sheepish one

happy holidays

2010-12-09T14:05:00.001-08:00

wishing you and yours the very best this holiday season.
warmly, melana

wreath made with yarn, ornaments, lotsa glue, and totally inspired by starbucks' wreaths of 2008.

find & go seek

2010-11-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

i know you visit sheepishone to help me to celebrate my adventures in knitting, and you may have noticed that the adventures have come to a near halt.

after agreeing to knit a february lady sweater for a friend, i learned that a profession in knitting is not something in which i'd be successful; when knitting as a love-to becomes knitting as a have-to, all of the enjoyment goes out the window. especially when i have to twice.

it's possible that a less burdensome project may have led me to be more productive this year, but there is another reason my sticks and string have been sitting untouched: my friend and i have embarked on another sort of adventure. while it's very exciting to be in business for ourselves, and the website is up and running at long last, it's required a lot of sleuthing and sweat equity!

our site, modesto.findandgoseek.net, is sort of a social catalog of family-friendly things to do and sites to see in california's central valley. art galleries, theaters, museums, and organized activities abound. and while not really metropolitan itself, modesto, california, is so perfectly situated that within a couple hour's time, you may find yourself lounging on the beaches of the pacific coast, hiking along a creek that winds through the sierra nevada mountains, exploring the rich agricultural history of the area, or enjoying the sophisticated city life in san francisco.

it is our hope that the site inspires our fellow central valley residents to get out of the house and do, see, and learn new things, all the while spending quality time with their children.

watch me unravel

2010-09-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

what i spent free moments in august doing: knitting a february lady sweater for pay.

what i did in 20 minutes today: frogged it, and sang a song while i did so, just so i can re-knit it in september.

knitting for the near future

2010-07-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

when fall arrives, i will squeal with delight and pull on my recently-completed sweater.

a lot of my modifications were listed here, but even if you made no changes to this pattern, you would find yourself just as happy as i.

the pleating and the slightly puffy sleeves make me giddy...

no pockets on this one. i wanted to be sure that all attention was drawn upwards, upon better assets...

i had found some lovely amber faceted buttons on etsy, and had even as i was sewing them on, i thought, "these are too teensy. the buttons will slip through..." i wore it for only twenty minutes before the first two buttons came undone. as a result, the tortoiseshell buttons i bought as a plan b were then used.

pattern: manu

yarn: just under six skeins of the plucky knitter merino lite dk in honey wilkes

needle: body knit on a US 6, but i also used a size 5 and size 7 for cuffs, bands, etc.

summer daze

2010-06-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

another month has gone! i cannot fathom that we are halfway through with 2010. seems like just yesterday i was posting about holiday cooking and crafting, and i suppose that has much to do with the fact that i only have four blog posts under my belt for 2010.

i am still plugging away, turning a gorgeous pile of merino wool into a gorgeous sweater [both are ravelry links]: manu has been slowly worked. between all of the highs and lows of another school year closing, then the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a very short summer, and having succumbed to a great book series, there really hasn't been much time devoted to knitting.

i managed to hide away and tink back then re-knit the pleated section last weekend... there were stretched, hole-y stitches right at the pleat on the right side of the sweater, while the pleats on the left side were tight and closed properly. i tried to rectify the holes early on, but couldn't seem to find a way, then plunged onward; the dissatisfaction crept up, though, and i carefully had to work my way back and through the perpendicular construction of the side edging. by knitting slowly and deliberately, i am happy to say that although they're not perfect, the stitches are a lot less loose.

the pattern has taught me a lot. i haven't deviated too much from it, though i have made the sleeves shorter (three-quarter length); mirrored the pleats so that they do not all go in one direction; and removed one row of purling entirely, so that the pleats fall directly from the neckline; i will not be including the pockets, as much as i adore them on other manus i've seen. what awaits me now is applying an i-cord bind off. finding the perfect button is also at the forefront... any recommendations as to where to head for those?

in which good things are celebrated

2010-05-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

good things. they are all around.

the enticing fragrance of sweet peas.

the promise of a bounty of sugar snap peas.

the simple perfection of stockinette.

the unmistakable allure of coffee...

... just about everywhere i go.

in which tea is served

2010-03-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

the cool winter weather had me inspired to knit sweaters. the last one of the winter was bound off and finished last week, just in time to wear (at least once) before spring had sprung.

pattern: tea leaves; yarn: cascade 220 heathers in "irelande" (2429); 36".
more details -- including a few minor modifications -- over at ravelry.

the ruched yoke is certainly my favorite part, although the garter stitch cuffs come in at a quick second. the stockinette was a little mind-numbing, but really, it moved so quickly, i couldn't even bring myself to complain.

i'm trying to figure out what to cast on next. maybe these in this? this pattern with this yarn? in since the sun is out and we'll have very few days below 70 from here till october, i'm sure i'll be likely to knit socks, socks and more socks. however, the garden (here's the start of last year's) will be keeping my hands busier than the yarn, and embroidery is (hopefully) going to keep me employed... i'll pop in when there's something exciting to report.

in which i dream of pastures and farms

2010-01-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

it's raining. again. last time i posted, it was raining as well, and for several solid wintry storms to come so low as sunny california in so short a time is pretty atypical. dreary weather has swallowed us up. and i love it.

if it weren't for winter and its precipitative nature, how would i sustain my garden come summer? last week, i ordered my warm-weather seeds. i'm anxiously awaiting their arrival. living in a USDA zone 9 affords a long growing season; i'll start some seeds in cell packs as soon as i can. propagation methods will not differ greatly from last year's, but the varieties of seeds i selected do. my choosy tendencies come into play here!

though our garden plot is not large by any means, i do feel like a real, grown-up gardener when things are growing well and producing. growing and nurturing the garden makes me appreciate those farmers that work on larger farms, or those farmers who didn't have the modern conveniences we do today...

i suppose that maybe the daydreams of warmer days and turning soil was already in my head when i started scouring ravelry for a new knit project. i had a skein of malabrigo worsted in glazed carrot in the stash -- one i'd bought last summer when i saw the lone skein of it sitting in the store. i'd been feeling that a cowl in that orangey color would be perfect in all of this gray weather, especially since i walk about in a charcoal gray jacket, jeans and dark shoes most days. i came across gudrun's crofter's cowl and cast on immediately. the cowl is unlike any other i've knit, with a unique construction: you knit two halves then graft them together. the three-repeat pattern for each half is a shetland lace, which is beautifully showcased with the single ply, lofty malabrigo.

this project definitely required stitch markers, though i believe it was due to the fact that i was watching heavy doses of HGTV while knitting and staying dry inside. i worried that my kitchener's stitch was too tight and created a visibly invisible seam, but i think that what looks like a seam is more the cause of the color variegation typical of malabrigo. in any case, when the cowl is all slouchy on the neck, the midline is the least visible part...

in other knitting news, my modified annikki is almost done. yes, really! the sleeves were done last week, i cast off the back last night, and am halfway up the left front. besides the most basic mods i noted over here, i have also made further changes mid-knit. i've been certain to take notes and hopefully i continue to make progress in the right direction. once i finish, you'll be the first to know, of course!

frozen needles

2010-01-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

on this rainy winter morning, i am finding my mind ever drifting to thoughts of knitting. there is laundry and cleaning to be done -- when is there not? -- but all i can think about is cozying up with some yarn and coffee, the preschooler nestled up against my side.

it's a romanticized view of what will, in all honesty, be a source of stress to me, because once again, i want to knit a sweater, but also want to modify the pattern significantly.

the yarn is here. the pattern booklet is finally here. now i just need to find my courage.

annikki is a long sweater coat. the design of the top half is what i adore: the ribbed polo collar; the modern, snug fit. but i simply cannot fathom wearing a handknit sweater coat. firstly, this skirt feature would only accentuate areas i try to mask on a day to day basis. secondly, i live in a temperate climate, where even wearing a waist-length sweater all day long is not always a possibility. thirdly (and lastly, though i could probably drone on and on), i can just imagine snagging the skirt part of the coat each and every time i sit. i'm not especially clumsy, but i would figure that the wear and tear on this knit would be evident first in its bum region. (see point one.)

so what to do? how to begin planning the adjustments needed? i think that this blog post has been a good start. airing out my grievances makes it feel as though it's a necessity to modify the pattern. other people have successfully altered the design. surely, i can, too.

are you one of those daring knitters, jumping right in and figuring the modificatons as you go? are you able to pick up a pattern, then pick up a yarn in a gauge other than listed and just go to it? or do you refuse to deviate from the pattern -- yarn, stitch count and all?

or are you like me, and take weeks to research possible substitute yarns in the same weight, and in what color, and carefully knit a gauge swatch, only to see -- again, in plain sight -- that your gauge is too tight [obviously! c'mon, you've been visiting here a while. you must know by now that i'm tightly wound, ergo my gauge would be tight!] and you've got to go up not one, but two needle sizes? and once you've got the gauge right, do you then wait another week before you can cast on, just to be sure that you really can and want to commit to this garment? no? then come over. i have coffee. i need to borrow your fearless knitter's confidence.

you're living through another year

2009-12-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

resolutions of all kinds spark and catch in my mind at this time of year; i suppose it natural to approach blogging with the same sort of goal-setting. but this blog? well, i'm not sure of what to think as i sit here, staring at the blank(ish) dialogue box, knowing that i've only posted 18 times this year. are 18 posts a sign that i'm blog-fail? are 18 posts indicative that life only gets busier and more chaotic each passing year? are the mere 18 posts a testament to my lack of consistency? how do i reconcile my occupation of this space with the obvious lack of voice? do i renew the vow to be more diligent, etching out the time to publish in this little part of the interwebs? rather, do i just cast aside the feelings of disappointment in myself and push onward, not looking back and dwelling on the quiet that was?

in reality, these days have been anything but quiet. the weeks of november, and then especially the first two weeks of december, were filled with the nutcracker commitments. laurel danced again this year, with the regional professional ballet company, so not only was she rehearsing and performing a lot, but as a family, we are required to donate time on tasks that help the production run smoothly. the calendar was peppered with nutcracker responsibilities, and everything else was fit in around them, too.

holidays came and holidays went. many pictures were taken. lots of goodies were baked and cooked. i made lemony snickets and pumpkin cheesecake, spatchcocked a turkey and rocked turkey gravy, decorated sugar cookies, perfected shortbread (finally), and indulged in peanut butter cups. we hosted a traditional scandinavian smörgåsbord for christmas. we will be having a quiet but happy new year's eve celebration.

spatchcocked turkey... it's roasted flat.

and though not as prolific as last winter's knitting session was, i've had the needles going. november saw the finish of the beautiful chevron love mittens, one of my favorite knits to date.

over thanksgiving break, i whipped up a cable comfort throw for annika's teacher (and now need to make another, bigger one!) in bulky yarn. when knitters tell you this is a quick and economical knit, believe it! and, at last, i earned my seaming badge with this project.

an unseasonably cold december made everyone's soft california bones ache, but especially those of our chihuahua-dachshund mix, stitch. i carefully measured her, then knit her a wool sweater, only to find it too tight to be comfortable. i am not going to give up, however; other design options are being explored.

stitch is not so happy.

the only handknit i really wanted complete for a christmas gift was a pair of socks for the dear husband. but what's that about always abusing those we love the most? well, i don't abuse him, but he isn't getting his socks for another few days...

reinforced heel -- the first one i've done...

the pattern is roger sock, the yarn is heritage sock. partly due to a hectic schedule, and partly due to backordered reinforcement thread, i'm only about 75% finished. as always, it took me a few repeats to "get" the pattern; i'm *so* not a one-glance-at-the-chart-and-i-get-it knitter.

as this post and year come to a close, i want to thank those of you who do stop by once your blog readers flash that i've decided to make an appearance. every one of your comments make me feel like there is a reason i eke out the time to write. each of the readers that take the initiative to reply earn a new blog reader themselves. blogging is fun, once i sit down and get to typing. i'll have to remind myself of that more often.

happy holidays, and the best new year's wishes to you and yours.

xoxo,
melana

half WIP (alternatively, half FO)

2009-11-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

sort of like "glass half empty, glass half full", right?

i am so the "glass half empty" girl. not as bad as a debbie downer, or cathy, but still pessimistic in my own right.

this mitten, however, might make me a more optimistic knitter. since technically it's one of two mittens, it's not a finished knit, but it's off the needles, with the ends woven*, and free to be put on, admired, taken off, and repeated as necessary.

amidst what is already a crazy busy week, i'll find some time to cast on the mate. (that's optimism for you!)

*i carried the yarn up the inside of the mitten. there were very few ends to be woven.

floating through space and time

2009-10-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

floats. my new challenge.

i'm still working on the chevron love mittens. it's a good thing i'm head over heels in love with the pattern and the yarn, or this first mitten would have ended up thrown in a corner and left to become a den for dust bunnies...

i had to frog the first attempt, as i was pulling much too tightly on the floats during that first go round.

natural neutrals chevron love mitten kit

things are going more smoothly now, though i haven't had a whole lot of time to knit lately, much to my chagrin.

i can, however, share a finished knit with you. not surprisingly, it's another mitten set, and again, not a shocker, the pattern is nothing short of perfection.

i've now knit two pair of phenomenon. the first pair was to test knit the pattern for it's designer. i thought it was pretty great at that point, but after additional tweaking, the newest version of phenomenon is absolutely phenomenal.

cascade 220 superwash in grey (816), held double throughout

it's a free pattern, but one you must have a ravelry account to access. a previously released pattern will do the job, but phenomenon mimics the patterned palm featured on the mittens used in the movie.

what challenges you as a knitter? colorwork? cables? finishing work? carving out time to devote to your craft?

round and round we go

2009-10-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

circulars. dpn's. when knitting in the round, what is your preferential tool?

i've mentioned the wanted to learn magic loop before. as always, someone in the knitting blogosphere was willing to share. the generous leslie sent me her unused booklet. she bought it thinking she'd teach herself... sometime. well, sometime turned into "not yet, and it's been a while!" so it made its postal journey across the country.

i tried. i tried really hard. and i discussed it here. not in depth, but discuss it i did. but i failed. in the end, i ripped the sock off the circular, threw it on dpn's and went to work. of course i thought of old dogs and new tricks, and decided that whatever method was successful for me was the method i was going to stick with. (and let's be honest: if a fabulous knitter like leslie doesn't feel the call to learn the magic loop, why should i?)

fast forward 18 months. last week, while on a chartered bus, i learned that there is a serious benefit to knitting socks (or whatever) on circulars: you cannot drop your needle and lose it when it rolls to the very front, very back, or in the crack of a 60-seat bus filled with fourth and fifth grade students who will gawk and point if you crawl around on the floor.

thankfully, i had brought a few extra dpn's, as i planned to knit the cuffs of both Mystery Sock '09 socks, and complete the first clue for the month. Mystery Sock KAL is my favorite. i participated last year and really loved the socks i ended up with at the end of it all. this year, i dug through the stash, hoping that kirsten will again provide a great pattern that looks divine in a semi-solid.

dream in color smooshy, gothic rose

on a whim, i bought a 12" addi turbo in a US 9 to work the sleeves of my february lady sweater. i had size 9 dpn's but i was really loving the ease of a circular throughout the body of the sweater, and although at the time i didn't know i'd use it again so soon, i'm glad to have it. i am using it to knit laurel a pair of phenomenon mittens (ravelry link) for halloween, when she dresses up as bella from twilight.

