Flying Poodle knitting et cetera

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Happy Birthday Sasha!

2009-08-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

I hear tell that the baby that this surprise is for has arrived! One of my knitting group members spend a good part of last year knitting Baby Surprise jackets for math colleagues of her husband. (Well, their babies, anyhow.) So when Jodie, April and I heard that she was expecting a wee one, we plotted and schemed.

April and I bicycled over to Jodie's house with a basket of merino top (washed, carded, and combed fiber) dripping vinegar. Jodie had some dyes mixed up already (Jaquard acid dyes), and we mixed a few more colors as well. We tested the colors out on a paper towel, and fiddled around until we got some good colors that we all agreed on. Then came my favorite part: squirting dye onto the roving with squeeze bottles, the kind that burger joints put ketchup and mustard in. Jodie then wrapped the dyed roving in plastic wrap and steamed it in one of her dye kettles.

We then spun a few reference samples, went our separate ways, and spun up the fiber at home. Jodie and I spun very close to the same weight, April had a bit thicker yarn. We used Jodie's and my yarn for the jacket, and April made a matching hat from her yarn.

Dyed, spun, what comes next? Knitting! Jodie cast on the sweater, April knitted next, and I finished it up. April had picked up these buttons years ago while living in London (or maybe Toronto, I forget) and didn't know that she'd been saving them all these years for this project. The grain lines on the wooden buttons echo the stripes on the sweater.

Back view:

Fantastic, no? We entered the jacket in the Black Sheep Gathering Fiber Arts show, in the group projects division, and garnered a blue ribbon. (So did the other project in the category, but this wasn't due to grade inflation, just appreciation for the group creative process.)

Photographed against a wool blanket that we bought last year at the BSG.

Turkish Spindle Reunion

2009-07-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

Ever since I met the spinning wheel, me and the spindle have not gotten on so well. Spindle paled in comparison for speed and control. I also worked my self into a frustrated frenzy on multiple occasions trying to spindle a cashmere silk blend that was, um, challenging. Slippery as all get-out. With a relatively heavy spindle. No happy ending.

Last year (or the year before), I took a step back towards the spindle by buying a turkish spindle at the Black Sheep Gathering. It sat for a while. Then this LOVELY Bluefaced Leicester roving appeared in my hands courtesy of my sister-in-law, and the twain met.

I'm having fun with it! Finally! If I'm too antsy to sit down and spin at my wheeel, I can stand and pace with the spindle. I can bring it to work and spin on my break. I can bring it to knitting night!

It was rather key to match up a compatible fiber and spindle. Long staple and grippy wool is a good match for my kinda heavy spindle.

Does anyone else remember making grade-school craft of yarn wound around popsicle sticks? And weren't they called turkish something-or-others?

Creamsicle plying

2009-07-12T15:04:00.001-07:00

I missed my knitting group this last week, and I think that has something to do with finally being motivated to post. Poodle had a toe amputated (he had a squamous cell carcinoma in his nail bed, = cancer), so I came home to coo at the drugged up dog instead.

The Black Sheep Gathering this year was fun, I watched hours of fiber arts judging. The skein of pygora blend that I entered garnered the comment of being underplied, so I have been working on overcompensation. To wit:

This is a silk/merino 50/50 blend, and I was so sure that it would end up fatter than this. I set out to spin this fiber quite consistently, and did a pretty good job. This is the first skein that I have plied of it, and it has a big section where I was overspinning one of the singles. And the plying is not very consistent. Next one will be better.

I was taught to ply by drawing out a long section, adding twist, then letting it all take up at once. Then I saw my friend April plying by letting the flyer pull the fiber on, slipping through her fingers, adding twist and feeding it simultaneously. I've been experimenting with that, and I do like it.

Unwashed skein, see all of that twist writhing around? I wonder how much this will bloom when I wash it.

I'm itching to do a thick/thin yarn now to balance all of the precisedness (one of my favorite words that is not a real word) of these singles. I should finish plying this stuff, but I've plied for like 3 or 4 hours today, and I'm going to scream if I ply any more.

Quilt (wild blue and green) DONE!

2008-09-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Finishing a project is so satisfying! My little quilt was made using a crazy made up technique of sewing blocks in at odd angles. The bestest part was that the pieces in the middle were from a scrap grab bag from the local quilt store. I love recycling! The backing and border are organic cotton, I seem to remember that it is naturally dyed. The embroidery thread that I tied it with was ridiculously cheap with my employee discount, so I went all out and used FOUR colors.

And here it is ! Hobbs Heirloom cotton batting. And it's in the mail to the lucky new owner right now.

I'm thinking of getting a laptop again, my blog posting was so much easier from the couch! It's always humbling to go read all of the blogs that I frequent and then come back here and see my terse and not so witty writing. I'm not trying for an "oh, poor me", just writing about writing. Which happens to be my least favorite thing to read about.

Summer is coming to a close, and has not been very exciting. That is totally my fault, as the past few summers had been so busy that I tried to not plan very much for this one. I succeeded! I am glad to be well rested and to have had a lot of hobby time.

Bags of Fabric

2008-08-26T22:18:00.001-07:00

Well, I figured out a way to use the charm squares that I bought last year (charm squares are 5" square, and the term "charm" indicates that the fabrics are not repeated in the collection). Pockets on little bags!

July already? Pic of skirt I sewed meself.

2008-07-10T14:53:00.001-07:00

I've been back on a crafty streak, there was a bit of a lull there. I went on a fabulous vacation in late March, a road trip through eastern Oregon.

I'm wearing a skirt that I sewed a few years ago, and a t-shirt that my friend April silkscreened for me.

On the way back from this road trip, we stopped briefly in Sisters, OR, at The Stitchin' Post
; easily the most amazing quilt store I've ever been in. I only had a short amount of time there, so I didn't even look (except for once or twice) at the yarn goodness they displayed as well. I'm going back. (After I use up what I bought there, that should delay the trip for a few years!)

Cotton Bag, and another hat pic

2008-03-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

This hat was in the hat lineup, but it deserves a close-up. Mountain Colors yarn, with a brim of Cash Iroha. The pooling of the colors made a good pattern.

I have had two skeins of Patagonia Cotton sitting around for a few years, I bought them at a yarn store in Medford. I now have a bag for walking to the corner store to get milk.

The two skeins were different colors. When I started knitting, I had hopes of making a one skein bag. Nope. So I switched skeins in the middle, so the sides are not the same. See photo below of the other side:

I crocheted the sides together and continued into a strap, worked with both colors. I had made eyelets (yo, k2tog) at the top, and knit an I-cord integrating elastic into the middle. I threaded the I-cord through every other eyelet.

I'm not too excited about it, but it's better having a bag than it was having 2 balls of yarn.

When bikes go to rehab: (Notice crochet Noro hat that I've had forever, and still like!)

It's snowing hats!

2008-01-27T21:28:00.000-08:00

Snow on handspun hat
Looks warm but on the ground is
Not keeping ears warm

This was born in one week! Last sunday I spun the wool, plied it, wound it into a ball, and started knitting from the top down. This sunday I wove in ends!

The wool is 2 ounces of merino that I received as a gift from a birthday exchange (I think it was in 2006). I wasn't so wild about the color unspun, but the color improved with spinning. I spun it fast and dirty, trying to get thick and thin. I knit it on size 3 needles, the nubs stand out well in a tightly knit fabric. I knit from the top down, and used every last inch of the two ply. I then used the navaho/chained singles from the bobbin end to cast off.

And I've been busting stash like nobody's business! It started with this fun scarf that I first saw on Saartje Knits. So simple, 1x1 rib alternating skeins of Noro Kureyon in the same colorway. On the needles (size 8 maybe?) It was about 9 inches wide and not quite long enough. I held it over a tea kettle while I was stretching it, and it blocked to about 6 inches wide and plenty long.

And it continued with crochet hats:

On the top right is all Elsebeth Lavold angora left over from the chukar arm warmers. The top left is that plus Waterlily? merino wool. (I ran out of angora and had to get creative.) Middle two hats are Noro Kureyon that I got in anticipation of knitting Lizard Ridge, which I never started. You know all about the lower right already. Lower left is Mountain Colors with Noro Cash Iroha trim (the uneven edge is very clever ear shaping).

All this in January! Yay! There is plenty more stash to bust, but this is a great leap forward!

The knitted hats are not just about using up accumulated yarn though, I have never been a fan of the hats that I have knitted, and I decided to knit lots of them until I got what I wanted. The green hat is the closest so far.

Solstice Goodie Bags

2008-01-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

I'm going to skip my "I hate Christmas" rant, and jump to the good stuff: I get a crafty itch that needs to be scratched. One year I made little books with a fairy tale. The year of the pop-up christmas tree cards was a good one, as was the paper poinsettia year.

2007 was the year of the foundation pieced strip bags:

Stash from a Florence, Oregon quilt store, acquired on a few coastal outings this year.

And a lovely picture (taken by Hans, not me, of course) of the finished product!

We stuffed them with wax paper bags of Nuts'n'Bolts (husband's family chex mix recipe), and of cookies.

I used a variety of fabrics for the backs, but they all had the somewhat metallic red fabric on the front.

