite his tongue.


The bus was full going down. It was a lot fuller on the way back. I only had a few bags but some of those ladies had suitcases on wheels.

All in all it was a long day but a really nice and enjoyable one.

Frogged, Fixed and Finished!

Thanks to a wonderful person over at The Clapotis Knitalong at Yahoo Groups, I found out where I went wrong with the Clapotis pattern. In section 4 of the decrease rows, you are to drop a stitch at the beginning and at the end of row 8. I only dropped the stitch at the beginning. So I frogged the bad section 4 portion (wasn't bad with this yarn), fixed it and I'm finished!! Now I'm happy with the project.

Another quizzie. Got this one from Deneen's blog. And it's dead on!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have?

Knitty's Clapotis

Project: Knitty's Clapotis

Yarn: Patons SWS in Natural Navy, not quite 8 skeins

Needles: KnitPicks Options, size 9

This was a fast fun knit. I was able to complete the project within two weeks time.

Paton's SWS yarn is wonderful. I will definitely be using this yarn for more projects.

H o w e v e r!
I went wrong somewhere in the pattern so eventually I will get to frogging, sigh! Needless to say this won't be a Christmas gift like I wanted it to be. Before frogging this I think I'll do a mini clap, maybe I'll figure out where I went wrong.

How Many of Me's Are There?

Only one. Oh well. I saw this on Celeste's blog and thought it was cool.

HowManyOfMe.com

There is: 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

BIP's

BIP's stands for bags in progress.

The pink one is the fat bottom bag from The Happy Hooker. The blue is another cable knit purse.

I hate to sew and am bad at it. I'm going to attempt to sew the linings with this little gadget.

Wish me luck!

13th Annual Walk Along for Lupus

A cousin of mine has Lupus. Also my friend Deneen, an online swap buddy. For the past two years my family has been supporting the Lupus Alliance of America and participating in their annual walk. The 3.2 mile walk will be held on Sunday October 15th, 2006 in Eisenhower Park, Parking Field #6, East Meadow NY. Registration begins at 8:30am. The walk will begin at 10:00am, with an after walk lunch party to follow. If you are in the area, come out and join us. Or if you'd like to make a donation, further details can be found by clicking here.

Home From Vegas

I've returned from my weekend trip to Las Vegas. I had a great time out there. I got in lot's of good eating, walking, gambling and site seeing, also caught a show. I did absolutely no knitting or crocheting. I could of done so on the flight but decided not to bother taking any tools in my carry on. So... I got to get busy finishing up some projects, especially the swaps.

Christmas Square Swap

I have finished my 12 squares for the Christmas Square Swap over at CAL Pals. I have to send a square to 12 pals who in turn will each send me a square. I've received three so far, they are beautiful. It's going to be fun putting this afghan together. Now I just got to get to the post office and mail them.

Nothing Like a Good Yarn Sale

Sometimes it's hard to pass up a good yarn sale. A few weeks ago Knitpicks had a summer year end sale so I had to get some of the Shine worsted and sport yarns.

I'm working on what I call my current "commuting" project with the cherry Shine Sport yarn. It's the ballet camisole from MagKnits. My bus commute is perfect for projects that consist of the endless stockinette stitch. I've gotten really good knitting continental style.

I also purchased some of Brown Sheep Yarns Cotton Fleece and Lamb's Pride Worsted and Bulky yarns from The Sheep Shed Studio. Great prices however not many colors are available and the yarn is labeled "yarn seconds" and discontinued yarns. I've ordered roving from Carol at Sheep Shed and she provides wonderful service.

Fall Sweater WIM

Fall is among us and these three patterns fit in well with the season. Now if only I can find some nice yarn and the time to do them:

Chic Knits Ariann - designed by Bonne Marie Burns

Interweave's Smoky Quartz Tunic - designed by Doris Chan

Stitch Diva's Simple Knitted Bodice - designed by Stefanie Japel aka Glampyre

The Last Knit

I saw this over at Jenn's Blog. The video is over 5 minutes but it's really adorable.

Bookmark Swap

A few months ago, we had a quick bookmark swap over at CAL Pals. This is the bookmark I received from my swap partner Andrea.

Felted Bag

No pattern felted bag knitted with 4 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.


Before Felting


After Felting

Soleil and One Shoulder Tunic

Two tops recently completed knit tops:

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Pattern: Knitty's Soleil
Yarn: Elann's Sonata, color 7170 burnished apricot
Needles: Addi Turbos, size 6
Modifications: Two rounds of the lace section instead of three

One Shoulder Tunic from Teva Durham's Loop d Loop knitted with Lily Elite Cotton, color vanilla.

Crocheted Shrug

Quick shrug crocheted with Cascade Sierra.

Excuse the calamine lotion on my arms. I had been working in my yarn and was attacked by mosquitos, ouch!

Ribby Shell

Pattern: Chicknits Ribby Shell

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Worsted, color Ebony.

Finally Lady Eleanor

After 4 months of knitting with 10 balls of Noro Kuryeon colorway 146 my Lady Eleanor stole is finally done. Pattern came from Interweave's Scarf Style.

I love the way it turned out. It's bigger than I am and I haven't even blocked it yet. But I will, I'm just so happy it's finally done.


















I plan on giving it to my mom for her birthday in a few months. I think she'll love it as much as I do. I would like one for myself but as this took me so long to knit I may attempt crochet entrelac.

Sweet Pea Shawl

From The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller, pattern by Amie of Nexstitch

Yarn: RY Cashsoft DK, color 512 Poppy.

Solomon's Knot Shawl

Solomon's Knot Shawl

Yarn: Elann's Endless Summer Collection Connemara, color #112.

I have been trying to learn this stitch for a long time. One day it just clicked and I couldn't believe how simple it really is. I took this shawl to the LYS one day to show the owner and a customer wants me to teach her this stitch, yikes!! She claims she can't read a pattern but that she can learn if someone shows her. So I'll give it a go, we are going to meet at the LYS in a few weeks.

Honeycomb Shawl

Here is the Honeycomb Shawl that I tested for Lisa, a fellow CALPal.
Yarn used Bernat is Bernat Berella Sportspun DK.

Bad Blogger

I'm still around. I've been really bad with blogging this summer. That's because I have constantly been on the go. I've been to 4 reunions within a 6 week period, been on vacation and been away for work. But hopefully things will settle down now that the summer is winding to a close.

I have managed a small bit of crafting and do have some FOs. I'm staying put this weekend so between catching up on housework, laundry, etc, I'm going to try and squeeze some blogging in.

Current WIPs

On my needles is the Ribby Shell by Chicknits. I'm using Knit Picks Shine in Ebony.

On the hook is a shawl that I'm testing the pattern. It's called the Honeycomb shell and the pattern was written by Lisa from CAL Pals.

Yes, I know I said no more knitting projects until I finish Lady E, but I couldn't help myself.

Summer Swap

I received my package from my summer swap buddy Andrea over at CAL Pals. I got a really neat bag, some patterns, some yarn, and a purse handle. All will be put to good use. Thank you Andrea!! I had her package done for weeks but could never get to the post office. I ended up putting postage on it and gave it to my mailman yesterday. I should of did that from the beginning.

Starghan Completed

I finished the star afghan I started a few weeks ago. It's a present for one of my nail techs who just had a baby.