cascade 220 superwash, gray

so am i a circular convert? i don't know that yet; however, i do know that i'm going to give the magic loop another whirl.

if for nothing else, it will keep me off my hands and knees on the floor of a bus.

the call of fall

2009-09-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

so the weather here in sunny california isn't exactly fall-like, but there is nothing but cozy autumnal knits on my mind.

is there anything better than a finished project that you can actually wear and like? the february lady sweater (which i loving call my "finally, a lady sweater") is finished, buttons sewn, and blocked. there is not much that i can say about the sweater that others haven't already. it's a simple knit, which makes it easy to pick up and knit whenever you've a free moment; it's a lovely raglan design so there is no finishing work on the sleeves; and it's been knit so many times, there are a multitude of tips available and tons of inspiration regarding yarn substitutions.

my fls required only 3.5 skeins of dream in color classy "cocoa kiss". knit at gauge on size 9 needles, there are 22 repeats in the body and 17 in the sleeves. now that it's done, i would have knit one more repeat in the sleeves; however, i did wet block the sweater, stretching the sleeves that extra inch. the large, wonky buttons are plastic, and a completely different color than that of the yarn, but complementary. and here it is, modeled:

if i'm not the last person on the planet to knit this, and you, dear reader, are thinking of casting on your own fls, you might find these links helpful: the buttonhole tutorial listed in the pattern is a great one; for the eyelet increase in the yoke, go to this great calculator (though lots of great looking february lady sweaters don't even have the eyelet row); and of course, the ravelry pattern page is a great place to start.

and because the fls is officially finished, chevron love mittens is replacing it on the works-in-progress list. (i have a rule of three. three projects are always on the wip list. one is always a sock, one is a no-brainer project, and one is an involved project.) i can't wait to have the mittens ready for winter wear with my new charcoal pea coat.

chevron love mittens (natural neutrals kit)

non-creative convalescence

2009-09-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

thanks to a great live-in nurse (the husband), I have been able to thoroughly rest and begin to recover this week.

as desirable a week off from household duties, kid carting, and general responsibility might seem, I can't say that I made great use of the time. most activity made my already aching head pound that much more. I know I couldn't have done anything more than I was able to accomplish.

yesterday, I finished the first of my "just another sock" pair. this is the project that sits in my purse, ready for action when I'm sitting and waiting for the kids to finish school, sports, or art classes. the sock couldn't be more simple, planned that way so I don't need to have a pattern nearby, and it was that easy, second nature design that made this an appealing project yesterday.

sKNITches syncopation yarn in "Collegiate". 2x2 rib cuff, heel flap and stockinette foot.

I did polish off the remaining books in my Young Adult queue. the five book Jessica Darling series (sloppy firsts, second helpings, etc.) kept me busy for a couple of days. I was impressed with the first and second books: the voice is witty and sardonic, and I befriended the main characters quickly. as with most episodic designs -- movies, television series, books -- I was disappointed as the saga continued. the next book on the nightstand was the curious incident of the dog at night-time. a quick read, I found what I enjoyed most was the perspective that the high-functioning autistic narrator provided. less of a mystery than a coming-of-age story, the curious incident kept me turning the pages.

so this week, I plan to take on the real world slowly. hopefully I don't burn up upon re-entry.

letdown

2009-09-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

so of course I said I would update every Monday.
and here I am, sitting in bed, knitting very far from my mind, without energy to pick up the sticks.
I have been diagnosed with the h1n1 virus. I know that it's not terribly serious, that more people are negatively affected by the regular seasonal flu, but I can't help from feeling as though I've invited a predator to dinner.
maybe once these medications kick in, I'll be able to take advantage the quarantine time to knit. until then, friends.

a labor of love

2009-09-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

phew! it's been a while, hasn't it? at my last blog entry, spring was on its way out, and i was busy knitting socks. now, autumn has almost arrived and i'm in a sweater knitting frenzy!

february lady sweater, dream in color classy "cocoa kiss"

i've spent some quality time with my february lady sweater lately. seeing this grow, row by row, repeat by repeat has been so fun, and the prospect of a completely wearable sweater is captivating. i've knit sweaters before, but either they went unfinished or were not worn for more than a photo op. this one will be different!

most of the knitting projects that have kept me up until well into the early summer mornings of were socks. the crosshatch lace socks were completed. audrey's sweetpeas were finished. 40 summers long are now ready for wear. just cast off were the "and they call it poppy love" socks. if you follow my flickr stream or are a friend on ravelry, you've maybe already seen them. if you haven't, here's an index:

i also made two felted berets for a school project, worked heartily on my february lady sweater, began a "simple sock" for when i'm in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school (or dance or art...), and test knit a fabulous mitten pattern.

phenomenon (based on bella's mittens) in cascade 220 superwash

so many thanks to those friends who took the time to e-mail me or re-post to a previous blog entry throughout the summer. the idea that you missed my ramblings here in this little space made my days even brighter. no major life changes kept me from blogging; simply put, writing became difficult to prioritize when the kids were on break -- and underfoot! -- and while a bounty of delicious vegetables was growing in the backyard.

cooler weather lured me out yesterday, and i spent the morning and early afternoon pulling out the spring-planted crops to make room for the fall crops i intend to plant in just a couple of weeks. but don't worry: that endeavor won't keep me from blogging through the busiest of knitting seasons. it's my hope to blog every monday, between loads of laundry and occupying the last kidlet at home. we celebrated gavin's fourth birthday just yesterday. it's quite possible that this is his last year at home with me all day... i can hardly believe it.

tooting my own horn

2009-05-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

i'm throwing any self-restraint out the window: welcome to the most narcissistic blog post ever.

there are a few things i can do really well. a few of them, just in case you're still reading:

a side-kick that can plant a heel into the nose of an adult at standing height
coax the thickest, most plentiful foam out of a pitcher of steaming milk
make a damn good guacamole -- even for a gringa
justify any shoe purchase
research random bits of info, regardless of pertinence

but i have never been good at inciting love fests over at ravelry. until now. (and yes, i know that there are projects that have been favorited hundred of times, but remember, this post is all about me and my fabulous WIP.) my newest project has been loved on so much in the last three days i'm beginning to feel a little light-headed.

i had e-mailed sarah, my favorite yarn dealer, a few months back, asking her to dye up a yellow-ish yarn in anticipation of may/june's project spectrum feature color. she happened to just have a couple of skeins of "honey wilkes" in her gorgeous merino/cashmere/nylon base. (amanda had commissioned the color, so i should properly thank her, too!) i took sarah up on her offer right away...

it was hard to wait for may to come round. even with a really gratifying project going for march/april's project spectrum, i couldn't get the honey wilkes out of my mind. i was itching -- positively itching -- to cast on. from the beginning, i was all set to knit netherfield. then i realized the pattern is written toe-up, which is not something i know how to do, nor do i care to learn how to do (yet). i pulled out my two favorite sock pattern books, more sensational knitted socks and more sensational knitted socks, and leafed through. as soon as i'd spotted it, i knew it'd be perfect: crosshatch lace.

it really is just the most perfect harmony. yarn+pattern=love.

i kitchenered the first toe last night and will cast on for the second sock as soon as i'm done here. like other things lately, i'm utterly consumed with this, gorging myself on the obsession of the pattern and yarn.

and those socks from the first round of project spectrum? well, they're lovely, and they'll have their place in my wardrobe. but they're no crosshatch lace... more like the sturdy jacob to my exquisite edward. ;)

green stems, also a more sensational knitted socks pattern, and dream in color smooshy "happy forest".

cookies and a week's worth

2009-03-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm never in a cookie rut...
Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies. Dee-lish-us!

But I have been in a dinner rut. Hopefully, this week's menu will revive my family's palate:
Monday: Annie's Mexican Gumbo (crock pot!)
Tuesday: Fuddrucker's restaurant (school fundraiser)
Wednesday: Tiffanie's Pot Sticker Soup (can't wait!)
Thursday: Holli's Tofu Sugar Snap Pea Stir-Fry (sounds delightfully simple!)
Friday: Katie's easy and humorously named "Dog Food"
Saturday: Kylie's Oven Baked Sausage and Tomato Risotto (uh-huh. seriously.)
Sunday: Stacey's kid-tested but still a little fancy Chicken Marsala

Sadly, there aren't enough days in the week to share all of the recipes that you super-duper readers sent me. I'm looking forward to trying them all, and am anticipating the thought of making some of these meals with veggies from my very own garden once summer comes round.

Now for what you've visited for: the giveaway! Using a completely un-scientific method (known as my active preschooler reaching into a bowl with names on them), I'm excited to announce that Donna has won. Donna shared three recipes with me -- yum! -- and we've already tried her biscuit-topped leftover casserole. It was pretty dang good for revitalizing leftovers!! Here are her directions:

either make biscuits from scratch, the bisquick box, or buy the pillsbury biscuits in the can
roll out each biscuit to about 5-6" circle
what ever cooked meat you have in fridge-chop finely...add to a bowl
add any cooked veggies left over, chop finely...add to the meat
add shredded cheese...muenster is good for this...but anything really will work
now you need to add a sauce...you could use a few spoonfuls of any canned cream soup (celery, mushroom, chicken) or the greek yogurt mixed with hummus or mustard
mix the sauce with the meat mixture
drop a spoonful on to the rolled out biscuit, fold biscuit pinch edges w/ fork
spread a little egg wash over it
bake until golden brown 375 degrees

(I used cooked and cubed chicken breast for the meat and mixed veggies from a freezer bag. The baking time was about 30 minutes.)

Donna, I've e-mailed you, so let me know which skein of yarn you would like.

Thank you to everyone who shared! Thank you also for such warm birthday wishes!! Stay tuned for more surprises...

three-oh!

2009-03-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty.
~ Robert Frost

Cheers!

wants vs. needs

2009-03-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

This girl wants yarn... I'm a yarn stasher. I'm also a yarn snob [officially now, since I was labeled by another knitter and not just my own family members]. In any case, stashing snobby yarns is what I do. It's my mode of operation to spot a delicious yarn, lust from a distance for just a short time, and then pounce. Thus was the course of events when I spied this in early February:

The Plucky Knitter Merino Cashmere Nylon Fingering in "Special Fella".
(Plucky's photo better captures the color.)

Since my own special fella, Mr. SheepishOne, has a birthday in March, I figured that I had just enough time to knit up a pair of squooshy Retro Rib socks for his special day. I had them done just a week before the deadline, and like a giddy school girl awaiting Santa's arrival, I couldn't wait for his birthday and gave them to him early.

What this girl also wants is more time to knit. I have two different sock projects on the needles at the moment. The first, at 50% complete, is Mockery Socks. The other is Stems. Both have 4 row repeats to their patterns, which keeps me on my toes, since often I set a sock down mid-row so I can see to the needs of one of my children.

Mockery was decided upon by the Malabrigo Junkies (Ravelry) for a sock KAL during Malabrigo March. I've had a skein of Malabrigo Sock in Chocolate Amargo for a while, so pulled it out of the stash and cast on. I had a few problems with this sock out of the gate, but they were all absent-minded mistakes that I had made. Almost always I use a size 2 needle for socks with a fingering weight yarn, but this Malabrigo Sock is a very light fingering and to get gauge I had to pull out my rarely used size 1's. Size 1 dpns make me feel like I am working with toothpicks, and my experience with them is not stellar: I've broken an entire set, one by one, so they make me a bit nervous. However, the Mockery pattern is a lovely one, and effective yet simple. Unfortunately, I've only been able to access the pattern through Ravelry, so those of you without a Rav account will need to sign up straightaway.

Stems -- only about 25% complete -- is my first Project Spectrum 4 knit, and most likely the only for this direction of PS4. I'm using Dream in Classy Smooshy, Happy Forest colorway, and though I'm enjoying the color variances of the DIC, I don't like the hand. In my opinion, the yarn is pretty stiff when knit, but maybe that will change with washing. As always, Charlene Schurch is a pattern writer master, and I find that anything I choose to knit from her books is always fabulous.

What this girl needs is food! Lots of you have responded to my previous post begging for family-tested recipes -- even the lurkers! I appreciate the time you take to e-mail me your tried-and-trues. Please keep sending them. Remember, there's a giveaway to entice you... And to play fair, here is one recipe I keep in rotation, ingredients always on hand in the pantry: Sticky Coconut Chicken. Mmm, mmm, good!

in need of a few good ones

2009-03-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I've now gotten so far down into the recipe rut that I need some rock climbing gear to get out. With so much information at my fingertips, one would think this impossible. "Search online," I hear you whisper; "Crack open those cookbooks," you think aloud. Alas, those routes have been taken...

I don't think that my children are especially picky. Then again, I've never lived with other small people for a long run of time and paid attention to their likes and dislikes. (Belated apologies to my brother and sister.) My children will eat what is served -- maybe not a lot of it -- but what I'm looking for are rave reviews, a few dishes that everyone loves. A few dishes that don't cut it: baked ziti, lasagne, or anything else drenched in a lot of dairy.

Do you have a recipe you'd be willing to share? E-mail me with your family favorites (using the e-mail address at the left of the blog) and you'll be entered into the very first give-away chez sheepish one. If you're the winner, you may choose one of these three fabulous prizes:

Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in coral (2 skeins)

Scout's Swag Superwash Merino Tencel sock in Hedgehogs.

The Plucky Knitter Worsted Merino in Harvest.

You've a week to e-mail me those recipes. Drawing to take place on Monday, March 30. Winner will be posted to the blog by 3pm PDT. Thanks in advance!!

other crafts

2009-03-02T15:56:00.001-08:00

it's only taken me eight months to tackle this project. sadly, it wasn't even a project that was so big it required tackling. if it only took 30 minutes, start to finish, wouldn't it be considered so lightweight it only needed a gust of wind to come and blow it down?

each member of the family selected a color of floss. i sat at the kitchen table and went to work. the girls were right there, quite amazed at how quickly and effectively their napkins were finished. obviously, one initial is much simpler than an intricate flower design, but i think i needed one of those instant gratification projects.

it's taken me a long time to appreciate needlework, in all forms. knitting is of course my passion, but sewing has come to be a close second, and last summer, i was in awe of what crafters were embroidering. the sublime stitching patterns sucked me in, and after purchasing the book and a kit, i found myself in the same state of mind whenever i am embarking on a new endeavor: i can't begin this project because i'm too afraid it will fail.

for being my first project, this tea towel didn't turn out too bad, but i didn't love it.

honestly, i think it had more to do with the size of the towel (it was entirely too large) and that it was very lightweight. the embroidery needle tore through the weave, and god forbid if you wanted to remove a stitch, for it left a gaping hole that no amount of strategic stitching could hide. i'm now hunting for a good-quality, heavier tea towel, similar to this product, but maybe a bit more economical. do you know of any?

what other crafts do you enjoy, or wish you could do well? or are you a purist, knowing you can only tread the waters of one hobby at a time? happy crafting!

(or, alternately titled) socks+bread=contented

2009-02-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

Although it did not include picking up the Slouchy Cardigan, this week was about checking off the to-do list. The mundane -- wiping down the interior of the fridge, dusting blinds, reconciling calendars -- was not put-off, rather done with a bit of self-imposed bribing: if a is done, I may go knit the cuff; if b is done, I can go mix the dough. Two projects consumed me this week...