And the best part: I had fun giving them out! It's pretty much what rescues that particular holiday for me. Crafts and cooking and sharing them both with friends and family.

Hope yours was good!

Red Koigu arm warmers!

2008-01-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

I made a second pair of arm warmers to keep my Mother-in-law's arms and hands warm while she's reading on cold Alaskan nights. You might remember the Chukar arm warmers. They were a big hit!

Koigu is a lovely lovely thing. Merino, tightly spun enough to have a firm hand, and presumably resist pilling, but not at all scratchy against the skin. And the colors, Oh the colors!

I ordered this Koigu in October 2006 from Patternworks. It was on backorder, and I held out because I thought it was the prettiest colorway. I ended up holding out until february, a little late for xmas 2006. So they became a xmas 2007 project.

I wanted a thicker fabric from the koigu, since these are supposed to keep arms warm, not just pretty. I settled on a horizontal rib (4 rows of stockinette, 4 rows of reverse stockinette). This incidentally made the shaping of the arm quite easy, since it was very elastic. I checked to make sure the fabric wouldn't be too stretched out up near the elbow, again referencing the warmth issue.

I then knit up the hands separately and sewed the sections together, letting the cuff roll and sewing it a few rows into the wrist.

I used an I-cord bind off on the fingerless fingers, and LOVED it. Such a neat edge! Sorry the photos don't show it better.

BTW, that is one of our new bathroom countertops! We went shopping at a marble/stone remnant yard, and found this beautiful piece. A little more eco-friendly than buying virgin stone.

Gratuitous poodle shot!

After his latest haircut, he was so cold that he wanted his coat on inside the house.

Blue Shawl

2007-11-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

Almost two months since I last posted (hangs head in shame). I've finally brought a knitting group together, and that has been helping get me out of my knitting funk.

One of my first knitting projects was a blue/purple/green shawl. My stepmom bought me the yarn for a birthday present, and at about $50, was the most I'd ever spent on yarn at that point. Unfortunately, I have no idea who makes the yarn, only that it is acrylic and cozy.

I learned to knit in 2000 or 2001, and this shawl spent most of the first part of the new millennium in my closet. It's November now, and the weather has become wintry. We keep our house cool to save electrons, and I was looking for warm clothes when I came across the shawl again. It hasn't moved from my shoulders for two weeks now. I can wrap it around and tuck the ends into my jeans pockets, or use it as a lap blanket on the couch.

notes: super big needles, and I had to tie every single fringe end with thread to keep it from unraveling.

Homemade Needle Holder

2007-10-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

I started giving flu shots today, so in addition to the normal (ranges from hectic to insane) workday filling prescriptions, I'm jabbing people in the arm. I gave about 40 shots today, that's a lot of shoulders to torture.

Some of my creative energy is going towards managing the pharmacy. It's odd to think of managing as creative, but some of the planning and organizing feels similar.

I can't remember if I've posted about the needle holder before.
-The fabric is from upholstery sample fabrics from a thrift store.
-The ribbon is from the country fair.
-The numbers are written on the elastic in Sharpie. I'm pretty sure that is mentioned in the book of couture sewing techniques I'm reading right now.
-The pattern is based on needle holders that I inherited from my grandmother.

The only tricky part was figuring out that I had to sew the channels before I put the front and back panels together.

Poodle Helps with Sewing

2007-09-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

He's holding my muslin hostage. I thought that only cats did this: sitting on your projects while you're working on them.

I'm trying to make this:

(the short sleeved version). I started out thinking I was going to make a muslin to adjust fit, but I think I'm going to just go for it. I did trace the pattern onto muslin so that I didn't cut the pattern up. Am I wasting time, wasting fabric, or saving paper and the pattern for future use? Who knows.

I'm in the middle of a very anticlimactic vacation. I went to the beach on tuesday, other than that it's been life as usual. Vacation is very hard for me to schedule, and I'm bummed that we couldn't go anywhere on this one due to the remodeling schedule. I had to put my request in months in advance, back when we thought it would be done by then. I'm going to go distract myself, otherwise I'll drown in this wave of self-pity.

After george got tired of chasing sticks and splashing in the waves, he make a little pattern in the sand:

Well, he sniffed it anyway. I left one of the agates I found in the middle of the spiral. It was fun to come across someone's creativity on the beach.

Koigu Socks and trouble in color lot land

2007-09-13T09:21:00.001-07:00

I ordered a skein of Koigu from Patternworks, decided I liked the color, and ordered two more. They seem to be different dye lots. Were that I'd checked before I started knitting! Oh well, I can reknit a sock.

(Size 2/3 needles, co 64 st, and I'm on track to use only 1 skein per sock)

It's such a comfort to have a pair of socks back on the needles. I can tuck them into my purse and bring them with. I knitted while watching the Eugene Celebration Parade. I turned a heel in line at the bank. I've even brought them on two dog walks.

It's fall again, and I'm looking forward to getting a group of knitters together! Some of my knitters moved away, but I've found a new neighbor who knits, and I've got some leads on interested people.

Fair entries

2007-08-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

The beautiful pattern Odessa, in my humble homespun yarn:

Third place, baby! And now I see, a nice little gap center in the middle of the forehead. Ah, the flaws the camera reveals. I spun up the superwash merino from Fantasy Fibers bought at the Black Sheep Gathering a few years ago, I think I spun from the fold on this, but I can't quite remember. I knit up three hats, and since the yarn was not the most even, I ended up doubling the yarn in the middle of a hat since it had gotten a little thin.

Next time I knit an Odessa, I am going to put the beads on. I think they'll add fabulous sparkle.

I'm pretty sure I've posted pics of the Peace Fleece spun up before, but I couldn't find it. So here is the second place winner in wool blend category:

It's been a while since I've done anything competitive, so I think I'm taking an inordinate amount of pleasure in this winning phenomenon. It's somewhat tongue in cheek, as it is a county fair without a lot of entries.

I've got six skeins of this yarn, and I'm planning to make a few sets of hats and mittens. It's a nice cushy bouncy yarn. I knit the swatch up on size 8 needles, and it turned out very dense. I'll go up a needle size for the hats.

Liberty trim skirt

2007-08-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Last summer I sewed two skirts that turned out quite nicely. One was with a Kaffe Fasset print with a solid lower border,

And one was a black print with a black ribbon around the hips.

So to help repeat the success, I used the Kwik Sew pattern again, with a solid body and a Liberty of London lower border. I used an organic green cotton to line the border.

I left the green cotton edge serged and pinked the liberty print (after the picture above was taken)

(Nice port-a-potty, eh? Side effect of big home remodel.)

It was one of my first projects using the serger that I own half-interest in. I serged all of the raw edges of the pattern pieces before I sewed them. I felt very spiffy!

I often dive into sewing projects when I want some immediate gratification, and end up frustrated or cutting corners. This skirt was nice in that I was very process oriented, and I wanted to spend time working on it, rather than have a new skirt pronto.

I'm looking forward to wearing it to work tomorrow!

I won!

2007-08-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

I entered four items in the Lane Co. Fair, and won first with the green two-ply wool, second with the peach three-ply wool blend, and third with the Odessa from maroon superwash merino handspun. Mini-quilt didn't place.

The judging was suspect on the wool two-ply, as one of the entries that didn't place was absolutely gorgeous and technically wowzers. And had placed very well at the Black Sheep Gathering. Oh well, their bad taste/poor judging is my gain!

Links to follow.

Noro Cash Iroha sweater back

2007-08-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

It has not been a month since I last posted! Um, the poodle ate my blog posts.

Quick catch-up. For my birthday, Hans and I went on the Blackberry bRamble, a bike ride sponsored by GEARS. We did the 43 mile loop on our Burley tandem. The ride went out to the Crow-Applegate-Lorraine school, where there was a perfectly timed food stop, and then back to Eugene via the Fern Ridge bike path. And the crowning touch: blackberry pie and ice cream at the finish! Yum. Hans was captain (in the front) for the first 2/3rds, then I captained the rest of the way. I'm getting better at the captain position, learning how to relax while I'm steering so I can save my arm strength for when I need it. I'm the best stoker ever (stoker is the person in the back seat) , which requires balancing, pushing hard up hills, and being nice to the captain.

Megan and I went to the Eugene Emeralds Stitch 'n Pitch last night, it was fun to be at a ball game with oodles of knitters! 75 people bought tickets, not a shabby turnout.

I've actually made some knitting progress, and here to model it is my paper-tape dress form:

I've knit the back, and one half of the front. I'm planning on casting on the other half of the front on this lazy weekend.

And a progress shot of the bathrooms:

Oh, my aching back!

Creamsicle fluff and Black Sheep Gathering Stash

2007-07-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'll put a close up at the end of the post, but big photos screw up in internet exploder. (It works great on Mozilla Firefox.)

This is the luscious orange sherbert merino silk blend that I've been purring over.

The last few spinning projects I've done have been with rougher tweedier blends, which have been fun and more relaxing to spin, as I don't worry about consistent thickness as much. I knit some hats with a maroon superwash merino, and had a chance to ponder the inconsistencies of that yarn up close and personal.

When I started spinning this, I decided to be very focused on keeping consistent thickness and twist. I bought a handy dandy spinner's gauge at the Black Sheep Gathering that is helping quite a bit. The sun was setting too fast for me to get a good pic tonight.

Speaking of things bought at the BSG:

I've bought wool from The Bellwether before, and sometime soon I'll remember what it was. This is a blend of whatever she had around. It was a fabulous green, and therefore irresistible.

The other wool was from the booth of the lovely lady who sold me this last year. No, I didn't ask what kind of wool it was. I was too busy agonizing over what color to buy and how many ounces.

Now for the close-up:

Purrr...

What my dog is dreaming of

2007-07-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

during the newly hot hot days of summer...

Jill's Liberty of London Bag

2007-06-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

"Hi, I'm Jill's bag. I have a nubby chocolate exterior, but I'm real silk, baby. And look at the double stitching around my handle, yow! But it's inside where I really shine. That's right, the real thing: Liberty of London cotton. Cotton so fine it feels more like silk than my exterior. Blues so blue it almost hurts!

"I was conceived as a wedding item due to the fabulous color choice of Jill for her wedding colors. I didn't have a specific role to play, other than a gift of a coordinating theme.

"I've got a spine of Davey board. One side of my bottom is blue, the other brown, just to mix it up a little. I've got interfacing too, thus my upright posture. Iron-on interfacing keeps my outside crisp, and sewn in woven interior interfacing keeps my Liberty free to drape, as it does so well.

"And if you don't think I'm fabulous like this, you can turn me inside out! I'm a little wrinkly if you do that. I'm not quite perfect. I've got a little dimple right there at the corner, but Martha always tells me that no-one will notice."

-The fiber on the right is winding itself in a smooth twist onto my spinning wheel. More creamsicle color than it appears, it is a merino/silk 80/20 blend. Yum!

The last month. Month! Aargh!

2007-06-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

The other thing taking up valuable kntting time:

2007-05-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Now: chaos.
Soon: cork floor.

Debbie Bliss + Noro Cash Iroha = ?

2007-05-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

This:
grew longer, and wasn't fitting quite right. So now it's wound up into tidy balls again. I'd knit about 4 inches past the bottom of the armhole, so I frogged a significant chunk of knitting here. Sad, but liberating. I tried it from the top down, now I'll try it bottom up.

I'm knitting the Simple Jacket with Collar from Debbie Bliss Number Two, and I can't find any pictures online to link to, sorry.

It is nice to realize that if I actually work on a project, it might get done. It's been a while since I've knit much, I did knit up a pair of the felted slippers, but they are not yet felted.

Here is my latest project (by which I mean Hans did most of the work):

This was my mom's bike when she was a little older than I am now. It was covered in cobwebs, with rotten tires and flaking handlebar foam. Now it's shiny and rides smoothly.

And a photo with both bike and knitting! Those are my handspun orange mittens in action!

( I almost never ride without a helmet, but I was loaning it to a guest that day. Usually I protect my very expensive noggin.)

I've thought that a recumbent tricycle with hands-free steering would be an ideal way to combine knitting and cycling ;)

Felted Slipper-beginning

2007-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm a slacker, I admit it. So here is what my slacker self is starting on:

In Cascade eco-wool, off-white. My wonderful husband bought me yarn (yay!), and was informed by the yarn salesperson that this is one of the only white/almost white yarns that will felt, as it has not been chemically treated to whiten it.

Needles poised and ready to knit! One sole is done, and I'm starting up the sides.

Shopping for skirt ideas

2007-04-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

I have some Liberty of London fabric that I want to make a skirt out of. It's a busy print, and I think that a whole skirt would be too much. I'm currently thinking of a pale green cotton base with print appliques on it. I would have a lot more freedom in the skirt design if I found a nice brown cotton to go with it, as the light/dark balance wouldn't be so much of an issue.

From anthropologie

I love the pockets on this second one, and how the fabric is gathered in between the pockets on the front. It goes unsaid that I love the applique on it as well.

Ok, I've talked myself into finding a brown cotton for the skirt. Any good online sources? I'll try Hancocks-Paducah first.

Green-Blue spun

2007-03-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

I bought this roving at the Black Sheep Gathering last summer, an unknown variety of wool, because I'd been wandering around looking for a good green fiber to spin, and this was the closest I came. I love the hint of warm color that shows up in a spot or two, it makes it seem magical to me.

I split the roving in two before I spun, and plied the singles. I'm hoping for color runs when I knit it up. It really wants to be a loosely knit scarf.

The only sad thing about this yarn is that the infatuation is wearing off because I've been keeping it in plain sight, and it's lost it's newness. I need to bury it a while so that I can rediscover the beauty.

Eye Pillows

2007-03-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

From Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick:

Filled with dried orange peel and popcorn kernels

(Pretend that was an arty photo)

And a poodle fix.

New Couch

2007-03-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, as good as new. Remember this?

It's got a new look:

I was glad to have the opportunity to save a worn but not worn-out item. Besides, the lines are great. But I'm still getting used to it. For instance, I expect to sink deeply into the seat each time I sit down. I also brace myself for a creak and noisy shifting of the springs that never comes.

When I sew, I'm still on the small side when it comes to estimating yardage. Never would I have believed that ONE of these sections would take 8 yards. Yow! So, sixteen yards of fabric for the two sections.

I have a new object of desire. And it's on sale. A Denyse Schmidt quilt over at Anthropologie. But the student loans are more important than more things. Sigh.

Haida May Website!

2007-03-03T17:42:00.000-08:00

Yay! Last time I bragged about my new purse, I was sad that I couldn't give y'all a link, but I can now!

Go to haidamay.com and you too could have one of these beauties! Did I mention that it's the best knitting bag ever?

Flying poodles, quilt update

2007-02-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

Even flying poodles sometimes need a hand (the steel mesh was a little much for him to fly over):

From our vacation last week. I'll use that as one of the excuses for not posting.

So, I'm making a double nine-patch quilt, and figured I needed 205 small nine-patch blocks. I've been hand piecing them together over the past three years, in classes, at lunch, whatever. I'd count them occasionally, the last time being when I was still 50 squares short. So I kept sewing them. Well, I finally got in a mood to do some organization on this project, and I counted again. 240 squares. Yup, I overshot.

I'll use the extras for mini-quilts or for pillows.

These are the plain squares to alternate with the double nine-patches. Lots of yellows.

Luckily I'm still short 1 yellow fabric, so I get to go to the quilt store tomorrow!

Lazy Me and a New Purse

2007-02-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Well, my blogging has lapsed. The blogger switch stymied me more than it should have. On to the important things:

A new purse/knitting bag! Designed by my very own step-sister, Haida May. She used to design handbags for Nordstroms, and has been designing her own line in between raising cute kids and going to school. I feel chic beyond belief when I wear this bag. And it's ginormous enough to fit everything and the kitchen sink.

I'm hoping that now I've figured out my new computer and my new blog account that the blog drought will stop. I've got lots of projects to record for posterity.

Couches

2007-01-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

Well, my knitting has been a bit stalled out, I've ripped out more than I've knit. So, for the sake of keeping up the blog, here is the couch that is to be reupholstered:

There is a mirror image one as well. Very 50's, eh? Or maybe 60's. We're agonizing over picking fabric right now, and are on a waiting list to get the reupholstering done by someone competent.

I feel good about redoing this couch instead of chucking it and getting a new one. Although, for the amount of work and money this will be, the thought had crossed my mind.

Quilts (wild blue and green)

2006-12-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

In a holiday season gone mad, there is a small bit of comfort:

The jury is still deliberating on the coolness of this one. But it turned out raggey and wild like I wanted it too. Don't look too closely, I'm still perfecting my machine sewing technique.

And my first and highly enjoyable attempt at foundation piecing:

I just searched for a good link to foundation piecing, and most everyone refers to paper piecing, or sewing pieces to paper instead of muslin. This is from the Denyse Schmidt book of quilting projects.

This is a very good technique to use when I want irregular pieces and edges, as it is hard to plan two irregular edges to fit together. I'm looking forward to exploring this more.

Check out what MadFabric-holic did with foundation piecing:

Snazzy! I want one!

Knitty Winter 2006 Gems

2006-12-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

First of all, for Jeanette:

Wow! Knitted blade covers! I should have thought of it first! (Of course, I'm thinking a nice absorbent cotton lining instead of water resistant wool...)

And one that caught my eye, the Argosy:

I like the crossing of the color stripes and the eyelet pattern, and the edge.

This is one of the things for which I feel very thankful: my craft room. A whole room to fill with my crafty ingredients. And since it is occasionally used as a guest room, it actually gets a cleaning once in a while. My Viking sewing machine is glowing there on the table. It is slightly older than I am. My father bought it for my mother when I was in the womb (awww). The first time that I had to get it fixed, it was still under its 25-year warranty. No, that's not a type-o, twenty-five year warranty. Gotta love it.

I've been having lots of craft zone moments. My brain goes into a mode that reminds me of when I used to take math classes, where I'm thinking in a non-verbal fashion. I might start out with an idea in mind, or I might just go and hit the stash of craft supplies to see what I come up with. Often this urge is coupled with the urge to use up the items that I hoard for these occasions. It's a pity that it takes longer to make things than it does to acquire the materials, as I acquire more than I make.