The first was a special pair of socks. I won't say much about them (yet), but will give you a glimpse:

The yarn is The Plucky Knitter's fabulous Merino Cashmere Nylon base, and the color is much more of a rich brown in person. This pattern is simple, and is exactly what I'm after. I did follow the pattern and knit the leg 8" long, and then completed the heel flap, the gusset, and a few instep rounds before frogging back. Worried I would run out of yarn, I ripped the leg to 6 3/4". Should be good to go now.

The second obsession was the Master Recipe from the book everyone else has already blogged about. Unfortunately, the book had only moved from the county library shelf to my tiny kitchen shelf until this week when I finally purchased a food-grade container for the dough. Today was finally baking day, and I have to say, I am so pleased with the results.

...so pleased, the kids and I ate the first loaf for lunch and I promptly reached in to the fridge for another portion to bake off. So, so good! And honestly, the crust was so perfect, it did "sing" as it hit the cool kitchen air, just like the book said it would. The book also promised that there would be quite an oven spring, where the bread would rise considerably during baking, and the book did not lie. One lesson learned: I definitely need a pizza peel; a wooden cutting board does not substitute as well as I thought it would.

One snoozing project I did revisit this week was Sweetpea. I am in love with this pattern, especially paired with The Plucky Knitter yarn in "Audrey's Socks". The below photo was taken last summer, during my first attempt:

However, this pattern kicks my ass. Pardon my french. Last summer, I had started these on a size 1 needle, and of course the result was a sock that would fit one of my children. (I knit tightly.) After ripping, I began again on size 2's. Again, too tight. Then I put it aside. Fast forward to this week: Cast on with size 3. Perfect. Knit lovely flouncy cuff. Check. Begin first pattern repeat, make mistake, rip out. Begin first pattern repeat, make mistake, rip out. Both times, I had screwed up somewhere along the line and the yarn over zigzag gave the mistake away. I must have forgotten a make one, but for the life of me, I could not see it in the stitches. Again, this project is in a time out. Does this ever happen to you? Has there been a pattern that just gets under your skin?

Here's to more conquering of the exciting and the not-so-exciting in the coming week.

monogamy

2009-02-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

I am the type of knitter who doesn't mind having multiple WIP's going: a mindless project for TV viewing, a portable project for school-pickup-line knitting, a more involved project (cables, lace, or some other pattern) for quiet times when the kids are busy. While the logic in this is obvious to me, even as I try to talk myself out of it, I realized a while ago that I really should be more monogamous with my knitting. I have two projects that just sit in dark corners of my home, hibernating, making me feel a little guilty for running around with all of those socks and cowls and not thinking twice before doing so.

That Slouchy Cardigan I began last summer is not quite half-way done. I have the back panel knit, and one front panel finished. I love the (soon to be discontinued) alpaca-silk blend yarn that I'm using -- it really does feel heavenly in my hands -- and I do love the image of myself curled up in this particular knit; however, it is the resounding complaint of how poorly this pattern is written that kills my want. Apparently, the sleeve caps and armholes are very cumbersome to piece together in the end and though I had made note of the modifications, those notes did not find their way into the knit process. This project might soon be frogged, or at least tinked back to the beginning of all armholes, and put on top of the WIP pile once my sister's socks are done. If I can find something else to make with all of this yarn, maybe I'll do that, instead. Minimalist Cardigan, anyone?

Also socked away in a drawer is my paneled afghan. It's sort of an homage to this cabled afghan, but I'm not necessarily following the particulars, just finding cable patterns and knitting them into squares. This has been left at its current state for well over a year... It's not a project I plan to rip out, though. I just have to make it more of a priority.

Monogamy does have its rewards. I mentioned the beret that was blocking in my last post, and here it is, done and modeled:

It really is fun to wear, but I'm always at a loss with what to do with my hair when I have it on. The beret is rather different than the other utilitarian hats I've knit. As someone who runs around town in jeans and a sweatshirt, this new accessory pushes me a little out of my comfort zone. I'll have to work on that one.

saturday's mish mash

2009-01-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

Seems to me that I might have a few things to catch you up on, dear reader...

December seemed like an usually chilly month for my California-bred bones. Rain is the wintriest precipitation our area receives, but if there's not a wide band of weather protecting us from Arctic air, Canada sends down her chill. Once the gift knitting was finished, I started knitting up all sorts of things for sheer warmth.

Gavin loves to play outside, and his poor fingers feel like popsicles. For him, I found a perfect mitten pattern -- one that allows full coverage but a flap-like opening at the palm for quick gripping ability. I used the pattern to an extent, altering the thumb gusset and changing the decrease placement. Because he is three years old and teeny, I only knit six rounds between joining the flap and beginning the mitten decrease. They fit perfectly, and I love that he knows I knit them just for him.

Playground mittens knit in Mission Falls 1824 wool, Pistachio colorway.

Back at Christmas, Annika had swiped the pair of Toasty I had knit my mother-in-law before I could wrap them up. Of course that pair was too loose and too long, so once I finished Gavin's mittens, I cast on a pair of mini Toasty. ("Melba Toasty", I call them. Oh, I crack myself up.) She's worn them to school and while playing... The allure of Toasty continues, regardless of age.

Toasty in Malabrigo Worsted, Continental Blue colorway.

Last night, I wove in the ends of a Katie's Beret. I fell in love with Kirsten's pattern and yarn, so I shamelessly copied. The pattern is fabulous, and I can't wait to wear it, for the hat is drying now:

Not Just Katie's Beret in Indie Dyer's Supersock Select DK "Fairy Forest" colorway.

I also knit two cowls: a Luxe Neckwarmer in The Plucky Knitter Bulky Cashmere and a Purl Cashmere cowl in The Plucky Knitter Laceweight Cashmere. Neither are ones I'm exactly excited about, but if you're on Ravelry, you can check them out yourself. If nothing else, they'll keep my neck warm.

It was November when I last had socks on the needles. I could tell I needed to cast on soon... My wood dpn's were chilly in the winter air, too. First, I cast on for Herringbone Rib Socks in The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino "Summer of Love". There's a January KAL in the Ravelry Plucky Knitters Group, but these will not cross the finish line because...

...the kids have had colds, which means that they're clingy and want to be held. A lot. And I don't really mind, even though it definitely cramps the knitting style. To combat that, I had to cast on a simply knit sock, one that doesn't require a lot of thinking and can be set down the second someone needs a ginger ale or more grapes. My go-to pattern for socks is the Adult Basic Sock #12. Sounds fancy, huh? It's an Ann Norling pattern, and the first sock pattern I paid for back when there was a LYS around here. I've made enough socks to know which elements of which patterns are best: I use the Ann Norling pattern for basics, then the Charlene Schurch garter-edge heel flap, and the Charade toe.

Basic 2x2 rib sock, sKNITches Syncopation in the signature sKNITch colorway.

Do you have a favorite sock pattern?

a loaf a week

2009-01-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

Remember last week, when I was sitting here considering which bread recipe to use? And remember how I then decided upon the "Homestyle White Bread with Poppy Seeds" from The Bread Bible? Well it was a good one. So good I made it again today. Because the kids and I had eaten it all. (The husband, who has food allergies, got his own loaf.)

kneaded

exuberantly baking

i cut these excesses off during the first few minutes of baking.

fresh

As you can see, there are no poppy seeds. Not because I don't like seeded bread, because I really do, but because this loaf is our standard jack-of-all-trades bread. It has to be versatile: the canvas for a good ol' pb&j, the warm and thick toast of cinnamon toast, the body for a great chicken salad sandwich...

There is a serious possibility that I may make "Fresh Lemon Muffins", also from The Bread Bible, later in the week... They're even glazed.

desperate housewife

2009-01-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all. The last two weeks have flown by. Did you feel that, too, or am I the only one whose wish is for a few more hours in the day? Mind you, those extra hours wouldn't be spent doing ANY thing in particular... they'd be used for picking up the things that have fallen off my radar. Like reading. I hardly ever read any more. I was, up until last year, a very voracious reader. Now? Not so much.

I did spend this morning reading through my bread cookbooks, as I'm on the hunt for the perfect pain de mie recipe. Pain de mie translates literally to "bread of the mie"; like so many other words, the English language has no single-word equivalent for the fabulous word that is mie, which could be explained as the soft part, or interior of the loaf. Pain de mie is my children's favorite bread, and they've never turned down a toasted slice with a heavy slathering of butter or jam. I, on the other hand, have been disappointed in the density of my home made breads, and once I've given a recipe a few tries to sway me, I go in search for another.

The open book there is Breads from the La Brea Bakery. I adore the textbook-like qualities of this cookbook, but I've owned it for nearly 10 years and have never, ever, ever in my long legged life made anything from it. Every recipe, with the exception of the pain de mie, uses a sourdough starter. Every so often, I grab the book off the shelf and flip through it in excitement, only to remember that no, I don't have that well-fed, takes-at-least-two-weeks-to-grow starter sitting in my refrigerator yet. I suppose after I buy some red grapes -- yes, red grapes, not yeast -- I could try it this weekend...

The other two options for pain de mie on the table are the recipes from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and The Bread Bible. (The Bread Bible is one I should either covet greedily or sell shamelessly... I can't believe the list price is nearly $200 on amazon.com!) I've made the recipe in Martha's book with relative success. Again, I felt the bread was just too dense: no squishy white bread here! The pain de mie from The Bread Bible is actually called "Homestyle White Bread with Poppy Seeds" and it's been so long since I made it, I can't remember whether it was a stand-out recipe or not. As I type that, it's obvious that The Bread Bible recipe wins today.

Something that is always baking is cookies. My December issue of Real Simple has had a workout lately. I made the Raspberry Pinwheels last week. They weren't nearly as beautiful as the magazine's example... my jam had squished out of a couple of the batches during rolling, and ended up oozing out during baking as well. As a result, the jam that had seeped under the cookie cooked quickly, and gave a few cookies and extra crusty burnt flavor. Bleh. Those that made it through baking unscathed were tasty, but didn't get eaten up quickly and turned quite mushy.

This week I made the Glazed Lemon Cookies and you might know by now that I have a penchant for lemony sweets. These are delicious. So, so delicious. And when you are hankering for Lemony Snickets but do not have ricotta cheese taking up residence in your fridge, whip up the Glazed Lemon Cookies. They'll satisfy. And I'm sure they'll be eaten before they've a chance to mush.

december: the end

2008-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

whatever it is you desire in the coming year,

i wish you just enough.

happy new year.

just enough ruffles scarf in malabrigo worsted.

december: week 3

2008-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

It's like Groundhog Day around here, with all the Turn a Squares and Dashing... I'm still busy working on Dashings. I've got the second pair half done, but that is the mitt that my father-in-law picked up with his own and is now mailing back to me. The third pair is also half done, and I'll probably finish that pair later today. This last pair is for the husband and are shortened dramatically.

So as not to bore you further with seeing the same dang yarn knit up in the same dang pattern, here's a Christmas-themed meme I copied from Andrea's blog.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial? Real. Noble Fir.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the first weekend in December, but this year it was the last weekend in November.

4. When do you take down the tree? As soon as the tree is officially a fire hazard.

5. Do you like Egg Nog? Yes, non-alcoholic right and out of the carton. Bud's of San Francisco is the best in the West.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? LA Gear tennis shoes, pale pink/pale green. I was 11, I think. It's not so much that this was a favorite, but I remember this gift very clearly.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No. We have a near-entire set of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" characters. (Our Yukon Cornelius is not quite the same scale.)

8. Hardest person to buy for? My father-in-law.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Annika.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Usually, mail. This year, I'm not sure that I'm going to get any out, though.

11. Favorite Christmas movie? Elf.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anything on the smörgåsbord.

13. Clear lights or colored? Colored on the tree. Clear on the house.

14. Favorite Christmas song? "Christmastime" as performed by the Smashing Pumpkins.

15. Travel or stay home at Christmas? Stay at home. I am a firm believer that the kids should be in their own beds on Christmas Eve. I do wish we could be nearer to family, though.

16. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes. Absolutely.

17. Angel or Star on top of the tree? Star. A sequined gold star.

18. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? The Pajama Fairy brings the kids -- sometimes the adults -- new p.j.'s that are opened Christmas Eve. All other presents are opened around 6am on Christmas morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That it goes by a little too fast to enjoy it. And that after-Christmas sales commercials appear on TV beginning Christmas Eve.

20. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees? Homey, I guess. I hadn't ever really thought about it. Our tree is covered in ornaments that people have made us or the kids have picked out.

21. Gingerbread or Sugar Cookies. Gingerbread. Always gingerbread.

Enjoy the last few days until Christmas. I'm constantly reminded -- by television, my kids and my pocketbook -- that there are only 10 more days until the big guy arrives. And 375 more days until next Christmas.

dashing WIP's

2008-12-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

Our family had its first Christmas celebration yesterday. The kids were very excited for it, but I couldn't muster the same. There's something about multiple Chrismases that wears on me, and it's not just that it creates multiple knitting deadlines.

I gifted the first round of handknits: one Birthday Cowl and pair of Toasty to my step-mother-in-law, and a Turn a Square and one-and-a-half* pair of Dashing for my father-in-law. You've seen the others, but here is the Dashing:

I modified the Dashing by only knitting 12 rounds -- not 18 -- in the rib pattern from the last cable twist to the thumb opening. The husband (a small framed 5' 7", just like his dad) thought they were too long as it was. Imagine six more rounds between wrist and thumb. The Dashing might have reached his elbow.

I knit Dashing in Cascade 220, colorway 7821, to coordinate with the Turn a Square. I like the pattern overall, but when I had holes at the thumb opening, I thought I must be an unskilled knitter. After a hurried photo shot and harried post on flickr, I was comforted to know that some of you still get holes, too, and all you do is sew them shut with the tail end. Phew! I've knit mitts before, but always with a thumb gusset. Guess I'm a gusset girl, with two more pairs of Dashing to knit.

*So I had the left-hand mitt of another pair of Dashing on a table near where the gift unwrapping was happening. I think the father-in-law accidentally picked that one up, too. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when he unpacks his loot and finds three mitts! ;-)

december: week 2

2008-12-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

the turn a squares are all completed.
it's hard to believe that all three hats were knit out of one skein of noro silk garden (color #126) and just a little over one skein of cascade 220 (color #7821).

you saw the very neutral one in my week 1 post. i was extremely pleased with its outcome, as it is very similar to the designer's. the masculine color combo and striping effect was precisely the look i was after. and yes, i had noticed that my skein of silk garden had some bright spots. tried as i might, ignoring the turquoise mixed in there was not possible once the second hat was cast off.

the third hat turned out to be a near identical twin to the second. the bright hues were toned down just a few notches.

the pattern calls for knitting the first two plain body rows in the silk garden, then knitting three rows in the solid cascade, and continuing in that manner through to the end. upon casting on this third hat -- and with unnecessary foresight -- i decided i would knit the first three body rows with cascade 220 and if i should run out of the silk garden, i would just finish the hat in the cascade. i have several yards of silk garden left, so i didn't need to worry after all.

all in all, these hats were satisfying knits. there are too few masculine patterns available, in my opinion. i understand the why of it, but when it's time to knit a gift for one of the great men in my life, i often struggle. it was great to be unconcerned with whether or not my father-in-law would like his, or if my dad would like his... and i really hope that third hat is well-loved by its recipient, too.

and so a question for you handmade gift givers: how do you wrap your goodies? i'm looking for inspiration...

have i got a deal for you

2008-12-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

do you have $12?
seriously. do you? whip it out.
one skein of malabrigo worsted is about $12.
$12 + free toast pattern = heaven.

you can knit a pair of easy-peasy toast or toasty with nearly any single skein of yarn, but honestly, malabrigo is hands-down the greatest. especially when it's this wintry grey colorway called "polar morn."

and, dear reader, you will want for nothing else.

december: week 1

2008-12-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

do you hear them? the jingling sleigh bells? i have, and now i can't stop the gift knitting.

birthday cowl and toasty in malabrigo worsted, "continental blue" colorway

turn a square hat in cascade 220, "sienna", and noro silk garden, "226"

darkside cowl in malabrigo worsted, "polar morn" colorway

i also have been (sorta) knitting the adventskalendar, though until i find some suitable green and yellow yarns, this will sit for a bit.

thankful for knitting

2008-11-24T13:18:00.000-08:00

With such a long to-do list, I've had to check out from actively browsing the web. I've read through Bloglines and kept up with you all, but as you can tell from the time between posts here at sheepishone, I've been elsewhere.

Since I last shared, a few projects have been cast on and cast off while others have simply gained yardage. Lots has been accomplished. Lots more has yet to be. But I can't complain. Overall, things have been good here and I'm looking forward to a relaxing Thanksgiving break. I have to stop there, though, because attempting to wrap my head around the business of December could leave me in a bad state of mind.

The Through the Loops Mystery Socks have JUST been finished. Socktoberfest ended in November for me, since I had some problems staying monogamous to my project... I enjoyed the pattern, even this basic version. The pattern repeat was never boring, and I thought it was extremely well-written, as are all of Kirsten's patterns. Although I had wanted to knit the cabled version, this skein of The Plucky Knitter Single Ply 100% Merino in Green Tea was more variegated than I thought it was going to be. It, not I, chose to go with the pattern's basic version.

I started holiday gift knitting. This is another Lucky 7 hat knit in Malabrigo Worsted, Forest colorway. I am finding that this pattern ALWAYS knits up snugly, and this is the last time I will use it. Not even going up to a size 9 needle and knit extra cable twists seemed to help!

These ankle socks were a two-day project -- and remember, what I get done in two days, most of you fabulous knitters can be through with in one. I didn't use any specific pattern, but here are the details: Cast on 48 sts on size 4 dpn. K2, P2 rib for 10 rounds. Knit two rounds in stockinette. Begin standard Sl1, K1 heel flap. Stockinette stitch through to toe. Decrease to 8 sts. Kitchener.

I had intended this yarn for an advent calendar: the idea was to knit all the hats and mittens in variegated Christmas-ish colors. Once I did the first mitten in this Claudia Handpainted Sport Shorts Peppermint Mocha, I decided the advent calendar should really be done in solids.

Next: A pair of Mini Fetching for Laurel. I knit these from a skein of Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere (this yarn is now discontinued) I had laying in a drawer. They are very dense, knit on size 4 needles. I followed the pattern to a "t", casting on the same number of stitches, et cetera. She's worn them to school, so she must really like them!

The last finished project I have to share with you is the MacDaddy socks that you've seen a bit about before. (The pattern, at one time available on MagKnits, is now here.) One sock features the Apple, Inc., logo and the other has the "happy mac" face. Both were duplicate stitched on once the socks were completed. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Pewter and Louet Gems in Black are the yarns used.

I'm getting started on the solid version of my Adventskalendar today. Hopefully it won't be January before I post again! Oh, and I've got to remember to bake off the Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie dough chilling in the fridge. Yum!

Meanwhile, have a very joyful, friends- and family-filled Thanksgiving!

socktoberfestiveness

2008-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Now I know that knit-bloggers are quick to find the newest, hottest pattern (uh, February Lady Sweater, anyone?!?) but it seems that there are two brand-spankin' new commodities: Toast and the Socktoberfest Mystery Sock KAL.

Toast is a classically simple pattern put together by the talented Friend that lots of us know about. If you're looking for this year's fingerless mitt, Toast is it. The pattern's free and anyone can knit it! I haven't cast on for a pair, but it's something I'm keeping in the back of my mind for holiday gift knitting.

The Socktoberfest Mystery Sock KAL comes our way via Through the Loops and Ravelry. Also free, this sock pattern is written for many sizes and many skill levels. Each Wednesday in October, Kristin will reveal the next clue to the pattern. I have been participating and find that when the second clue came available last Wednesday night, I stayed up and knit way past my bedtime.

I would have liked to knit the cable pattern, but this particular skein of The Plucky Knitter Single Ply Merino (Green Tea) is really quite variegated. When I realized just how much variegation there was, I decided that I'd knit the basic version.

My mindless knitting for TV watching has been the TechGuy Socks for the husband. I'm past the heel of the second sock and looking forward to giving them to him. I had to re-apply the Apple logo on the first sock because I'd measured wrong and duplicate stitched it too far off center. It was a blessing, though, because I learned a valuable lesson: when duplicate stitching, start at the bottom and work up. I did that the second time around and had a perfect Apple, with every duplicate black "v" completely covering the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock pewter "v". Now, I'm pleased!

My perfectionism reared it's ugly but honest head today. I frogged the Hedera sock I had completed, along with the cuff of its mate. This is the second attempt at knitting Hedera and the second time I've frogged it.

Hedera was supposed to be a Christmas gift for mother-in-law, but she wears a size US6.5 wide and these fit my size 10 feet. The idea of giving socks that may be so misfit weighed heavily on my conscience and also squashed the motivation to knit the second sock. I was also extremely disappointed with how my tension in yarn overs was off and my execution wasn't nearly as nice as others. This Dream In Color Smooshy in Gothic Rose will go back into the stash for another time.

Hooray for finishing socks! Pomatomus is off the needles and on Laurel's feet. She's super happy to have another pair of hand-knit socks and is now lobbying for a pair of shoes like mine in which to show off. Her birthday's coming, so I may oblige her request. If you're well-versed in sock yarn, you can probably spot that this is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight. The colorway is Puck's Mischief.

Happy Socktober to you!

happy fall y'all

2008-10-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here in California, unless you live in the highest elevations, you'll hear folks say that there are no real seasons. We have summer (especially inland) and we have rain. If you don't care for snow, California's a great place to live, but if you like to see a visible change in weather, head elsewhere. But October is here. Autumn, by all accounts, has arrived. We wake in the mornings with a chill, the air brisk. By midday, we might woe the long sleeved shirt and pants we decided on in the early hours of the day. In the late evening, we'll wish we hadn't changed to shorts and a tee, and we are plain lucky if we've got a hoodie in the car.

Unlike other areas, our leaves are only just changing. There is a handful of ash leaves in my front yard, but the major unloading of leaves won't be through until early December. Halloween is the very first day of sweater weather, and sweater weather will be over by early March if not February. Fall blurs into winter, the only marked differences are the holiday decorations.

But really, these months are my favorite time of year. The kids' birthdays span from September to October, then there's Halloween and Thanksgiving and The Nutcracker performances and Christmas...

It's a busy but joyous time and it's always the perfect weather to knit!

sunday baking

2008-08-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning Granola.

Saw it on Milk Eggs Chocolate first.

Greatly influenced by Leslie's post.

Rose early this morning and baked.

Filled the house with sweet and spicy aromas.

Ate mine with yogurt. Yum.

White Milk Bread from Apples for Jam.

Have coveted the book for months.

Finally broke down and bought it a few weeks back.

Tried it once, and it didn't rise; I only had ap flour on hand, and it really does require bread flour.

This time, it was positively perfect in every way.

Slathered my slice with butter. The kids ate theirs with strawberry jam.

i heart socks.

2008-08-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

As if you didn't know it already.

Socks almost always flatter.
You never have to worry if they are hiding a bulge or a sag.
They typically don't accentuate a feature you try really hard to keep from daylight.
It's not of importance whether the color you selected is complementary to your skin tone.
Shouldn't you love socks, too?

The yarn is hand-dyed by Sarah, the [fabulous] Plucky Knitter. But don't expect you can rush right over and ask her to dye you up a skein, for this particular beauty was only dyed for Plucky Classics (of course, you could try to get into the next go-round). Hitchcock is her new muse, and this colorway, Madeliene Elster, was inspired by "Vertigo".
To remind me I'm not perfect, there are two mistakes, both in the same sock. 1. I forgot to twist a cable on the leg; 2. and maybe more distressing of the two: I knit the cuff a half inch longer on one sock! Yikes. Thank goodness they'll be covered by pants.

The pattern is the Baby Cable Rib (rav link) by Charlene Schurch. I don't like the Schurch toes, though, so I went with the toe from Charade (rav link, too), another lovely pattern featuring a nice, wide toe. I've knit a few pairs of Charades before -- and loved them, but it was Amanda's comment from a previous post that reminded me of the great shape again.
Love.

in a month's time

2008-08-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

The silence over here in my space of the knitting blogosphere is deafening. Some days I'm a little disappointed in myself for not writing more and allowing flickr to be my only avenue to you. Other days, I know that NOT spending the time posting is the best thing that I can do: my family needs my attention, my sanity deserves it. I've resolved to be like Kerstin, Blogging Without Obligation.

July 24 was my last post, and detailed the Snicket socks that I adore but haven't yet had a chance to wear in our summertime heat. That posting seems like a long, long time ago. Even the "I've-completed-the-Snicket" high I was riding feels aeons away. The last week of July was the finish of Pre-K for Annika and quickly melted into the first week August-- which was our last week of summer break.

When school starts, I always heave a sigh: one that's half-filled with relief at the prospect of a little more quiet, a little more time, and a little more routine; but the other half is filled with a little more stress, a little more scheduling, and a whole lot more commitment. School is important to us, no doubt. Our homework gets done on time, reading is done every night. Instilling the study skills of a successful student is paramount, and I'm positive it is the same for a lot of those that read this blog. This reign over school/home scheduling is not necessarily difficult, it's just the other side of the leaf I have to turn once August hits. And this year, it's taken all of my focus since there are two children in school.

So in a month's time, not a whole lot of tangible things have been accomplished, but here's the run-down of what has been on the needles:

Pomatomus sock. Began as a sock for me, but is too tight, so is now on its way to be socks for Laurel. Socks that Rock Lightweight in Puck's Mischief.

Slouchy Cardigan from Greetings from Knit Café. This pattern has caused some heartache for so many knitters. The sleeve cap doesn't fit into the arm hole well, apparently. I've looked and noted many knitters' modifications, but I'm just going to forge on with the pattern as written. As an unexperienced sweater knitter, I feel that I really can't deviate beyond the pattern too much. Debbie Bliss Alpaca/Silk DK in sky blue.

Baby Cable Rib Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks. I love this pattern, as I do all of the patterns in this book, and it's sequel, More Sensational Knitted Socks. I only have to finish half of the foot and toe of the second sock, and I've got another pair to add to my drawer. I've found a couple of mistakes in the second sock: one twist I forgot to make in one cable, and I knit the cuff of the second sock two inches long but the first cuff only one-and-a-half inches long! Thank goodness they'll hide under pants when I'm wearing them. The Plucky Knitter's Plucky Classics Superwash Merino Wool Handpainted Fingering in Madeleine Elster.

And here's what has been baking:

First week of school request: Chocolate Chip Cookies. Plain-ol'-regular-off-of-the-back-of-the-Toll-House-bag Chocolate Chip Cookies. Since these are Laurel's favorite, I won Mom of the Week.

Second week: Duncan Hines Brownies. Laurel went grocery shopping with me and asked if we could buy this particular box because there were three box tops on the box. Her new class is the recipient of most collected box tops award each year. She is bound and determined to help keep the honor in place.

This week: Rice Krispies Treats. (Do you see a trend towards laziness here? And really, since they don't bake, can they even be labled a Cookie of the Week? I don't know how much lower I can slum when next week comes around. Pretty soon I'll be doling out Mother's Circus Animal Cookies.) Oh, but I do add 1 tsp. vanilla extract to my marshmallow-butter mixture, a tip that was given to me by a mom from Laurel's first playgroup.

There is one possibly redeeming cookie here though, under all of this mundane. Yesterday was the Annual Cream Can Dinner that my husband's Nebraskan family puts on. Never heard of it? Neither had I, until a few years back. I was asked to bring a dessert, so I chose Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies from Cookies. Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies sounds down home enough to finish off a Cream Can Dinner, don't they? Too bad I forgot the cookies on the counter at home...

... because I really didn't want them at home. These cookies are just okay. They're very moist, and is suggested that they're consumed the day they're made. If they're not eaten, they become even more moist. Uh, like puddly-moist. Anyway, I expected some great peachy flavor, especially because I bought organic peaches and a high-quality peach preserve. Sadly, if it wasn't for the cinnamon-sugar topping, these would be nearly tasteless.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned that my mother-in-law said she is disgusted by the idea of me throwing away my cookies of the week? She knew of my plan to bring these peach cookies to the Cream Can. When I showed up with a Whole Foods Cherry Pie and Gianna's Ginger Snaps instead, she told me she'd need to know when to come out this week to eat up the peach cookies.

a series of unfortunate events

2008-07-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well not so much as a series as just one unfortunate event: I ran out of yarn when I was 85% of the way through the pair of Snicket Socks, way back in April.

Sarah graciously dyed up another skein of Suri Alpaca/BFL as close as she could get to the original, who's colorway name was "Bobbing for Apples". The new skein, "Not Quite Bobbing", arrived late last week, and I was able to finish the second sock yesterday.

Yes, there is a completely obvious difference in hue. And yes, the reds don't photograph the same every time. But I'm still in love. The socks are so soft, and very warm, and I can picture lounging around the house in jeans, a tee, and these socks come winter. And if I want to be super anal, I could go back and buy that pair of shoes I walked away from at the sale last week, as the toe box would hide the mishap ... Then I could wear them out and about with nary a glance.

The pattern is from the obsolete Mag Knits website, but if you're on Ravelry, you can download the PDF or save it to your Ravelry pattern library. It's a well-done pattern, and though I ran into a few hiccups, they were so little that even I could figure them out! I did make the heel modifications that I'd seen on iSeL's Snickets, and that was easy, too. But really, here's my advice: don't believe from the pattern that it will only take you 230 yards to fashion your own pair of Snickets. The pattern does state that the yardage is correspondent to a women's US 7 shoe, and I wear a 10, but it took a total of 360 yards for my pair. Most other Ravelers have used quite a bit more than the pattern suggests as well, so there's my warning to you.

These socks were my opus, until I ran out of yarn. I still really, really, really like them, but they don't quite sing the same tune they once did. I have a feeling you may see more Snickets from me. Especially ones similar to these, or these, or these...

three for three

2008-07-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

Recently, Annika mentioned to the Man that she would like to repeat a day in San Francisco that we had in March. The first place we hit that day was Tartine, a small but well-known neighborhood bakery in the Mission District. While we were there, Annika munched on Mexican Wedding Cookies, covering herself in powdered sugar. This memory, and her wish to return to Tartine helped to decide our Cookie of the Week.