I've wrapped gifts in fabric before, but I missed the crisp edges of paper wrapping, and safety pins looked a little hokey for fasteners. So this year, with my somewhat newfound knowledge of spray starch (my husband has taught me many wonderful things), sale remnants, and a fortuitous hoarding of double-sided quarter-inch fabric tape, I wrapped:

Snazzy, eh?

Spinning! Blue-green-yellow

2006-12-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

From some roving bought at the Black Sheep Gathering this year:

I don't know what variety of wool it is, but boy I love the colors! I split the sliver in half lengthwise, and am starting on bobbin no. 2. It'll be a 2-ply, and I'm hoping that the colors won't match up too much with the two strands. I'd love them to be offset one or two color changes.

More wool! (And a wool/silk combo). From Woodland Woolworks. Buying this a few weeks ago spurred me to spin the blue-green wool.

I'm proud of myself for moving into new colors, when I started spinning I was really heavy on blue and purple, not necessarily because I like those colors more, but because I found color blends that I liked in those colors. It's hard to find good greens, but I'm looking.

Back to the wheel...

Christmas Stocking

2006-12-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

A few days before the xmas I made this stocking, I went in to work on a vacation day, just so I could lock myself in my office and knit. Yes, it was a surprise. Yes, it was done by xmas morning. Barely.

Back when Alice Starmore made yarn, this was my second fair-isle project. The stocking is a fine wale cotton corduroy, with a linen lining. The stocking shape was from a Martha Stewart Living magazine template. I usually have a deep seated dislike of the other Martha, and for a while I was suspecting her of bugging my house, as she would publish magazine issues on crafts I'd recently rediscovered.

Speaking of Alice Starmore, our public library has a copy of Alice Starmore Fair Isle Knitting, and I was a little shocked to discover that a copy would set me back $150. I'll wait until it comes back into print.

And no, I haven't gotten around to making my stocking yet.

WIP

2006-12-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

Too many projects going! 3 spinning projects, 3 quilting projects, and a kazillion knitting projects. Yeesh! This time of year is nutso anyways. I'm always glad when January rolls around. Well, I'm exhausted and depressed until the post-holiday blues wear off. So let's say mid-January to be on the safe side.

And work has been too busy to even think about knitting, even on breaks. I just sit there and quiver with adrenaline.

Drive Thru

2006-11-25T21:57:00.000-08:00

Well folks, my name suggestion got voted in at Knit and Tonic Wendy's place. She claims that she likes Quick-O Cheap-O, but that's what democracy is about. Frankly, I liked it too, but she wanted alternatives.

Sorry the photos are down :( We hope for a cure soon.

Soy silk, My First Quilt, and a pillow

2006-11-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

This is as a quilt should be: functional (it makes a great dog bed), thrifty (made from REAL SCRAPS), and full of memories. I can remember some of the clothes that mom made with the fabrics in the quilt, especially the easter dresses. The color combination of pink and teal made me feel so good! I wanted everything to be those colors. (It looks more turquoise to me these days, but teal is what I loved loved loved.) I remember picking out the flannel backing in the fabric store that is now JoAnns, in those days it was a House of Fabrics.

I can't remember how much of the quilt I sewed, and how much mom sewed. I do remember that the triangles cut on the bias were stretchy, and hard to line up well with the blue middle strips, so I probably sewed those seams.

And the batting? My oh-so juvenile Raggety Ann and Andy bedspread. Using the old to make the new. Later, in my teens, I bought a plaid flannel duvet cover and covered the blanket with yet another layer. Plaid flannel being the fad of the moment, due to grunge.

Some soy silk samples from Dyelots, spun all thick and thin and loose and tight to explore the feel of it. Predictably, it is not as grippy as wool. I'm not sure whether I like it or not.

A project that has been simmering in my head for several years finally made it out:

The recycled sweater pillowcase. I'm still not super at zippers, as you can see by the curly edge. At least I wasn't completely lazy by sewing it shut.

Green bag

2006-11-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Well, this is what part of the lovely gift from my birthday pal turned into:

I didn't feel like swatching, so I just cast on a lot of stitches, started knitting, and knit until I ran out of yarn (Arcanuia (sp?) Nature Wool). Then I threw it into the washing machine. The straps are Manos del Uruguay. I was originally very disappointed with the straps, but after a few months I came around.

The lining:

I toyed with the idea of straps out of the lining fabric.

The shape is thanks to plastic canvas. Margaret, who has escaped to Seattle, made a bag from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation that used the plastic canvas, and I was impressed with the results. Not something I would have predicted just looking at the stuff.

And an oh-so-flattering self-portrait:

Weird weather

2006-11-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

Last week it was below freezing, this week it's 68 degrees first thing in the morning. WTF? It feels like a storm should land soon. I'm not sure if the real weather prognosticators agree with me, I haven't checked.

I'm finding my taste in quilts getting even more specific. I'm currently attracted to quilts with crooked lines and irregular shapes. I ordered a book on the Gee's Bend quilts, and am looking forward to learning more about them. When I was at the Portland Art Museum the other week, I saw an abstract painting that would have made a fabulous quilt. It was a mostly solid canvas in a pale yellow or cream, with white triangles sprinkled across one corner. Maybe the colors were reversed? I dunno.

Peace Rose 3-ply

2006-10-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

Well, here in Martha crafty-land, projects have been started and other projects have been started, and not many finished.

Here is a progress shot:

Peace is the color, and the fleece is from Three Bags Full. It's from the Black Sheep Gathering 2006, and I wanted a slubby irregular fluffy homemade look, and I got it. It'll be delicious for some hats and mitts. Yum!

And this is a gratuitous pic of me and my poodle at the Oregon coast. It was last spring.

And another gratuitous pic from my honeymoon in Glacier Nat'l Park.

Darn post updates

2006-10-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

I don't know what technical probs are goin' on, but oh well. Comments may not post right away, or for days, really.

Free Fiber and a New Quilt (not free)

2006-10-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, you lovely blog readers, (there are three of you, right?) here is a chance to score free fiber. It's just been languishing too long in the stash. The blue on the right is a merino/nylon/wool blend, about 4 oz. The blend on the right is wool and silk noil. Again, about 4 oz. This one is by Three Bags Full. I love their blends, but the colors just don't do it for me on this one.

Email me at martha (at) flyingpoodle dott com if you want it. I'll even pay shipping just because.

Last week I got blue, and the world just didn't seem exciting. The angst built and built, until all that could cure it was creating something. Fabric was the medium of choice, and this is what is resulting:

It's a little frenetic, and the dark blue floral is a little too contrasty, but I think I like it. I've been inspired lately by The Modern Quilt Workshop. I recommend it. It is one of the few places that I've seen quilts that really inspire me. I also bought Denyse Schmidt Quilts, she has some fantastic ones in there.

Purses to come

2006-10-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Remember this?

There has been progress on it! Details to follow.

Fetching

2006-10-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Wonky inspired me to make these:

Fetching, from Knitty. What a wonderful way to use up a stray ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran! I had to weave elastic thread into the opening for the fingers, as my picot cast off turned out very loose and splaying.

Now if I only had more stray balls of Cashmerino around...

Double Nine-Patch Quilt

2006-10-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is the general idea of the quilt.

The print fabrics are from the table runners at my wedding. (I bought fabric, and my wonderful group of ladies sewed the table runners and little gift bags.)

This is one example of a double nine-patch quilt:

And this is one that is closer to what I have in mind for my design:

And some assorted yellows, I was thinking of just doing one yellow, but I think I'll go for all (or most) of them.

Now the decision: somewhat random placement of yellow squares, or careful layout?

Why whiny people bug me

2006-10-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

I figured it out at work the other day. I very strongly want to help patients and customers, and that compassion is what whiny and manipulative people are exploiting. I don't want to be jaded, and I don't want to shy away from letting compassion guide my interaction with people. I don't like it when they take something good about me and use it for their own benefit. Let me save my greatest efforts for people truly in need!

Just saying hi and first sweater

2006-10-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't been blogging lately, and occasionally others do stop by to say hi. Last week at work was H-E-double hockey sticks.

And just to let you know, the comments don't show up until I log into Blogger again. It's really annoying.

On the knitting front, because that is what is REALLY important in life (the job comes in handy for the yarn allowance though...): Working on Hans's hiking socks, still above the knee. Making more felted purses for xmas gifts. The bodies are so fun to knit! Some garter stitch, some stockinette while watching the colors of the noro change, and a few decreases. Voila! I've been needing this sort of mindless production. The I-cord handles are a little fussier, just because it's a pain to stop and keep measuring it against another stretchy I-cord. Yes, I know, I could count the rows. I'll try that next time.

I've been hearing the call of fabric again, so there will be some sewing soon.

And because I just can't post without a photo: A trip down memory lane to My First Sweater. Three strands of yarn held together, BabaJoes something-ply.

Chunky, rustic, and a bit scratchy. It got the boot in a recent frenzy of house cleaning. This photo is all that's left.

Wheels on wheels

2006-09-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

My Burly bike trailer has many uses. Hauling groceries, dog food, stuff like that. And my spinning wheel.

Huh?

Check it out:

How many wheels can you count?

For Jeanette

2006-09-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

The link I promised her! This is Rusted Root, which is a fabu pattern that wouldn't quite suit me. The whole pattern is here. And a real live example, knitted by Heather. I never trust a pattern until I've seen a real person knit it. Like when I saw the White Lies Angelina pattern, I wanted one, so I went surfing for someone who actually knit it up. I only found one person who knit it, and it looked, well, a leetle different than the original. Surfing just now, I found a page with one not-so-hot one and one hot one. So, it can turn out, but it's not a sure thing.

I'm having a change of heart, I like it again. I bought a sweater from Talbots that is similar, and like it pretty well. Angelina can go onto my "maybe someday" list again.

BTW, when you search on "white lies angelina", knitting is not the most popular theme to pop up.

I'm planning on making a page of links to Eugene knitbloggers, so if you are one, let me know. Now.

Yarn Harlot Sighting!

2006-09-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

It's true, she really does exist! She's even funnier in person. Now, being funny on purpose is a quality that I really admire in people, partly because I'm impaired when it comes to telling jokes, or stories, or what-have-you. My delivery is just not funny. (Except for the 2 jokes that I've practiced. Those I'm getting better at.)

Celebrity is a strange thing to me. I've always thought that meeting a celebrity would have a certain hollowness to it, because the importance to me would not be in proportion to the importance to them. I'd remember it always, and to them I'd be another face on another day. So I've pretty much avoided the whole thing. (Well, I've gotten Tonya Harding's autograph twice, but don't hold that against me.) But I couldn't pass up the chance to meet Stephanie Pearl-McFee. I just couldn't. And it was pretty much like that, except that we had so much in common! Well, knitting at least.

And I was too shy to tell her that I had a blog and wanted to be on her blog. D'oh! Regrets, regrets. And other people give her handspun and stuff, I could have at least done that.

The hiking sock hangin' with the local knitters and the Canadian celebrity:

It was either her or the sock in focus. I chose her.
And the meet and greet, with Wonky, Flyingpoodle, and the Yarn Harlot.

(I'm bending my knees in order not to tower over her.)

The turnout wasn't as big as I'd hoped, but probably 100 knitters or so! I saw some familiar faces from the Thursday afternoon group, and some faces I recognized from blogs. Like Jodie, and Fyberduck, but no, I didn't say hi. The competition for spots in the signing line was too fierce.

And the sock peek is the hiking sock for Hans to wear with his "Plus-fours".

Felted Purse-purple and brown

2006-09-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is a modification on the Vintage Bubble Bag from Pursonalities, I just shortened the stockinette section to about 6 inches, and put a bit of stockinette on the end of the I-cord.

And instead of Noro Silk Garden held with the Cascade 220, I used Kureyon. This was due to a brain fart in the store, not on purpose.

I love it! It is similar to the shape of my favorite purse. I wish to knit dozens. I just have about a hundred projects to finish first.

Even the poodle can't stop looking at it:

(this pic shows the shape better)

Poodles for the rest of you

2006-08-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

If you're not so lucky to have an actual poodle, this might do...

Redsweaters.org

2006-08-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

A way to combine knitting with being thoughtful about killing people.

Redsweaters.org

Shopping spree

2006-08-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

And this one had an excuse! This is what I got for my birthday swap pal:

A close up of some scrumptious yarn:

There were a few things that I added and forgot to take pics of. Oh well. Like chocolate. You've all seen that before. And I gave her the bag that I made from Noro Daria.

It was so fun to shop without yarn stash guilt. So fun!

More felting madness

2006-08-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here are the after photos for my green felted purse. Before you ask, I forgot the before picture.

The Pursonalities book that I got from my Birthday Pal has sparked a sudden felting flame. I knitted up the (Arcuna?) Nature Wool that she gave me, and was going to do a band around the top in Manos del Uruguay in a dark green colorway, but hand-felting the swatch didn't turn out well. So I said damn the torpedos and threw the light green part into the washer. Even though I have a front-load machine, so it's hard to stop in the middle of a cycle. I just ran it through on warm/cold, and voila. I'm still thinking about a separate edging, I could knit a length of it, felt it, then sew it on.

And while I was at it, this crazy felting thing, I ran across my Knitting Olympics Capelet. So I threw it into the wash too. It didn't felt up snug enough to start chopping into flowers, so I'll run it through again. Anyone got some dirty laundry that I could wash? I'm all done with mine.

What else did I do with my weekend? I chopped up some of our deck.

How did I do it? I bought a power tool! We'd ripped up a few boards with crowbars and the like, and that was just not going to cut it.

Here I am with my Brand New Sawzall. A reciprocating saw with orbital action and a 1.25 inch stroke length. Yahoo!

And a bragging picture of our weeks veggies from our Community Supported Agriculture.

All organic, and all delicious!

Frustrated with felting

2006-08-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

How do I felt by hand? I'm about to spend $4.75 on a download pattern that includes instructions on how to felt by hand in the sink. I have a front loading washing machine, and that's not so good for felting. (Great for washing clothes though!)

I tried a swatch, and it's drying in the sun as we speak. I'll take a pic in a few minutes here.

Thanks Birthday Swap Pal!

2006-08-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a wonderful box of goodies! A beautiful bag (did you make it?), a poodle card (how did you ever know?), two skeins of gorgeous green yarn, beautiful hand-dyed merino roving, very cute note cards, and an ultra cool book of knitted and felted purses. The book is great for four reasons:
1. I don't buy myself enough knitting books.
2. I haven't felted yet and I want to.
3. I want to knit a bag.
4. I want to knit something with Cascade 220, and all the patterns are for that yarn!

And sorry all you Internet Exploder users, I didn't want to shrink the photo so that it would fit on the top part of the page. I wanted you to see the beautiful detail!

My favorite part of this is that all of these are things that I love, but they also reflect the taste of my birthday pal.

Thank you!

Needle Holder

2006-08-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

This story starts at a thrift store. Upholstery fabric samples for sale. Ridiculous low prices. Fabric sitting in my closet for a few years.

I inherited a few needle holder rolls from my late grandmother. They were saturated with cigarette smoke, but are decent post-washing.

These two plot lines intersected, and next comes the needle holder roll made out of the upholstery samples:

Untie and roll open:

I even wrote down the process as I was sewing. Some fantasy about making a pattern for it.

Excuse the terse sentence fragments. Long freakin' day at work. No particularly nasty people, just lots to do, never caught up. Brain is FRIED. Deep fried with cajun salt. Microwaved to jerky. I love ten-hour shifts.

Blue handspun mittens

2006-08-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

Stick 'em up!

My blue hat finally has matching mittens!

Hempathina Done!

2006-08-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to knit Orangina since seeing it on Knit and Tonic.

I had a heck of a time getting the hang of the pattern enough to carry it around and knit without concentrating, but once I did, I loved knitting it. So much that I actually put off finishing it out of sadness for the loss of the project. Weird, huh.

Ta-da!

Details: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, on size 3 needles, negative 2 inches ease (I knit it 2 inches smaller than my bust measurement). I had 27.5 stitches per 4 inches, and cast on 121 stitches. I wet blocked it instead of steam blocking, as it was 104 degrees (in Oregon!) that day. The swatch was machine washed and dried, and stayed the same gauge. Not that I'm planning on machine washing this, I was just curious.

I love the drape of the Hempathy, and would knit with it again. And it has hemp in it! Very cool for an eco-girl like me.

Peace and Slippers

2006-07-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Slippers are done! Based on Faroese footlets from a Threads knitting article, back when they had knitting patterns. Toe pattern my own. Handspun brown wool!

How the Peace fleece is spinning up:

I'm planning on a 3-ply yarn.

The white yarn is navaho-plied, or "chained singles" as Spin-Off is calling it. I spun the white single to use for boucle. Since boucle turned out to be more time intensive than I expected, and I needed the bobbin for the Peace fleece, I used the opportunity to practice navaho plying. It's a bit dense and ropey, but has nice shine, and looks crisp. And best of all, I have a free bobbin. I'd love to get a bunch more, but at $25 a pop, I think that 5 ought to hold me. It's incentive to not have too many projects going.

Red-orange sunset spinning

2006-07-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

Ruthie is a spinning friend of Charline, who taught me how to spin. She makes wonderful blends to spin, and I was lucky enough to buy some from her at the Black Sheep Gathering.

This is a blend of wool, rayon, and linen (the white stuff). I bought it on the day that I'd brought my spinning wheel to the show, so it went from purchase to project faster than I thought possible.

I spun it quick'n'dirty.

I'm really not sure what to do with it. I think that I'm going to leave it as singles to crochet a border on whatever I'm spinning right now (the Peace blend) as the colors are stunning together. If I'd thought that I would leave it as a single, I might have spun it a little more consistently.

It's about 2 or 3 oz.

Silk caps! There was a great article in Knitty on how to spin them. This is my new color to play with. The plan is to ply it with either some brown wool from New Zealand, or with the roving of similar colors that I bought at the show.

Back to my wheel, I think I hear Rumplestiltskin calling...