This particular recipe is from Martha Stewart's Cookies, although most of the recipes included are also available online, and you can find it here. The recipe produced a cookie with a very solid, typical taste of a Mexican Wedding Cookie; for that I was grateful, since they didn't exactly look typical. The recipe called for pressing whole, blanched almonds onto the top of the cookie, but whole, blanched nuts are something that would have been picked out by the kids, so I omitted. However, the recipe also asked one to "flatten slightly". It is obvious to me that I flattened "awholelotta". Mexican Wedding Cookies should be dome shaped.

In any case, the cookies are almost gone, which as Martha would say, is a very good thing. After all, 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of almonds is the bulk of the recipe that only yields 20 cookies. Yikes!

WIP Wednesday

2008-07-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

... only I spent this Wednesday finishing the WIP and marking it FO.

The yarn is sKNITches Syncopation in Mint Mocha Latté, knit on size 2 dpn's, and is a mish-mash of sock patterns. The heel flap, with its garter stitch border, and the toe are from Knitting Sensational Socks by Charlene Schurch. The body of the sock is an Ann Norling pattern, Adult Basic Socks #12. Only recently did I start using the Knitting Sensational Socks toe, and I have to say, I need to investigate other patterns. I really dislike how few stitches are left to kitchener. Any suggestions?

Since a few of you have shared your summer book selections, I'm revealing a small part of the stack I have yet to read. Through the Children's Gate by Adam Gopnik, known for his book Paris to the Moon; The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick, which Laurel and I take turns reading aloud; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, seems suitable for the current times; and The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald, which has just been languishing on the bookshelf for years...

a duet

2008-07-12T13:16:00.001-07:00

because two are always better than one.

I finished the second Miniature Cowichan Cardigan today, resulting in two very happy daughters with two very sweet looking dolls.

Laurel's doll, Nellie, is wearing the blue cardigan. Annika's doll, who she named Nicki, is wearing the magenta cardigan. Although Laurel has another American Girl doll, Samantha, she has said that just one cardigan is enough. Visions of themed cardigans are dancing in my head: cardigans in school colors, cardigans in holiday colors, cardigans without collars, cardigans with matching shells.

This pattern was featured in Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007 issue. I had queued the pattern over on Ravelry way back in November or December, but never really had any intention of casting on right then. When I was finally prepared to start the projects, I went back to the issue and realized that the pattern was never included in the magazine; one had to go online and download the PDF. I set out to locate it, only to find it had been removed from the site! (growl)

"web exclusive" it says there in the blue circle.
wish i had seen that earlier.

Kerstin had knit one for Olivia's American Girl, so I asked Kerstin if she still had the PDF. Thankfully, she did, and promptly e-mailed it to me. (Many others thought they had access to the PDF and tried their darnedest to no avail -- thanks to them as well.)

Both sweaters are knit in Cascade 220. The magenta was knit on size 3 needles, as suggested by the pattern. I had swatched for this first sweater, but apparently the swatch wasn't really large enough (is 4"x4" the proper size for a swatch?) and my gauge was off. While the cardigan still fit Annika's doll, the fabric created was very dense. When I cast on for Laurel's blue cardigan, I decided to use a size 4 needle. Typically, I always have to go up a size in needle anyway, so I didn't bother with a swatch. In the end, the gauge was correct with the blue cardigan knit in the size 4 needle (6.5 sts/1"), but I like the fit of the magenta cardigan on the size 3 better. Both the collar and the sleeves seem to fit the doll better.

The pattern in of itself is a very fun knit, and I think should be required knitting prior to first attempts at "people sweaters". Although maybe not written for a true beginner, the pattern, if carefully read and executed, could be knit by an early knitter. I liked this particular sleeve/body construction: the sleeves were knit in the round separately, then knit onto the body at the armhole, then decreased raglan style as the cardigan continued on up. At the finish, six armhole stitches and six bottom sleeve stitches were kitchenered together.

hello raglan decrease!

Since these are now off the WIP list and on the FO list, I can resume my sock-knitting. First I'll finish the Mint Mocha Latté socks, which are about 75% complete. Maybe by then, I'll have received the extra Bobbing for Apples Alpaca/BFL I needed, and I'll finish up the Snickets. Sarah has told me that the new yarn is a few shades darker than what I had, but you know what? I just don't care. That will be part of the story those socks will tell.

consecutively

2008-07-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

It's 107˚ today. And I'm baking cookies. I question the sanity of this, too, but I made a promise, and I always aim to please.

Cookie of the Week -- week two

Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

1 c unsalted butter, softened :: 2/3 c granulated sugar :: 2/3 c brown sugar :: 2 eggs :: 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract :: 2 c all-purpose flour :: 1 tsp baking soda :: 1/2 tsp salt :: 2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips :: 1-1/2 c macadamia nuts, roughly chopped.

Cream the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. Stir in chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Mound in 2 Tbsp. portions onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated oven at 350˚F for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges and set in the middle.

This recipe is my own modified version of one I found online a while back. These are smaller cookies, and I decrease the amount of vanilla extract. They are chewy and crunchy and supremely rich. I can only eat a couple before I get a little overwhelmed. I don't know yet if the kids will like them, since usually they don't even like walnuts in the chocolate chip cookies I make. I will get their input once they get home with the husband.

And a note: Now that I am making a cookie a week, I'll also need to half the recipes I use. 5 dozen cookies just isn't necessary. In fact, even when not baking a batch a week, I usually have to throw out quite a few cookies. Just don't tell my mother-in-law I still do this. Once, while she was sitting in my kitchen, I tossed a couple dozen cookies out. She almost fished them out of the trash!

Knitting is happening here. It always is, really, but sometimes happens at a break-neck pace and at other times, it's snail-speed. I finished one of the Miniature Cowichan Cardigans Sunday night. Yesterday, I cast on for the second. I may have to make a few more, since I have nieces who also collect American Girl dolls.

Mini Cowichan Cardigan from
Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007
yarn: Cascade 220

This is for Annika's doll. Annika adores pink and selected this lovely shade of magenta for her doll's sweater. The color would sort of tire me out and I'd have to put it down once in a while, but all in all, I loved working the pattern. Of course, said pattern is no longer available online, as I found out all too late; thank goodness for blog friends that store PDF's forever.

Laurel's color selection is a softer turquoise. The twisted rib hems and cuffs are my favorite part to knit up. I'm hoping to have it done in a week's time.

cookie of the week

2008-07-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

It is my hope that July will be the month that some of my hopes see light of day. They're not huge resolutions I'm tackling, just things that I wish I did on a regular basis. I sit down at the end of the day and think, "Oh, I would have liked to bake today," or, "It would have been nice to dust the blinds today." You know, things that get pushed to the bottom of my list because more important things come up. Or things that only get done once they're right in my face, screaming for attention.

Last school year, it was my hope to bake a cookie a week, like Leslie and others do. I don't even think there were two consecutive weeks in the entire year that my children enjoyed home baked cookies...

I know it's summer, but with Annika going to her first day of pre-Kindergarten yesterday, I decided it was now or never. The cookie baking began. Pre-K is only a month long. She'll start Kinder in August; Laurel will be in fourth grade. Maybe once August rolls around, I'll have a routine in place for the Cookie of the Week.

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

1 c butter or margarine, softened :: 2 eggs :: 2 c packed light brown sugar :: 2 tsp vanilla extract :: 1-3/4 c all-purpose flour :: 1 tsp baking soda :: 1 tsp ground cinnamon :: 1/2 tsp salt :: 3 c quick-cooking oats :: 8 oz. pkg. Heath Toffee Bits :: 1 c Sweetened Coconut Flakes (optional)

Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Beat butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; beat until blended. Stir in oats, toffee bits and coconut, if desired, with spoon. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove to wire rack. About 4 dozen cookies.

Everyone who's sampled has given a thumbs-up. For those of you who aren't coconut fans, you can certainly omit the coconut, but I have to say that it's not an overwhelming flavor, is pretty tasty and gives it a little moisture. The cookies are chewy, mostly from the toffee bits melting during baking. And they're fabulous with coffee.

the last bit of June

2008-06-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

good-bye June.
hello dog days of summer.

strawberries from the market :: put up :: spreadable

i was utterly inspired by erin's blog post. this is one of the best things i have ever made. ever.

and i'm ready to make more, once i hit the farmer's market on thursday morning.

i've paid it forward in full

2008-06-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

This was the last Pay It Forward gift I sent off. It made its way safely to Katie.

Difficult to part with, this one. To ease the sting, I got my hands on another skein of Malabrigo Worsted weight in Forest; I'll make myself a Dolores Park Cowl out of a flattering green. I'm fairly positive that this pattern has begun a Malabrigo stash craze... and I completely understand the craze that is the cowl.

I followed modifications made by Jennifer in her blog post. She knit hers on a US 8, but because I knit tightly, I used a US 9.

please mr. postman, look and see

2008-06-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

I suppose I can share my latest FO's, now that the USPS has speedily delivered the Pay It Forward packages I've sent out. The third has yet to be mailed off -- I think tomorrow it'll hit the mailtruck.

The first was a Reverse-Bloom Flower Washcloth for Amber. She's been knitting kitchen scrubbies and dishcloths as of late. Digging through my stash, I spied some Cotton Chenille and thought of the flower washcloth immediately. You can find the pattern in Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick.

It's a quick knit; I think I did it in two evenings. Most could do it in one sitting, but I never have that big of a chunk of knitting time. I've knit a few of these before, and regardless of how mindful I am while knitting, my petals always curl up at the bottom. The Cotton Chenille is user-friendly. And I can report that after a couple of years of use, my other two flower washcloths are still in good shape. Amber now has her own skein of Cotton Chenille to knit a second cloth if she so chooses.

You might remember this noodle-like mass:

This yarn has a story to tell: it was purchased in February of 2007, knit into the Fitted Textured Sweater in Modern Classics within a few months, then sat and sat unseamed for months. It was my first sweater, and I didn't realize until I began seaming that it would never fit nicely. In fact, if it were in a store, I would have never bought it. Completely wrong for my body type...

The Juliet Scarf in Knitting Little Luxuries has been in my queue since I discovered it upon publication. I had all the required yarn; to be exact, as a result of frogging the sweater, I have enough for ten of these scarves.

It has been sent to Leslie. If she takes some pictures, I'm sure her photos will be much more stylistic.

This wasn't such a fast project. I suffer from knitting ADD and I could only sit through a couple of pattern repeats at a time. I think there were 19 pattern repeats... it had been on the needles for a month or so! Juliet is my first lacy scarf. It wasn't painful or anything, but it was definitely a labor of love. It's knit in Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure, a fabulous, lofty, soft yarn.

And for about two days, I was a monogamous knitter. I've finished the third Pay It Forward gift, but I'll post about that later. Meanwhile, happy knitting!

WIP Wednesday

2008-06-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Summer days are here, at least in the life of a stay-at-home mom. Here at the SheepishOne home, our summertime daily temps are an average of 95˚F. Playing outside is not exactly fun. As much as I'd love to camp out poolside for much of the day, three young children make that just a teensy tiny bit impossible. Maybe once everyone's out of floaties and eminent drowning danger, I could swing a full day at the pool...

So, school's out, and we've begun our craft planning. Things on our to do list include: freezer paper stenciling, friendship bracelet making, tie-dyeing, clothes making, clothes making, more clothes making, knitting, and possibly embroidery. We'll still go to the beach, visit the aquarium, read some books, go to the pool, and just relax, but I'm looking most forward to the crafting.

My recent crafting endeavors:

Knitting the Juliet Scarf.

Ripping out the work (more than once) on my Sweetpea sock.

Frogging an entire pair of socks that I just didn't love.

Stashing fabric and patterns for aprons and skirts.

Summertime also translates into "Hardly See My Daddy Season" chez SheepishOne. The man of the house is a firefighter, and with an especially dry fall and winter like this year, our fire danger conditions here in California are high. The man just got home last night from his first wildfire of the year. He was gone for six days. We made it through this stint better than we have during others, but for my children, who are used to their dad being at work for 48 hours, then home for 96 hours, there is nothing better than the news that the man is on his way home.

when life hands you a stimulus check

2008-06-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

you should blow it on shoes.

the wickedness continues

2008-06-02T11:42:00.001-07:00

Blocked and modeled.

And although it's not exactly sock weather, you know what I'll be knitting for next, dontcha??

completely wicked

2008-05-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

Wicked is off of my needles. I haven't blocked it yet, but it's removed from my WIP list.

I must remember to give it a little bit of slack: Wicked is the first sweater I've completely finished.

All of my complaints are due to the execution of my Wicked. The pattern is very well written, and contains no errata that I know of (some people believe there is-- it's addressed on the Zephyr Blog).

My main complaint is that I should have added more rounds at the waist. I did follow the schematic of the pattern, stopping the waist where it said to, but I should have gone with my instincts and made the sweater longer. The second most bothersome aspect: the sleeves are too big. I increased to accommodate a large bust, but should have only increased the front panel of the sweater, ceasing arm increases at some point sooner. Alternately, I could have followed a seasoned Wicked knitter's advice and just done short-row bust shaping.

Instead of knitting the pocket separately, I picked up stitches directly from the waist of the sweater. This resulted in what I think is an inside-out seam. It may be that this is not avoidable when picking up stitches, but again, I don't really know ... inexperience rules here.

The laundry list of gripes I have is long. Posting them makes me irritable, and I'm a bit curious as to why. Is it because I don't want to be negative? Is it because, really, if I don't like how it turned out, I should just frog it? Or is it because I may be admitting that sweater-knitting might not be my forté?

A track is playing round and round in my head: This is why you knit socks. This is why you knit socks...

I'm it...

2008-05-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Tagged! And by Amanda!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Um, I sorta hafta think a little. May 1998? I was 19. I was working as a manager for Starbucks Coffee Company. I was going to school, albeit irregularly. I rented a room in a house with three other people: a main tenant who would sleep on the couch (adjacent to my bedroom) and when nodding off, would bang his head on the wall; an older Harley-riding-hookah-loving-out-all-night ladies' man; and an internet porn star who owned a 10-foot-long boa constrictor.

2. What are five things on my to-do list today?
go to the grocery (for a couple of measly but necessary ingredients)::take Annika to ballet::write a letter to my grandmother::work on my month-end reports for our parent organization::mail yarn out to a Raveler (already done).

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Greek yogurt with trail mix, Caramel Macchiato, Pirate's Booty, almonds -- especially toffee coated, sharp cheddar cheese.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
move to a house where everyone could have their own room -- of course, the kids wouldn't sleep in their own beds, so I'd also need to make sure I bought a California King for the master bedroom; buy lots and lots of fabric, just to have on hand for when I decide I need to sew; buy lots and lots of yarn, just to have on hand for when I decide I need to knit; donate money to the kids' school for grass -- there is none currently -- and books and art supplies galore; get more lenses for my camera; buy a hybrid car; visit ruins in Greece and Italy; take the family to France for a summer; put the rest away for college and weddings and grandchildren.

5. Places I have lived:
I was born in Burlingame, CA, and grew up mostly in Newark, CA; lived in different spots in the San Francisco Bay Area; briefly made a move to Colorado; now live in Modesto, CA.

There you are: more tidbits about me! I'm not going to tag anyone in particular -- guess I'm a party pooper -- but I always like to read others' memes, so if you're so inclined, you can play along!

And because a post isn't really a post without pictures, I'll share with you a bloom from the garden. If I were a billionaire, I'd plant an entire yard full of hydrangeas.

they're done. seriously.

2008-05-18T10:59:00.001-07:00

It's a bittersweet thing, to take a WorkInProgress and officially mark it a FinishedObject. The actual process of knitting is what I enjoy most, and although I can now relish in having something to add to my wardrobe, I always take a little time to reflect after casting off.

It has become apparent to me that while I admire the skill and finery of a complex pattern, I'm finding that with all of the striping yarns I've been using lately, I would have preferred to knit a stockinette foot. I certainly wouldn't frog a whole sock (or even half of a sock), but I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind after the first of the Seriously? pair was finished.

The yarn is sKNITches Syncopation, which is a self-striping yarn. sKNITches makes it easy to have a perfectly mirrored pattern but I'll pass on my own little tip. When you are casting on the first sock, make your slip knot right where one color ends and another begins, also making note of the next color change. Write this down. For example, when I cast on, I wrote: "slknot @ point where blue fades to white, white continues on to gray".

Now if you look, this resulted in a single stripe of blue at the top of my socks. This is a result of the tail-end used in the cast on being blue -- you know, because of where the slip knot was placed. If you are ~~even more anal than I am~~ particular, you could instead make your slip knot a few inches into a color. In the example of the Seriously? colorway, I would have noted: "slknot @ __ inches into white segment; white continues to gray." Easy-peasy.

Have a wonderful week!

apron love

2008-05-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Look [though not too closely!] at what was accomplished here at chez SheepishOne last night:

short pleated apron from In Stitches

Revelation: Aprons + socks = projects that are practical, functional, and ALWAYS fit regardless of body type.

The pattern is from Amy Butler's book, In Stitches. I am by no means an experienced sewer. In fact, I can count on one hand how many sewing projects I have under my apron waistband. Still, this pattern was fairly simple to execute. A stumbling block was hit during one of the last steps. I don't know if it was the diagram or the verbage that confused me, but it resulted in me making my own judgment call when it came to attaching the ties to the waistband. The fabric is from Moda's Mary Engelbreit line, Friends and Flowers.

And because I have an admitted problem with collecting things the minute I like them, I have purchased A is for Apron. Watch for other creations here in the future!

mmm... books!

love and marriage

2008-05-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

These last couple of weeks have been extremely busy. When I erased the April dry-erase calendar, moved May on over and then added June, out came a little gasp. I just can't believe that we're almost half-way through 2008.

The first week of May found me packing for then flying to San Diego, California. I only stayed one night, but it was the first time EVER I've ever been away on my own since getting married nine years ago. I used to fly to my parents' often with Laurel, but since having three kids, flying seems a daunting task. Flying alone was surreal; every time I heard a child's cry or calling for mother, I'd turn around, looking for one of my own kidlets.

flying above Santa Cruz --
I can even pick out the cove we often picnic on.

My younger sister's marriage was what brought me to San Diego. She married her high school sweetheart, now a Marine stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. They're a very endearing couple and I wish them long-lasting love and friendship.

Just married!

I didn't have very much downtime while on "vacation". A severe head cold hit me the day before I left for the wedding. Knitting took a backseat to my recovery. Having a queen-sized bed to myself was certainly a treat, but I fell asleep so quickly, I forgot to sleep with each and every limb outstretched.

Upon my return to my humble and intact home (there was never a doubt in my mind that my dear, generous husband would keep it so), I rested still, but picked up the needles and finished my ZuluGarter socks.

Though I love the Garter Rib pattern, I have to say that upon reflection, a stockinette sock would have been a much better choice for the beautiful but busy Scout's Swag Superwash Merino in Zuluknitty. These are going to be a gift, so hopefully the recipient is down with funky socks!

I have yet to cast on the second sock of "Seriously?". I love this yarn with every ounce of my being. Although I have stashed a lot of sKNITches Syncopation, I have only ever knit up the old base yarn, and this particular skein is the new Syncopation. This fingering weight yarn has produced a sock that is sturdy and dense -- perhaps due to the nylon content? -- which I found surprising.

Wicked is coming along. I've separated the sleeves from the body [a couple of times]. It may be a while before I'm ready to unveil a finished project, but you'll of course be the first to know!

i feel right at home in this stunning monochrome

2008-04-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Gray: a dull neutral that I love. Even though the color of the Lion Brand Cotton Ease I'm using to knit Wicked is called taupe, in some light it seems gray.

I frogged the collar of my Wicked a couple of days ago and began anew. I felt like the cables in the previous work were a little too sloppy for me to live with, and after giving it a time-out, I decided -- like usual -- that if I don't love it, I should rip it.

(left) first collar, with the messy cables; (right) new collar, knit super tight.

Wicked is a wickedly easy knit, but I think I'll work in some bust shaping for my OUTgoing girls, and some waist shaping. At this point, I am planning to knit the pocket, but we'll see for sure as I get closer. I don't need any added bulk at the tummy, but I've heard that this particular pocket doesn't seem to add too much.

Grey's Anatomy is back on network TV tonight. To say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement. Since Carl's at work and the kids will be asleep, I can enjoy a live broadcast (usually, I rely heavily on my DVR's faithfulness) and a hot cup of chai tea. Oh, hopefully the show is so riveting, I really won't need to knit, but in case, I have another sock to work on, cast on JUST for the re-entry of Grey's:

That's right, it's sKNITches Syncopation in "Seriously?". This is described, on sKNITches.com, as "blue scrubs, lab coat, Meredith's grey, anatomy red." Isn't it perfect??

Oh, and my one finished Snicket sock is going in the mail today, being sent to The Plucky Knitter. She's going to try to color-match some new yarn for me! Thanks, Sarah; you're the best!!

Seven Randoms

2008-04-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

The fabulous Hilary tagged me with a "Seven [Random] Facts About Me" meme. I really can't explain why I love reading these on other people's blogs and profiles, but I do, and so to reciprocate, I'll play too.

I am damn good at Goober's Lab on Webkinz. Webkinz are Beanie Baby-like toys that come with codes that give the new pet owner access to webkinz.com. The stuffed animal you hold in your hand becomes an animated virtual pet that you must feed and house (you can also dress it in -- among other things -- fruity hats and ball gowns) and to do this, you must earn KinzCash by playing games and answering trivia. Goober's Lab is a game similar to Bejeweled; this is a game I also have on my iPod, so I've had a lot of practice. (I feel like I must disclose that I have a four-year old with multiple Webkinz and she's not quite yet skilled in the ways of KinzCash acquisition without aid.)

I do not generally like knick-knacks; however, I am compelled to keep the complimentary shampoo and lotions that sit in the bathrooms of hotels that I've stayed in on extraordinary vacations.

The only other knick-knacky things I enjoy are antique hat pins. My collection isn't huge, and that's because authentically vintage hatpins are extremely hard to find.

I really like office supplies. The fact that companies have to police their supply closets is completely understandable to me. If I had it my way, I'd have a freshly sharpened Mirado Black Warrior pencil, its Pink Pearl eraser untouched, each and every time I wrote. And Post-Its flags? Those are little drops of organizing heaven...

...leading me to the different types of organizing types. Did you know there was such a thing? I suppose there are types for everything humans do, but I never really gave it much thought until my husband took a seminar in organizing. I have found out that I'm a "sorter", but I'm not exactly successful. Sorters go through a room, sorting the items out into different piles, like "to file", "to shred", or "to donate", "to store". I'm wonderful at that part. It's the next part that always trips me up: "the sorter is required at some point to determine the final status of the items."

I am not a big TV viewer. There are a handful of shows I watch without fail: "Grey's Anatomy", "Eli Stone", and "The Barefoot Contessa". When "Rome" was on HBO, I lived for the next episode. But I have one show that I can't keep from tuning in for; in fact, as I sit there watching, I'm asking myself, "Why? Why do you waste 30 minutes for this?"

And lastly, my strange human tricks attesting to my agility: I can make my tongue touch my nose, and should I ever have a very odd need, I am capable of biting my own toenails.

So, I'm tagging you ALL -- anyone over there, on the left, in the blogroll. You can participate if you'd like. Be assured that I'll be reading it. Especially now that I've finally taken the time to set up my Bloglines! Can you believe that I was just clicking my way to your blogs from my own??

The fine print:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

catching up

2008-04-17T15:11:00.001-07:00

These might be my most favorite hand-knit socks to date. I adore the Snicket pattern (from the now-defunct MagKnits website) and The Plucky Knitter BFL/Alpaca yarn combination. There is so much great texture that it's hard to resist running my hands down the legs and across the instep.

Sadly, however, I have run out of yarn:

So these will sit, in a Yarntainer, for an unknown amount of time, waiting for a possible matching donor.

Of course, since I am well adept at yarn stashing, I cast these on to brighten my mood.

Garter Rib socks in Scout's Swag 100% Superwash Merino -- "ZuluKnitty" colorway.

Garter Rib socks are slightly addictive to knit. I love that I can sit and knit with girlfriends without glancing down at a pattern every row. The pattern can also hide minor errors well. As much as I do adore the pattern, I wonder if a stockinette sock would have looked better with this particular colorful yarn.

hedgerow regulations

2008-03-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I love the idea of these socks, but in actuality, my Hedgerows are a bit of a failure.

Most of you know my earlier mistake. Let me detail it.
The pattern reads:
Rows 1 & 2: *K1, P1, K2, P2*, repeat from * to end of round.
Rows 3 & 4: *K2, P1, K1, P2*, repeat from * to end of round.
How I read the pattern:
Row 1: *K1, P1, K2, P2*, repeat from * to end of round.
Row 2: *K2, P1, K1, P2*, repeat from * to end of round.

To have the pattern continue through the heel requires careful re-distribution of stitches and an addition of stockinette edging. I carefully read the pattern at this time, and followed it to the "t"; it was then that I realized I missed rows 2 & 4. Although disappointed, I didn't let this break me and I decided to go forward with my "mistake hedgerows" as I had knit them prior to this point.

My heartbreak is today, with a finished pair on my feet. They're much too loose. The heel turn doesn't sit on my heel properly, and I don't know if it is a result of the loose fit or if I've missed the mark with the sizing. And beyond all of this, I had to block the socks to get the stitch definition that was buried there in those rows of knits and purls. I don't dislike blocking entirely, but these will have to be blocked with each and every wash, I'm afraid.

Besides my VERY FIRST pair of handknit socks, these have taken me the longest from cast on to kitchener. Six months, in fact. Pitiful, in my book. If it weren't for Project Spectrum, and that today is the last day of "FIRE", they might not even be off the needles.

The ironic thing is, I have some new green yarn that is begging to be knit up as *the perfect* Hedgerows.

goin' down slow

2008-03-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

The first of the Hedgerow socks is done. This sock has caused me much grief; I read the pattern incorrectly (without realizing it until later) and was having a huge problem getting the heel to match the leg... I'm only about 10% finished with the second sock. It's certainly not Second Sock Syndrome from which I suffer, but I am slowly, slowly knitting this. Pattern available here; yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Pale Pink".

This is the first of the Snicket Socks I am working. The texture is AMAZING. Pattern, yarn, I now pronounce you a marriage made in heaven. The pattern is available here; the yarn is The Plucky Knitter BFL/Suri Alpaca in "Bobbing for Apples".

We've been outside a lot lately. Spring fever abounds. Although so has the "regular" fever. This was Gavin last week, swinging and swinging from the big ash tree in the front yard. This week, he's got a cold. The Easter Bunny brought him croup and a 103˚F fever...

(And yes, I knit the hat, but couple of years back. It's the Seaman's Cap in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. He's got several of these, but in different color schemes.
I did NOT knit the sweater.)

Oh, and in case you haven't heard: The Plucky Knitter is starting a sock club. I think I'm a sucker for clubs... If you are, too, you can sign up here.

i'm so excited, and i just can't hide it

2008-03-12T19:40:00.001-07:00

i'm in, i'm in!!

***ETA: this is the Scout's Swag Sock Club. It's a little different than the past rounds of Scout's Indie Swag Club, but in this version, there won't be any indie swag, just sock yarn.

And yes, it's too late to join this year's club... but i wish you luck for next year. ;-)

wait for all the dark clouds

2008-03-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

bursting in a perfect sky...

I'm in love with these. They may not get much action until next fall, or even winter, but I'm positive that they will be oft used. For the next couple of years, I'll be standing outside my children's school selling scrip and on those chilly mornings, my fingerless gloves and coordinating hat will keep me oh-so-cozy.

The free pattern is available here. I knit my own gauntlets a little longer, adding cable repeat prior to beginning the thumb gusset. For complete symmetry, the right gauntlet cables are reversed so that it mirrors the left. How to do this is given as "advice" in the pattern itself. These are a fairly easy knit, and if you are just getting into cable work, I would highly recommend the pattern. They're also extremely fast to knit up. Although I took five days to have a finished pair, each mitt only took an evening.

These are knit in one of my favorite yarns, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. The color is Chocolate, again one of my favorites. In my opinion, Debbie Bliss yarns can do no wrong, especially the cashmerinos in her line. I'm a tight knitter, so these are done on size 8dpn.

architecturally speaking...

2008-03-08T18:31:00.001-08:00

... until I visit the Seattle Central Library, this will keep a space in my heart.

Koolhaas, knit in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Marròn Oscuro colorway,
on size 7 & 9 needles.

Capturing the color of this yarn in photographs is nearly impossible for me. Whether indoors or out, I cannot get two shots that show the same hue and detail of the hat.

And since I can't escape the desire to share Spring with you, another gratuitous nature shot:

march madness

2008-03-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Spring is near!

Even though spring is bursting open all around me, apparently I've been hit with an urgent need to knit hats. These will probably go unworn until next winter -- I do live in California! -- but I continue to cast on hats. The newest:

Koolhaas in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Marròn Oscuro colorway

Finished (yay!) last night, I also present to you:

Basic Sock (2x2 rib, heel flap) in Knit Picks Felici, Firefighter colorway

And from the kitchen, Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. I have the entire Barefoot Contessa cookbook collection, and this recipe is in Barefoot Contessa At Home, but can also be found here.

They're a hit.

check.

2008-02-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

This cable hat became something that was just an item on the to-do list.

All I wanted was to cross it off.

Simple Cable Hat from Cables Untangled; Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Chocolate

Really, after the third time I had to frog several rows of work, I wanted to forgo the entire thing. There is STILL a glaring mistake... I couldn't bear to rip again.

I spent the morning trying to get a good shot of the hat ON my head, then balling yarn.

I frogged an entire sweater made of Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure

... and perhaps they will live on again as Juliet scarves.

ISO: cheap and easy

2008-02-22T21:58:00.001-08:00

I am trudging through the re-knit of the Simple Cable Hat. To be honest, because I've knit it once, I'm just not as infatuated with the idea of it as a completed project.

As a bribe, today I purchased several skeins of Cotton-Ease for Wicked. Once I've finished the hat, I'll start in on my own easy-peasy, dirt-cheap, no-seaming-required, confidence-boosting sweater. I know, I'm late to the Wicked game, but until I saw it so prolifically and successfully done on Ravelry, I hadn't wanted to knit it. And honestly, I need a good ol' stockinette stitch project.