More boucle blather

2006-07-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

This was me getting adventurous and trying Z-Z-S ply boucle. Since Judith Mackenzie McCuin said that it could be done, I tried. Not so fabulous, but I'll knit it up in a swatch anyhow.

For the good stuff, I'm going back to the bigger photo. The skein in the front is my handspun:

(The ball in the back is Debbie Bliss Astrakhan)

For this one I spun up generic white wool singles, and plied it with No. 12 Finca cotton thread (for tatting? I bought it at an emboidery/ribbon store) twice, once with light pink, and back the other way with light peach. Just enough difference to give depth.

I'm pleased as punch with the results, but good heck it takes forever to spin.

Haul from Black Sheep Gathering

2006-07-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

Especially for Hibiscuitsgirl who thought I could have possible escaped the Black Sheep Gathering without much stuff. First, the multicolored roving, that if I remember right, is corriedale wool. 4 oz, $9:

Next is Three Bags Full, the color is Peace, as in the Peace rose. I've bought Three Bags Full wool the past few years, and loved it. My blue hat is made from their roving. I bought 2 bags of about 4 oz each, and divided it into 3 parts to make a 3-ply yarn. I used my little drug-logo kitchen scale for dividing it.

And do you remember that I have disavowed all affection of drop spindles? After discovering silk caps, I decided to give them another try. A turkish spindle found its way into my bag (for $45). Yesterday I bought some more silk caps at dyelots, so be expecting some updates here.

And it's time to get back to real life, so I'll ponder boucle structure later.

White S, Z, S Boucle

2006-07-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

So what is this S, Z stuff? The direction that I spin yarn. If the fibers are twisting like \\, then it's S, as in the direction the diagonal goes in the letter S. Vice-versa for Z. (Contrary to what the Boucle instructor said, it's not the way your wheel turns. Digression possible, but skipped.)

I was re-reading my Spin-Off Winter 2005 issue (because I bought a weavette loom, but that's another story), and read an article on novelty yarns including boucle. Judith Mackenzie McCuin says that boucle is one S, one Z, one thick, one thin, one tight, one loose, and in any combination. I'm working on a boucle right now, with generic white wool singles, overspun as I could get them without twisting back on itself, plied with needlepoint? cotton.

My current dilemma: Do I keep on keepin' on, or wind it off and experiment with other techniques with the same fibers? Tune in next time to find out what I decided.

Birthday questionnaire

2006-07-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

For the birthday swap! And blame the font funkiness on cut and paste. Couldn't figure out how to fix it.

What day is your birthday?

August 5th

Are you crafty?
Yup! Sewing (a little), quilting, embroidery. I'm a spinner too.
Would you enjoy things like: Buttons, ribbons and embellishments?
Yes! I'm quite fond of ribbon. And buttons. And embellishments.
Do you dye your own wool?

No. I'll leave that to others.

Do you like to scrapbook or make homemade cards?

I used to make a lot of homemade cards, and still do on occasion. No scrapbooking.

What small project would you be interested in making? Socks, mittens, scarf, hat, baby items, wash cloths, doilies, shrugs etc

All except doilies.
What are your favorite scents?

I like unexpected ones, but I'm usually easy. Pomegranate is one of my reliable favorites. Hard to find, but yummy.
Do you like stationary and cards?

Yes.

Do you like hand lotions or soaps?

No.

Do you like to sew or embroider items?

Yes!
Do you like beads?

Yes!
What kind of mail-able snacks do you like to eat?

I'm easy. Sweet or salty. With a serious sweet tooth.
Do you like to wear costume jewelry? Necklace, earrings, bracelets etc.

Necklaces are about the only jewelry I wear.

Do you like to play cards or board games?

Very much.
What are your favorite colors of yarn?

I'm into greens right now, but it's hard to find good ones. I've got too many purples.

Do you like solid, variegated, heathers, or self stripping yarns?

I'm not so fond of self-striping unless the tones are very close to each other. I love subtle variegated, and solids and heathers.
Do you like kitchen magnets or key rings?

No.
Do you like picture frames?

Maybe?

Do you like to make/or use stitch markers?

Not yet.
Do you collect anything?

Poodle items. Ahem. I've never admitted this in public before.
Do you have any allergies? Smoke, food, fiber, pets, etc..

Cats and hazelnuts.
Do you have any hobbies?
Besides crafties? Hiking and biking.
Do you like scented or unscented candles?

Maybe?
Are you a fiber snob?

Yes. I hate acrylic (blends can be ok). The scritchiness just gets to me. If all there was to knit was acrylic yarn, I wouldn't knit at all.

Spinning silk caps and boucle

2006-06-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Black Sheep Gathering, which made it a very enjoyable weekend indeed.

This is the yarn from the silk caps from Dyelots. It was a lot easier once I got the hang of only peeling off one cap at a time. Before that I was about to give up. I spun it thick-n-thin. With nubbies. It will definitely stay as a single.

And from the "Boucle without Tears" workshop:

I spun my own boucle! Merino singles plied with sewing thread. I don't remember if it was superwash or not. I need to start noting this!

And a vacation pic: A-Dome Studio B&B. Beautiful, and run by a tapestry weaver! Exceeded all of my expectations.

Acquired at the show: Drop spindle, of turkish style; painted roving of corredale? fiber; two bags of "Three Bags Full" roving, peach and yellow and pinks. I've enjoyed most of the other fibers I've bought from Three Bags Full. They have spun up nice and fluffy. Also 2 ounces of wool/rayon/flax blend from Ruthie, who has beautiful carded combos. I'd like to commission some custom greens from her.

My quest, unfulfilled, at the show was to find green roving of a good green color. It didn't happen. Some came close, but I realized I want a blended fiber of different shades of green. Most fiber at the show was hand-painted/space dyed. Oh well. It was a worthy quest.

Thursday knitting group

2006-06-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

I crashed a new knitting group today, and had a blast. It took them a little while to start talking to me, but it was fun once they did. I even got invited to their potluck next week! Aw, shucks. I like seeing what other people choose to knit, what kinds of yarn they like, and their taste in colors and textures. I find it especially educational when people have knitted things out of yarn that I have in my stash. I can see how it drapes and looks knitted up.

There was a fabulous pair of Koigu socks there, with a contrast ruffle, heel, and toe. Yummy! And lots of summer garments, think lacey patterns and cotton.

For the Eugene knitters, it is at the Strand, thursdays at 3:30. Not next thursday though. But most of the other ones. Bonus: Books without Borders carries Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting, and Spin-Off. I didn't see the most recent Spin-Off on the shelf, but thank goodness I asked, it was sitting in a box waiting to be unpacked!

And a meme...

"Lemmings? Where?

Brought over from Marnie's blog... cause I care to copy the very best.

Rules: Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me — it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you."

from Bird's Nest Knits. One word is quite a challenge!

Where have I been?

2006-06-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Not a big time of year for introspection. With summer sneaking in and the long days, I have energy to actually do things instead of just think about them.

My actual factual official graduation is this weekend. No ifs, ands, or buts, I'll be Dr. Martha, or, more commonly, Martha, PharmD.

So what have I been knitting? I'm still slogging away on Hempathina, and have a pair of socks by the bed that I'm not liking. I need to get inspired to start knee socks for a certain hiker. I have some of a swatch done, but I need to swatch the cables. And decide on a cable design. Et cetera.

Spinning: I'm plying the purple merino. I would like to get back to the cashmere/silk combo, but I have some silk caps that are tempting me. (Note to self: link to knitty article on spinning silk hankies)

Most Beautiful Yarn

2006-05-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this yarn at Dyelots!, the local fiber store. I'm thrilled to be able to type the phrase "local fiber store", it means I live in the right place! Enough about me, here's the yarn:

It's a 50/50 silk and merino blend , with 660 yards in 160 (or 140, I'm having a memory blip) grams. Hand dyed by Dyelots (Janis). It has wonderful lustre.

This next pic has a more accurate representation of the colors, they are fairly soft.

What shall I make with this lovely yarn?

I'm going to modify this pattern from Interweave Knits. I'm going to turn it upside down, if you can envision that. It will be in stockinette instead of rib. I need to make the most of this yardage! My plan is to knit the front first, and if I run out of yarn, I can make the straps and back out of something else.

It'll also have modesty straps, ones that cover bra straps. Maybe crochet straps.
I am so inspired by this yarn that it jumped the queue of awaiting projects. The other yarn is jealous.

P.S. Can you readers tell me whether the blog writing on the right hand side of the page is showing up near the top, or if you have to scroll down to see it? Please?

Ribbon edge

2006-05-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite cardigans have ribbon stabilizing the button band. It was just a matter of time until I tried it.

I'll try to figure out how to crop this soon, so it can be seen better. Until then...

My lovely green Noro Cash Iroha, with two ribbon possibilities. I have decided on the narrow ribbon, for a few reasons: 1) the wide ribbon is $26 per yard and 2) the wide ribbon is too stiff. The narrow ribbon keeps the edge of the stockinette from curling, and will make a nice peek-a-boo detail. I'm thinking of continuing it around the bottom edge of the sweater to keep it from curling too. Then I don't have to mull over choices for less curling stitches on the bottom edge. The narrow ribbon is less than 1 inch, the wide is about 2 inches.