Since kitchen successes are more easy to come by in the Sheepish household, I share with you our family movie night treat: Snowy Trail Mix. Über-yummy.

a run of bad luck

2008-02-19T16:11:00.001-08:00

What can I say? It's not unlike me to have a mistake (or two or three) embedded in a hand-knit. I admit, I'm a perfectionist. As such, I almost always rip back and right the wrong.

I was anxious to finish this Simple Cabled Hat from Cables Untangled tonight -- maybe tomorrow -- and wear it during the forthcoming string of rainy days we're expecting. With only six rounds more to go, I realized that there was something off with my number of stitches. Confident that I had followed the decreasing crown rounds properly, I was a bit unnerved but ripped back about 6 rows anyway. I counted the stitches: still off. Double-checked the directions for said round, and still did not know what had gone awry. Then it hit me: I'd read the pattern wrong long ago. After four inches of K2, P2 rib, I was to increase from 96 sts to 144 sts, then begin the cable pattern. I had only increased to 120 sts and begun the little, squishy cables. Oy.

The cables always get the best of me.

i guess they can't all be winners

2008-02-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

Lucky 7 is not so lucky in my hands. Not surprising: I'm generally not lucky when it comes to games, lotteries, or contests.

This hat was intended for an adult. My sister, Kerstin, has a friend who had asked for a non-itchy hand-knit hat. Looking in my stash, I thought that the skein of Araucania Nature Wool Leslie had sent me this fall would be great. After perusing Ravelry, I even saw that others had knit hats from this yarn, so I cast on.

I tried it on my own head during the knitting process and suspected early on that it might be too tight. I went ahead and continued on anyway.

It fits Gavin, who is two.

I have no humility and will say, really, he's adorable. And proves I'm lucky in the ways that truly matter.

cute as a button

2008-02-08T11:37:00.001-08:00

I adore this. And hope Jackson and his mommy do, too.

baby blue seas of yarn

2008-02-07T20:57:00.001-08:00

The baby blanket that I had previously posted about is finished. Ends were woven in -- and no, it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be -- and it was washed. I had to prove to myself that the sea of blue yarn wasn't going to unweave, wave by wave, in a machine. As much as I would have loved to make this blanket in something soft and pillowy, I'm not sure that any new mother really wants a hand-wash-only baby anything. Machine washing this made me feel better.

Still, washing and pinning dry didn't seem to even out any stitches or help with the garter-stitch border curling under. There's nothing notably off in this project, but I did think that the reverse-stockinette "J" would have looked better after blocking.

In any case, I'd make the blanket again, but only with a different yarn -- like absolutely no percent of acrylic whatsoever -- and I'd reconfigure the sizing of the "J". To put this into perspective: the blanket is about 235 rows tall and the letter chart is only 32 rows of the entirety. I think I'd at least double the initial, length and width.

The last part of Jackson's gift is this Cable and Seed Stitch Baby Hat from purlywhites. Her pattern, in her own words, "is a blatant rip-off of a Debbie Bliss pattern." Much like Sundara, I too feel that Debbie Bliss should rethink pattern writing and start knitting things like hats in the round. There is nothing worse that knitting hats flat, especially for babies who spend so much time laying on what would be a seam. Yuck. I have the Debbie Bliss book that this pattern is in, fell in love with the hat, but turned my nose up at it upon discovering the knit flat aspect.

Anyway, Sundara re-wrote the Debbie Bliss pattern so it can be worked in the round, and every seed stitch still matches up. I leapt for joy. Here was the hat I had wanted to make, with every kink worked out for me. Beautiful.

in which I strive not to be a knave

2008-02-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

Pay it forward. I do this sometimes at the drive-thru window at Starbucks; I pay for my coffee and then pay for the car behind me. It's especially fun if I can linger a moment to watch the lucky person flounder a bit and put away money when told that his or her order has been paid for already.

"I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you [...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money." -- Benjamin Franklin

There is a Pay It Forward string going through Blogland. Natalie posted about it last week and I was lucky enough to get in on her PIF. Now here's your chance to get in on mine:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

knitting for baby

2008-02-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? I'm NOT knitting socks. I know, I know! Pick up your jaw! Behold: A Blanket for Jackson.

Personalized Baby Blanket from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies; Plymouth Dreambaby DK yarn

Jackson, due in March, is (will be) my husband's cousin's son, and the first grandchild on that side of the family. Surely, he will be a gift-laden newborn! I remembered today how fun it is to shop for a baby -- everything was so teensy and soft. Laurel was with me and commented that "everyone in here is picking something up saying, 'oh, how cute is this?!'" I purchased an adorable sleeper, and I'm hoping to also knit up a baby hat to coordinate with the blanket. Saturday is the baby shower, so I need to finish and block this soon. Oh, and weave in all of those ends -- something I never have to do with socks!

you make my day

2008-01-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

I don't say it enough. To anyone. "You make my day." I'm lucky to be surrounded by children who are joyful, a husband who is loving, friends who are generous, and I absolutely need to say it more: You make my day.

Hilary gave me a "You Make My Day Award" today. Hilary's blog is one I look at often, but I don't know that I've ever posted a comment. It's featured down there on the left with all of the other blogs I find inspiring. When you click on Hilary's blog, you might first notice the Latin (one of my favorite aspects of the yarniad), and you will notice the fine knitting and sewing projects that are featured, but by far, the most important things you will notice at the yarniad is that Hilary fills her life with fun. It seems like Hilary's the type of blogger you would want to meet in person and then make your very best friend.

So what is the "You Make My Day Award", you ask? The purpose of this award: Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times. So here goes:

I am reciprocating the award and sending it firstly to Hilary for the yarniad. See reasons above. Thanks for such a special treat today. It truly made my day! The fact that anyone at all reads my blog is a wonder...

Sometimes I feel like a stalker, but Leslie is who I wish I could be. Leslie's blog, a friend to knit with, is overflowing with beautiful knits, super-cute sewing projects, delicious food and totally squeezable children. a friend to knit with reminds me on a daily basis to have fun with my kids.

Angry Chicken is my sewing fantasy blog. Amy's work is always fresh but retro-looking, and I love her book, bend-the-rules sewing. (In fact, I gave multiple copies out for holiday gifts this year.) Any of the crafts featured on Angry Chicken are inpiring.

house on hill road gets a "You Make My Day". Erin's blog is just plain fun. Apparently, I wish I could sew, because I look at these blogs and drool. Erin's may make me drool the most. Her kids' projects are beyond cute, too.

techknitting might not be as "adorable" or "squeezable" as the aforementioned blogs, but it surely has made more than a few of my days. If I've got a question about knitting techniques, this is the first stop I make. The simple fact that anyone would put so much energy into a free and frequently updated site is amazing.

splityarn is the next blog awarded. Caro makes my day. Especially when she posted photos of herself wearing her completed Twist sweater. Talk about inspiration!

Kirsten's blog, Through the Loops!, is another blog with great photos, lots of beautiful knitting, and two amazingly talented daughters who are also crafty.

Scout's Swag is my favorite place to shop -- and sometimes nothing makes me happier than shopping. I'm sure you're all very familiar with Scout, her shop, and her blog.

Peaknit's blog is great, but Stacey herself is even sweeter.

Lastly, the "You Make My Day Award" goes to Strands of Me. Natalie's such a warm person, and her blog is just the sort of blog I read when I need to feel more like a friend than a fan.

Thanks to everyone for your blogs. You all really do make my day.

two of a kind

2008-01-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

Laurel was very excited to wear these to school today.

Although I didn't get a shot of her full outfit, I should have. She had the socks peeking over some brown suede boots, and was wearing a khaki skirt, white collared shirt, and a brown with turquoise polka-dotted headband. If it wasn't obvious before, these are her favorite colors in the crayon box.

Thanks to Leslie (for the instructional booklet) and Georgia (for the pretty pink needles), I am attempting my first Magic Loop'd socks. The socks will be for my husband, and they're made with Knit Picks Felici in "Firefighter" on a size 2 circular. I'm not sure if this method is for me; it's possible that I'm one of those types of people that learn a particular way to do something and can't do the same thing in any other way.

The Fiber Trends booklet that Leslie sent really is helpful, and I'm thinking that after this pair, I'll try a toe-up (which would also be a new skill for me) on the circulars.

nearly knee socks

2008-01-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

I love knitting. And I love it when my kids love what I've knit them.

Laurel has eyed this sKnitches yarn in "Planetary" since I got it from eBay last spring. (Funnily enough, someone who has now become a "blog friend" was the seller! Such a small world!!) Laurel wears a uniform to school, and has nurtured an interest in knee socks to spice up her white-khaki-navy plainness.

I had attempted knee socks for her this summer, but they just weren't working. Using this non-pattern resulted in miscalculations on MY part and thusly produced a sock that was huge in the calf. I had to put it all down and walk away.

On Thursday, I decided it was time to get these things on the needles. Once I guesstimated at the cast-on stitch number, then worked out the initial increase numbers, I just kept sliding it on her leg to double-check the way things were turning out. The first one is done, and other than realizing I need to re-kitchener the toe with more stitches, I think it's pretty awesome!

You should have seen me knitting the foot of this sock, though. I was sweating bullets. I only have 300 yards of this yarn, and I really don't know how many yards it takes to make these socks. Using a scale, I measured two equal amounts and then wound those into center-pull balls. Towards the end of the ball -- and thankfully the end of the foot -- I kept glancing down to see how many colors were down there... As soon as I saw I had only one green length down there, I got a little jittery. I have 26 inches left of yarn.

Again with the quick knitting... This sport-weight yarn certainly is a help; I see now why people knit with sport-weight. She'd like for these socks to be done by Tuesday. At first I thought that would be impossible, but I'm sorta thinking it might be do-able. As long as I don't run out of yarn. But if I do, the gracious owner of sKnitches has already agreed to help me out! Hooray for helpful indie dyers!!

things I look forward to in the coming year

2008-01-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

1. the ocean
2. freshly baked criossants
3. putting on clothes right out of the dryer
4. Annika's delight on her first day of kindergarten
5. a crisp, clean calendar
6. sunset
7. first watermelon lemonade of the season
8. anniversary dinner
9. knitting the advent calendar-to-be
10. working through my stash
11. first day of fall
12. my kids in new bathing suits
13. soft, green grass
14. tomatoes
15. t-shirt weather
16. knitting time
17. card night with the girls
18. making new friends
19. becoming the master of my sewing machine
20. lazy summer mornings
21. February -- not January! -- at the gym
22. reading new books
23. learning more about my 2-year-old
24. cuddling
25. "mommy, I love you"

Best wishes for a great 2008.

and in closing...

2007-12-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

2007 was a great year for my knitting. Having this blog has breathed a little bit of life into what used to largely be a solo adventure. Thanks for reading! I've enjoyed getting to know more of you and though most of us have never met, I call you my friends.

And for your viewing pleasure:

Annika in the hat she requested I knit.

Upside Down Daisy hat from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Hats, knit with the suggested yarns of Rowan handknit dk cotton and ggh Samoa.

Happy New Year to everyone! I wish you love and good health in 2008.

prep, chill and bake

2007-12-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

The knitting needles are at rest. Beware, though, because now the baking begins in earnest.

"lemony snicket" recipe here

socks make the world go round

2007-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Rampantly knitting. Needles flying. Pinkie finger cramping.

What had begun as yarn but is now socks:

completed ballet teacher socks
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Multi in Ballerina Blues; basic 3x1 rib sock

completed Maggie's socks
White Oak Studio tvyarn sock in Fried Green Tomatoes; Shock Wave pattern

I need to make another pair of socks in the Ballerina Blues colorway for the other daughter's ballet teacher, too. Hopefully I can get those done almost as quickly as the first pair. 5 days? C'mon, I can do it!!

if at first you don't succeed...

2007-12-08T08:48:00.001-08:00

August 07: began "Zeeby's Bag" at my sister's request for a Christmas gift.

October: needed to order more yarn than pattern called for. Why, I don't know. I didn't make this bag any larger than the one in the book. Anyway, waiting for the yarn to arrive pushed this project back a bit, because of course I had to start something new...

November: Finished the straps and the bag languished, unseamed, as do all of my projects that require finishing.

December: December? How did time pass so quickly?! Bag seamed and straps attached. But wait! Kerstin wanted an anchor.

Uh, that is NOT an anchor. Nope. To prove it, I asked flickr and ravelry friends to check it out and tell me what they thought it was. And they thought exactly what I thought: a stick figure falling on it's ass.

Let's try, try again...

Much better, right?? The bag is lined with the pin-up girl fabric, since I was fully aware that such a bag would stretch and stretch and stretch when used. "Felt me!" is what I really kept hearing while seaming this up. Hopefully Kerstin likes it. My fingers are crossed.

christmastime is here again

2007-11-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

aka: Good-bye November

I decided to start decorating today for Christmas. The pride and joy of the year is the family of hand-knit Santa stockings for my three kids and husband. You all were asking where my stocking was when I posted about the stockings previously, and the answer to that was "in a box in the attic". Now that the decorations have come out of hiding, the lonely sock was so happy to meet with its new relatives.

My stocking is hard to see in a photo. Obviously, the face and name are not on one side, as the stockings I knit are. My name, "Melana", and the face cover the entire surface of the stocking great-grandma made. Her Santa face was knit in the body of the stocking, but the name is duplicate stitched. On the ones I knit, I duplicate stitched both the name and the face. Her yarn is some sort of acrylic, which has lead to the melting of stockings when I was little. I, of course, being a yarn snob, do not use acrylic, so these stockings are all of Lamb's Pride Worsted.

On the needles (active needles, that is) are Maggie's Fried Green Shock Waves:

Please read about Maggie, and see if your heartstrings don't pull a little. I decided that even if the deadline is today, Maggie can still use socks tomorrow. Anyone with a sock obsession is deserving in my book!

The yarn is White Oak Studio TVyarn in Fried Green Tomatoes, which is actually a colorway exclusive to the Chick Flick tvyarn Sock Club. I think that the next three-month run will begin in February...

thankful for

2007-11-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

generous, loving husband
healthy, beautiful kids
plenty to eat
warm, lived-in home
caring, giving friends

i hope you all have a wondrous, family-filled, heart-filling, tummy-filling thanksgiving.
xoxo, melana

a great mail day

2007-11-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

check out the loot! There are two skeins of sKNITches BeBop Sock: Turtleback (green) and Preppy (brown); the purply mass is the gorgeous Yarn Pirate Booty Club installment for November: a BFL in Solstice; everything else is from Leslie! SO generous! She answered my inquiry of how to knit socks with the magic loop method by sending an instructional booklet, but also included a skein of yarn, a pattern for the yarn, a sweet note and one of her handsewn tissue holders. Thanks Leslie!!

I've just cast on the mate to Karma's Good Karma socks, but what I really need to complete is my sister's Christmas gift. Kerstin asked for Zeeby's Bag, which she saw in Stitch n Bitch, but with one modification: an anchor on the front. Her fiance is a Marine, and with an anchor, she can represent! I also found USO pin-up style girls on fabric, with which I plan to line the purse. Hopefully I can figure out how to do a pocket of some sort.

knitting for mother-in-laws

2007-11-18T10:46:00.001-08:00

What I've been knitting this weekend:
pattern: Charade
yarn: Yarn Pirate Merino Sock in Karma
needles: size 2 dpn
gift for: Karma, my husband's step-mother

What I finished earlier this week:
pattern: Garter Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks
yarn: Lorna's Laces in Ballerina Blue
needles: size 2 dpn
gift for: Linda, my husband's mother

knitting for mothers

2007-11-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

It's November, and the days are gorgeous. So much sun, mild temperatures. I wish that we had this weather everyday: crisp mornings, warm afternoons, early evenings...