I really wanted grosgrain (however that darn word is pronounced) ribbon, but the ribbon/needlepoint store didn't have a color that went with the green yarn well. Out of the hundreds of fantastic ribbons that this store has, not a lot want to play well with that fabulous but vivid green. I guess I could go with black, but this is such a vibrant sweater that I didn't want to tone it down.

Expensive crochet and new yarn

2006-05-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit it, I was window shopping on-line. I found something with knit related content, thus making it worthwhile research. This is a beautiful purse.

Remember when I got my mojo back last week? This is part of the reason:

The yarn on the bottom is the orange Silky Tweed that June sent me for entering her blog contest. It wasn't inspiring me on its own, but I was at the local yarn store, and the red color made me dance with glee. The yellow on the top liked them both, and wanted to come home with me.

So on the theory that buying these would make me more likely to use the yarn in my stash, I bought it. I now have 6 skeins total, and if I decide on a project soon, I can buy more before the store runs out.

Have you noticed the stretches here that I'm making in these justifications? A little dicey, but we don't need them to stand up in court.

Bead 'speriment

2006-05-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

I swatched out some bead experiments this weekend. I've read about knitting with beads before; I remembered one technique, and made up some more. This is slipping the bead onto the right hand side of the knit stitch, using pre-threaded beads. To thread the beads on, I used beeswax to stiffen the yarn end into a point (instead of a needle).

I did a swatch with beads on the purl stitches, but we'll have to try the photo again, it turned out blurry. I tried one with garter stitch, but garter stitch really drives me crazy. It just seems so unfinished to me. I wish I liked it because it lies flat, and I need as many of those stitches as I can get.

The interesting part was seeing the different orientations that the beads had with the different techniques: vertical, slanted, horizontal.

I also put the bead on a float in front, but it looked bad with this bead/yarn combo.

I saw "Decorative Knitting" at the library today, and looked through it to see how they use beads. Some interesting techniques, but they didn't explain how to do many of the swatches they showed. What a tease.

Also in book knitting: I got One Skein. I like it! Of course, I got the book to get ideas for using stash yarns, but it's making me want new yarn for the projects in there. I'll resist.

And in faux one-upmanship:

Wonkyknit isn't the only one with racoons in her trees!

Mojo is back!

2006-05-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Instead of clicking along, my needles were moping. Instead of inspiring me, my yarn collection was crushing my spirit. I didn't even want to go to the yarn store.

I'm cured! I'm past the hump on my green sweater (I've pinched off the sleeves, which makes each row go about twice as fast). Orangina (aka hempathina) is behaving. (Except that the balls of hempathy keep falling apart and getting tangled.)

And I've got the summer 2006 Interweave Knits in hand. I'm seriously considering subscribing just to get it a week earlier. I usually like the shopping aspect to buying a magazine at a bookstore, especially when I'm limited on funds: it makes up for a lack of other shopping.

But I had to wait ELEVEN DAYS to read HibiscuitsGirl's Extreme Drunken Summer 2006 Interweave Knits Review!

That's almost an eternity. And I should say waitING, as I'm delicately savoring the magazine. I've had it for hours now and haven't opened it yet. I did read the first paragraph of the review, enough to find out that my doppelganger isn't in this issue.

Her:

Me:

We're still flipping coins to figure out which one's the evil one.

My first scarf

2006-05-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

The first scarf that I ever knit was a 1x1 rib in Prairie Silk by Brown Sheep. It was knitted on a trip to a conference in the San Juan Islands in Washington.

Well, I was pretty sad when I lost that scarf. Not only did it have sentimental value, it was a pretty good scarf. A tad scratchy, but that's ok. So I made an exact copy.

Here is my flying poodle modeling it for us:

(Photos of the back of the poodle's head remind me of the Daffy Duck cartoons where Daffy's bill gets blown off.)

Hempathina back in favor

2006-05-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Hempathina is back in good graces, thanks to a frogging session.

The color is a little bit redder than I'd like (in real life and in the photo). I am contemplating dying it someday to a darker shade of brown, but let's wait until I'm done with it, shall we?

It's been very sunny. Hard weather to blog in. The bike trailer (trailer towed by a bike, not a trailer to tow bikes in) got its maiden voyage today. Fun! Although we discovered that it is not the optimal way to transport seedlings. We'll be keeping the car.

And I chopped out part of an ivy root the size of a cantelope. The ivy is as old as our house, and tough as nails. The roots are on the neighbors side of the fence, but they don't mind me chopping at them, they're renters. I'm good at tearing things out. Not so good at planting, but I make my contribution.

I was worried that the hatchet-wielding was going to hurt my wrists for knitting, but I'm holding up just fine. And since company is coming next weekend, I've got a very clean (well, mostly there) craft/guest room. It's making me feel better about knitting to have all of the annoying projects put away for now.

This pic shows the color of the Hempathy better:

And no, I didn't make the sweater. I bought it after I started knitting, and was astounded that I could get it for $25. Thank goodness for underpaid Chinese garment workers.

Stuck on Hempathina

2006-05-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

And not in the good way. I joined the SKC knit-along, but am not going to make it by the deadline. I'm not sure I'm ever going to make it. I consider myself a fairly competent knitter, but this is kicking my &$*!

I just keep messing up. I admit it, I haven't been concentrating fully, but I'm a multitasker. It's hard to only knit.

So I'm mad at knitting. But tomorrow is knitting with the girls, I'm pretty sure that'll cure me. It usually does.

Handmade Book

2006-05-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Back in the days before I discovered knitting, I made other things, like books. The problem with these books is that they are not so useful. After the popularity of blank journal books, everyone who uses them has plenty, and so do those who don't use them.

Subliminally, I think I was trying to knit. Look at the binding:

I had all of the components ready for this book, and they had been hibernating for quite some time. All I had to do was glue and sew, Presto!

Spinning more purple

2006-04-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

I wonder sometimes why I buy so much purple and blue wool for spinning. I think that it's because it's relatively easy to find good color blends in those hues. It's easy to find a horrid green. But I'd like some good greens.

Speaking of good greens, my Cash Iroha cardigan is coming along again:

Yes, I know, putting clothes on one's dog is not highly regarded in some societies. (Boy, does he need a trim!) I'm trying to adapt a leaf edging from Knitting on the Edge, but it's still experimental. This pattern would go down the front along the button edges.

Don't ask about Orangina. We decided that we needed some space, and will try reconciling later.

So here's what's on the wheel:

Not too much spinning lately, which is too bad, as it's a good stress buster. And I'm off to go hiking this weekend, another stress buster. See you all later!

More socks!

2006-04-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

These are the socks that I made last year for my grandma.

You may notice that I'm fond of a picot edge on socks. It's just so pretty! It's my favorite sock yarn, Trekking XXL.

I'm going to hop on over and post on the Sexy Knitters Club in regards to Miss Orangina!

Alpaca socks finis!

2006-04-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

I'm experimenting with photo size to see if that fixes the problem in Internet Exploder. (Problem being that the posts don't put themselves at the top of the page)

So let me know if this fixes it.

Back to knitting related content! Alpaca socks are done! And I found the socks that I originally made for my grandma RIGHT as I finished these socks for her. They had been missing for nigh on a year.

My yarn order came in the mail (finally!). I swatched for Orangina, and am going to go throw the swatch in the wash to see what it will do (besides get wet). Pics to come.

Doll sweater

2006-04-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

At the clinic where I've been working, some dolls showed up. They were donated by a doll-making club for children to draw faces on and take home. Presumably to keep the kids entertained and happy at the clinic.

I've been stressing about using all of my lonely skeins lately. So it hit me like a ton of (polyester stuffed) bricks. Make doll clothes for these poor naked dolls!

This is a luscious skein of Plymouth Bamboo. So soft and shiny! I would love to make a me-sized sweater out of it, but it's a little pricey. So at knitting night with the girls, I cast on 20 stitches on borrowed needles. When I got to knitting the next day, I had a crochet hook with me but no needles. Improvisation served me well here.

It's not quite done, one more side of the cardigan needs a crochet edge, and it needs a big button at the waist. Then she needs a skirt.

I never outgrew playing with dolls.

Breaking News

2006-04-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

From a link on cuteoverload.com,

Too cool!
Source page with more background.

WIPs galore

2006-04-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

I love knitting!

There are so few things in life that it is easy to have unfettered enthusiasm for. It's just not in style. I try to set an example by expressing my giddiness when it surfaces.

I have a sock growing on my needles while I read the latest issue of Spin-Off. Sadly, I'm almost through the magazine. I also got the Interweave Crochet Spring/Summer 2006. I had to choke when I saw the Babette Blanket, which calls for 22 skeins of Koigu, which runs $11-12 per skein. According to the numerous calculus classes that I took in college, that's LOTS OF MONEY. It's quite a blanket, though. Eye-popping colors.

Speaking of Koigu, did I mention that since I was ordering my Hempathy from Patternworks, I threw a skein of Koigu in so that I could see what the fuss was all about? Well, I did. And I can't wait to see a little brown box sitting on my doorstep. I'll open it up, cast on for Orangina, and scrutinize the Koigu. (There was a false alarm this week, with a brown box just the right size for yarn appearing on the doorstep. It wasn't.)