For my mom, who came back out to California to help me during the Southern California Firestorm, I made a Coronet. It's made of a lovely pistachio colored Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I'm hoping that this hat is warm and can cover her ears in the cold Colorado air, but that it won't be itchy.

I began my holiday knitting in earnest this week. For my mother-in-law I cast on Garter Rib socks from Sensational Knitted Socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi. The colorway is a Yarn Market exclusive called Ballerina Blues, based on the painting "Dancers at Rest" by Edgar Degas. I'm knitting these on size 2 dpn.

The sock is coming out beautifully. This is the first Charlene Schurch pattern I've done, and I have to say that she is making her way to patron sock saint status in my book. Her heel flap, with its garter stitch border, is not only extremely easy to pick up stitches from, but is aesthetically pleasing. And though I have seen other patterns with a solution to gaps at the gusset, Charlene is the only pattern-writer to show me how to successfully avoid that little stretched out stitch I always get where my gusset begins.

Other holiday knitting: for my (step)mother-in-law I am knitting socks in Yarn Pirate Merino Sock, in a colorway that shares her name: Karma. I finally bought more Lamb's Pride Worsted to finish up my sister's Zeeby's Bag; I have only the straps to complete, but I will be lining this bag as well. I may knit a Chevron Scarf for my sister-in-law. I have the requisite Socks that Rock in Farmhouse and Watermelon Tourmaline; though they were not purchased with the intent to become a scarf, but to be socks.

In the last Yarn Pirate Booty Club installment, Georgia sent a couple of long hot pink circular needles, so I'm pondering whether I should look into learning the Magic Loop method. Do any of you do this? Did you take a class, or did you find a tutorial online? If you have a good tutorial to share -- one heavy with photos AND verbiage -- please post in the comments. After the Garter Rib socks are done, I may try it out.

eta: Laurel found out on Saturday that she IS the baby mouse that gets shot in the rear during the Nutcracker! Yay Laurel!

eight

2007-10-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

happy birthday to punkin, who is beyond excited to be classified as a "tween" for four years.

let the halloweening begin

2007-10-23T21:05:00.001-07:00

Aaah, sweet success. I love the warm rush I get when I slide the last needle out of a project and find I am then holding a finished object.

I'm sure you've all heard or seen of the fires that are raging through Southern California. I simply can't believe that there are now 18 different fires and that the majority of those that broke out today are probably due to arson. If you've read my previous posts, you're probably aware that Husband is a firefighter. On Sunday, while at work, he and his crew were called up to join a team of 15 other firefighters and head down to L.A. The last update from Husband I received was via text message this evening: he's in the town of Fillmore protecting homes. He'll probably be up through the night working the line, only resting once he's pulled off-line sometime tomorrow. I'm thinking I wouldn't be standing after 24 hours, let alone lugging 60lbs of protective gear and a charged hose line around a neighborhood.

everything pink

2007-10-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Today was Annika's Everything Pink Party. Here's what the kitchen looked like:
Appropriately, we had pink lemonade, strawberry marshmallows, pink shades of Jelly Bellys, and a tiered cake.
The cake itself is a white cake -- the best ever! -- with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream between the layers, and used for the swirls and polka dots, and a plain Meringue Buttercream on the outside. Yum!
Hopefully it was a birthday she'll always remember. We made three tutus with nearly 20 yards of tulle, of which maybe I'll post a picture of when I get a more internet-compatible shot. We also beaded bracelets and danced around with boas. Very fancy!!

four

2007-10-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

happy birthday, sweet girl!

yes, i'm new...

2007-10-16T20:45:00.001-07:00

In my last posting, I saw that I cannot change the font type (as in bold, italic, etc.) nor can I click on the little globe with the chain to link anything to another site. All of those tools that are normally in the header above the field in which I type my post are just gone! Is it something in my settings? The only tools that ARE available are the spell check and insert photo buttons.

I'm getting irked.

Now for those of you who do not use Blogger but who have found your way here anyway, I ask for your guidance as well. I have the aforementioned Fitted Textured Sweater still waiting to be seamed. Should I seam it, as a learning experience, even though I know right now that I will NEVER wear it? Or do I frog the $110 worth of yarn and re-ball it and save it for another, yet to be determined project?

Thanks in advance for your help in either of my predicaments!

**ETA: I realized the problem this morning (10/17). I had begun using Safari rather than Firefox, and once I opened the edit page in Firefox, everything was there again. YAY!**

a reprieve

2007-10-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Obviously I'm not a committed blogger; I usually average three posts a month, right? And if September hit the payload with six posts, then I've got a little lee-way for October...

No seriously, I haven't been posting because I've just been REALLY busy. In fact, this entry won't even include much knitting-related news, and that's because I've not had time to knit! My mom came out from Colorado last week. It was a great visit during which her focus really seemed to be hanging out with the kids. Mom left Saturday, and the kids and I were at the kitchen table that night. Annika said that she really liked playing hair salon with Grandma. Gavin (age 2) said "gwamma, gwamma", and Laurel began to cry. Then she tearfully -- and with a little genuine but dramatic flair -- cried "Grandma JUST left! I can't talk about her right now!"
mom & me, a couple of years ago

So since I've no knitting to really share (although I haven't blogged about my Spookly Socks -- click on sidebar) I thought I'd do one of those "30 things about me" posts. That way, you can say you know me better.

1. I'm young. I have an issue with being the youngest mom at a playgroup or a Mom's Club function. Recently, I've noticed that there are younger moms than me, but then I remember that they're just joining the club because they are new moms, and usually to just one kid.

2. I love pilates on the reformer, but I'm not a skinny person. I wish I were. My new resolution is to up my game in the regular gym. Then the toned muscles I have can emerge from some excess baggage. Literally.

3. As per #2, my main motivation for being fit is so I can see my kids' kids, and my kids' kids' kids, etc. My secondary motivation is because when I start knitting more sweaters -- which I WILL do one day -- I can buy fewer skeins of the required yarn. It's all about the yarn budget! ;-)

4. I hate my kitchen. You will probably never see pictures of my kitchen. Period.

5. My husband is a pack-rat. I wish I had the balls to start throwing stuff out -- stuff that he wouldn't realize he was missing -- but I don't.

6. I played volleyball throughout high school. I loved it. On varsity, we had "specialties". Mine was back-row: you know, digging balls and such. I can still dig a fast spike, roll backwards, land on two feet and get up. Quickly.

7. My dad collects Hot Wheels, and so always gave them to me and my sibs. Then he started giving them to my girls. They weren't impressed. I'm secretly happy that I have a son just so my dad can push Hot Wheels at him.

8. This school year, I'm Room Mom, on the Parent Board, and helping with a huge fundraiser that occurs this month. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now because besides this,

9. ...my two daughters have birthdays coming up. Annika will be four on Wednesday and Laurel will be eight later this month. We're hosting an "Everything Pink/Fancy Nancy" party for A and L will be hosting our first sleepover.

10. My favorite foods: baked brie & crunchy french bread; chicken tortilla soup; lemon shrimp skewers; nectarines; Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes & Pumpkin Muffins, but not the fake cream cheese junk in the middle.

11. I love getting Pottery Barn catalogs. I wish I lived in the pages of PBK.

12. I love books. All books. My favorite gifts are bookstore gift cards.

13. The kids are down with child-parent PDAs. I will enjoy it while I can.

14. I have reddish-blonde hair. That's me, as a toddler >>>>. So far, none of the kids have it.

15. I have one tattoo: a sun on the outside of my ankle. It's 10 years old. I should have it re-inked, but I'm afraid of how it might turn out.

16. I don't particularly like jewelry on me. On other people, yes, but not me.

17. So I only wear two things: earrings (24/7) and a watch (like 18/7).

18. I love sock yarn. But fingering weight only. Worsted just seems too thick to wear in shoes...

19. Acrylic -- literally -- makes me want to itch.

20. I have sensitive skin. I itch quite a bit. I'm in the process of tossing perfectly good lotions/soaps/creams because I need to find what is still making me scratch.

21. My calendar is a dry erase board (and it's Pottery Barn!) which is color coded. Each member of the family has a color. As the mom, I got last pick. I'm orange. ew. I should have taken executive rights and selected first. But then I'd have mommy guilt.

22. I struggle with mommy guilt. Especially when I'm on the computer, ignoring my kids. :-/

23. Husband is a firefighter. He works a 48-hour shift. That means I'm the one stuck with morning duties when he's gone -- which is actually three mornings a week at least. I hate mornings. Actually, I just hate getting up out of the warm bed.

24. The daughters dance ballet and tap. And Laurel is going to perform in the Nutcracker again this year. It's an honor. And this year it's in a fancy new art center. She is going to be a baby mouse during the fight scene between the rat king and the Nutcracker. She's hoping she can be the one baby mouse that gets shot in the rear, since it's the only solo part.

25. She was a gingerbread cookie in the Nutcracker two years ago, and the naughty cookie at that. It was the only solo part. She loves solos.

26. Last year, she couldn't audition because she was too young. To be a cookie, you must be selected, not audition, thus the gap in performances.

27. I realize those last three aren't about me. But I can add that because she's involved in the Nutcracker, it means that I must shuttle her to multiple dance classes a week, toting two other kids with me, sometimes until 10pm, and that I also must volunteer 10 hours of time to help the production.

28. My ex-boyfriend is a world-class computer hacker. Seriously. Like government-wants-to-hire-him good. But he refuses to talk to me, so I don't know much else.

29. I want to learn to crochet so that I can make Babette.

30. I love riding my bike to the central neighborhood mailbox to get the mail. Especially in the fall, when the street is covered in leaves and I kick them up with my tires.

good-bye September

2007-09-30T17:05:00.001-07:00

How quickly did it fly by for you? It feels like I was only just anticipating Autumn's arrival, and once I can officially wipe my dry-erase calendar of September, I will be basking in the cool fall air.

This week a bug has bit me. It was the deadly FinishYourUFOs bug. Thus:

I think I blogged before that the reason I wanted to learn to knit was so that I could knit Christmas stockings. My great-grandmother had knit everyone in her family Christmas stockings very similar to these. In fact, as soon as my mother would announce the birth of my siblings, we'd soon receive a hand-knit stocking for the babe.

When I married, my husband very solemnly hung a tube sock next to my well-loved hand-knit Christmas sock. I nearly fell over in shock. Although my stocking was a great decoration, he said, one of the best things about his family's regular-old-sock tradition was when he'd hang up a bigger sock every year of his childhood. Couldn't we consider his tradition, he'd asked. Umm... I don't think so!

A few days later, the tube sock was replaced by a "temporary" fleece stocking, then a still "temporary" tapestry-like stocking (it's now five years old). I began to wonder when I'd learn to knit. It wasn't until 2003 that I took a knitting class at our community college, and of course, I began my search for the stocking pattern. The search ended in a little knit shop in Colorado in 2004. Finally, a similar pattern to the stocking I had at home! This pattern was actually part of a kit, sold with enough Lamb's Pride for one sock, and is from Yarn-Craft Supplies in Wisconsin.

2005 came and went with nary a stocking stitch. After my last child was born, though, I began knitting on the stockings in earnest. Spring of 2006 is the official start date of these four stockings. Today is the finished date. Only 18 months later. How sad is that? I'll be overjoyed this Christmas season, though. And every one thereafter. And hopefully my children will want me to knit stockings for their families, too, remembering how they hung their stockings at home so long ago.

I really need to finish my Louisa Harding sweater, too. I have to seam the sides and the set-in sleeves. I'm a bit intimidated, since I've never set in sleeves before. $100 in yarn may end up an expensive lesson in how not to seam. Oh well, though...

The last project I have to share with you is my newly begun Hedgerow Sock. I'm loving the pattern, since it's easy to memorize and I could knit it while watching Grey's Anatomy premiere and catching up on anything I've DVR'd in the week.

Have a great first week of October!

our first rainy day

2007-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

... and I've got a completed pair of Embossed Autumn Leaves with which to celebrate.

knittin' my bit

2007-09-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

one can get so much done when one is sick.

pattern: Embossed Leaves from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks
yarn: The Plucky Knitter 100% merino in Pumpkin Latte
needles: size 4 dpn for twisted rib cuff and size 3 dpn for body of sock

Charade Parade

2007-09-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an FO to share!

I finished these Charades last night. As I had mentioned before, I had intended to start an undulating rib sock but instead the Yarn Pirate called out, "No! More Charades!" As fun as the pattern is, I'm over it, and moving on to (drum roll please):

yes, Embossed Leaves. Will these be done in time to welcome the first day of Autumn, September 23? We shall see! The gorgeous yarn is from The Plucky Knitter: 100% merino fingering. I already had to frog the first 16-round pattern repeat. I had made the cuff in size 4 needles, then wanted to change to size 3. I realized that I had switched out only two of the four needles once I had completed the first repeat.

I'm also anxious to begin Garter Rib socks with my Zuluknitty:

mission completed

2007-09-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

ta-da! Not only am I sending out a second blog post this week, I'm also sending out the Fingerless Gloves I knit up for Sarah! phew! I finished these in four (?) days, which is record time for me, considering I've got three kids under 7 years of age. It was so much fun to have a project that I knew I must get off the needles. I've set deadlines for myself before, but really, I've never held fast to them. They'll be out in tomorrow's mail, and I'll be left with the many other projects that have been languishing since Sunday.

sheepish one

happy holidays

find & go seek

watch me unravel

knitting for the near future

summer daze

in which good things are celebrated

in which tea is served

in which i dream of pastures and farms

frozen needles

you're living through another year

half WIP (alternatively, half FO)

floating through space and time

round and round we go

the call of fall

non-creative convalescence

letdown

a labor of love

tooting my own horn

cookies and a week's worth

three-oh!

wants vs. needs

in need of a few good ones

other crafts

(or, alternately titled) socks+bread=contented

monogamy

saturday's mish mash

a loaf a week

desperate housewife

december: the end

december: week 3

dashing WIP's

december: week 2

have i got a deal for you

december: week 1

thankful for knitting

socktoberfestiveness

happy fall y'all

sunday baking

i *heart* socks.

in a month's time

a series of unfortunate events

three for three

WIP Wednesday

a duet

consecutively

cookie of the week

the last bit of June

i've paid it forward in full

please mr. postman, look and see

WIP Wednesday

when life hands you a stimulus check

the wickedness continues

completely wicked

I'm it...

they're done. seriously.

apron love

love and marriage

i feel right at home in this stunning monochrome

Seven Randoms

catching up

hedgerow regulations

goin' down slow

i'm so excited, and i just can't hide it

wait for all the dark clouds

architecturally speaking...

march madness

check.

ISO: cheap and easy

a run of bad luck

i guess they can't all be winners

cute as a button

baby blue seas of yarn

in which I strive not to be a knave

knitting for baby

you make my day

two of a kind

nearly knee socks

things I look forward to in the coming year

and in closing...

i heart socks.