I'd 'a thought that Koigu would be Japanese, but it's a Canadian yarn. Learn somethin' new every day.

And I have a question for y'all: Does my blog load with the picture of the day near the top of the page, or do you have to scroll down to see the first entry if it has pics? I have noticed different things with different computers.

Alpaca Socks

2006-04-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've make socks from this yarn before, and they get a nice felted patch under the heel and ball of the foot. Picot edging on the top.

I'm getting crochet lessons from one of my stitch'n'bitch gals.

I'm sad that no one has commented on Mini-E. I'm so proud of it!

FO:Mini-E

2006-04-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

Fo' sho'. It's the Mini-E(ssential stripe)! Isn't she a cutie?

And I STILL have yarn leftover! This has something to do with ordering 2 extra balls of the chocolate brown (darn minimum order!).

I aimed for about 3/4 length sleeves, but not having any kiddos around to measure it on was inconvenient. I tried searching online for average child measurements, but no luck. I'll have to think on how to refine that search, I tried "sewing" and "pattern" added to child measurements, but no luck. Wouldn't it be handy to know how long the average 3 year old arm is?

I also went to a smaller needle for the rib on the sleeves and the bottom, but not the neck. It just seemed more practical for a kid.

My green Cash Iroha cardi is going slowly, the frogging really took the spark out of me. I've only got a few inches this time around.

Last night was knitting night at the local coffeehouse. A small turnout, but good for inspiration. I'm going to leave myself a coded to-do list, as some of it involves presents:

red-green minis
pink alpaca
orangina
artyarns
modular

Yes, Orangina is in there! I'm -this close- to committing to it. The Sexy Knitters Club is doing a knit-along, and it's a pattern that I've been considering for some time. I'm thinking of Elsebeth Lavold "Hempathy" for the yarn. I even went so far as to purchase the pattern this morning, and would have bought the yarn too if the computer had behaved.

And I'll leave you with another photo.

(not yet blocked)

Stash Flash

2006-04-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

In all of its glory, this is my yarn and wool stash:

Seeing it all in one place is painful, but healthy. It's a reality check. Remember how I've been obsessing on the spring cleaning lately? Well, this is like pouring salt on the wound. Seeing all of the knitting that needs to be done hurts. But, I'm confronting it head on. Looking it in the eye.

This is the handspun portion of the collection:

This part is less painful, as it means I've already done something with it after buying the wool. Very good for assuaging yarn guilt.
Another shot of the handspun: (the grey boucle isn't mine though)

And when I take the unspun wool off of the pile, it looks more manageable.

I have quite a bit of fair isle yarn that I accumulated early in my knitting career.

Well, I'll muse about this more later. There's knitting to be done.

Continuing education

2006-03-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting week, knit-wise. Not because I have started anything new, but because I haven't. It's a week for continuing projects. I have a strong drive to reduce, reuse, recycle. I was looking at beautiful yarn online, and it was almost painful to think about acquiring more. How strange it is to feel this way! My acquisitiveness is fighting with my yarn purging.

I'm reminded of my flying poodle. When I come home, there is often an internal tug of war between his desire to greet me and his desire to run back to his bed with his toy. It's so transparent: he trots one way, then the other. Happy! Toy! Greet, no, chew toy. No, greet. Chew toy!

Goal for weekend: gather the yarn stash for a family picture.

Slogger

2006-03-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

Is what you get when you're a slacking blogger. The mini-E isn't going as fast as it was, but I finished a slipper and organized a little bit of the stash. And I went to a store with mucho yarn and didn't buy any. (Was it the cold that I was coming down with, or self-restraint? We'll never know.)

I'm in a spring cleaning stash-busting mood. Of all of the projects I have going, most are with yarn bought on a whim, or spun for no reason. Proof:

1. Mini-E: leftovers from Essential Stripe.
2. Slippers: Two huge balls of brown wool bought when I first was learning how to spin. I didn't quite know how much I was buying.
3. Green sweater: Not at all a stash-buster. Yarn from xmas, augmented by purchasing more.
4. Forever sweater: laceweight stashbuster. Hopefully turning out to be my one-ball wonder, as I only have one ball.

75% Stash-busting! Seven-point-five out of ten doctors recommend stash-busting! Shrink your stash today! HOT HOT STASH BUSTERS! Stash-busting at phaarmaceii low low internet prices!

snap out of it! No more spam genre!

Mini-E

2006-03-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

I had leftover yarn from Essential Stripe, so what was I to do? Make Mini-E(ssential stripe), of course!

(Cell phone included for scale) Surprise, it's going a lot faster than the me-sized one! Very satisfying.

I hadn't -just knit- in a long time, but last night I did. After being driven batty at the coffee shop with the knitting girls by an unwanted live boy-and-his-guitar amplified beyond comfort, I came home and just knit. No reading, just music. It was nice. (Yes, I do knit and read at the same time.)

The newest addition to my to-knit list is in the bag:

Alpaca, Grignasco Top Print, 110 yds/50g, color 402. I have made socks/slippers from it before, and will do so again. The soles felt up from wearing, but it just makes them more slipper-like.

We'll leave today with a gratuitous poodle pic (with one of his new friends and the feet of the other new friend):

Details of Mini-E: I cast on the same number of stitches as for the small adult size, increased at the neck edge faster and with increasing frequency to make it scooped, until I had near the same number of stitches on the back and front. I made up the arm hole size, and I'm hoping it'll be ok for a wiry 2.5 year old.

Christmas in March?

2006-03-20T20:51:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I actually thought about starting to knit for xmas. This is, after all, the only time of year where it actually would be possible to complete multiple kntting projects for other people by christmas.

So I thought I would share a project from a xmas past. Little quilt bags that held chocolate goodies:

No, don't worry, I haven't given up knitting. I started a stash-buster on saturday, and am making good progress. I'll share soon.

Fun

2006-03-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Other things in life that are fun besides knitting include x-country skiing.
This is the view from the ski trail last Saturday.

And another past project to catch up on:

This was a linen towel from one of the local thrift stores, it came with the pattern printed on it, and some of the green x's around the edge already done. I finished it using embroidery floss that was left over from one of my mother's projects from lots of years ago.

I have been seriously slacking on knitting. I restarted the green frogged sweater, but so far it looks pretty much the same as last time, with one modification.

I bought some wonderful yarn to make socks with, I'll take pics and tell you all about it next time.

Quilt Pics

2006-03-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

As requested by ThreadandScissors!

Machine pieceing, um, a few years ago.

The layout.

The hand-quilting.

and a previous quilting post.

Lace update

2006-03-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well, since we've last chatted, I've not knit too much. I got started on the lace scarf, but I'm not having too much fun with it. Something's not quite right. I think that I'm going to go through one repeat, put on the ending border, call it a swatch/sample, and start over on size 2 needles. The 4's are too big, I think, and even the breyerspun needles have a point that is a bit blunt for lace.

There is a stitch that involves knitting 7 together. It's hard. I took the suggestion and used a crochet needle, but it's still hard. It looks really cool though, and it's one of the reasons that I picked this pattern, the little dense spots in the lace provide a beautiful counterpoint to all of the airiness.

And I'm kicking myself for choosing a dark color, as it doesn't show the pattern as much. I'm still going with it for reasons of general fashion.

I still have not restarted Green Cash Iroha sweater. Have not started any other projects that are running around in my head either. It's just not a crafty week.

What's she up to now

2006-03-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

Well folks, my initial blogging pace of every day is slowing a bit. I think part of it is my reluctance to post with no pics. I'll give it a try today.

I love Wednesday nights. Knitting night with the girls. I swatched for the hiking socks (I'll tell you about those soon). I have started a lace scarf, the one from the latest Interweave Knits.

Hey look, a photo that I didn't even have to take!

I'm knitting it in a dark purple Skacel merino laceweight (1400 yards per 100 grams. I just recently, like last weekend, started paying attention to yard per weight as a useful bit of information).

I frogged a sock that had been annoying me for months. It is now ready for reincarnation. I frogged the green sweater, which is waiting even more anxiously for reworking.

And let me tell you about my quilt. Just the fact that I'm hand quilting it, and the frame has been in my living room for months. (I don't think I'm quite up to years, but I could be wrong on that.) I bought a Quilter's Newsletter Magazine to read while I'm quilting to keep me inspired, and I managed a good 20 minutes today. That is record breaking pace for lately.

I'm going to go listen to Wait Wait (don't tell me), "The NPR News Quiz" and work on either lace or a quilt.

Frogs are Green

2006-03-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

And that means what to you? If you're a knit blogger, it's a clever play on the sad sad day that all of us run into. The frogging. To unravel=to frog. I like to think that the etiology has something to do with four letter words beginning in F. So that green sweater in the post below.... well, you figure it out.

The v-neck was too shallow. By far. It didn't look like that in the pattern picture. Grrr.

This is where the increases were going to stop, i.e. the end of the V. You've got to be freakin' kidding me. This is what I wanted:

One of the Wednesday night gals has me yearning for more lace projects. Speaking of Wednesday nights, hop on over and see Thread and Scissors!