I'mmmmmmmmmm Readyyyyyyy!

(said like SpongeBob Squarepants)

For what am I ready? The Summer KAL/CAL, of course! I first heard about the KAL/CAL earlier this year when I was listening to back-podcasts by Sharon and Marly. It sounded like so much fun I just had to get in on it this year.

I'm making Rutabaga from the Spring 2007 Knitscene. I already explained why I was afraid of this pattern initially, so I won't go into that again, but I will say that I loooove it!



I adore this stitch and can't believe it took me a year to even read the pattern and figure out it was nothing to be afraid of. It moves along quite nicely and my favorite thing about it is that it is stretch, but it has limits to its stretch. I like a stretchy bag, but I don't want it to stretch with wreckless abandon.

My sweaters are rather languishing right now. The Incan Pullover is sitting in my way at the end of my chaise end of the sofa, but I haven't worked on it for several days. 28thirty only needs one sleeve, but I haven't picked that up either. The Sera Lace Top has also lost its luster. The problem with that is I need more yarn. I don't want to buy more yarn. So I'll probably frog. What to do, what to do.

I ordered Norah Gaughan Vol.3 and Berroco 281 - Cuzco and Peruvia Quick from Jimmy Beans Wool. I sat here waiting and waiting, then realized I hadn't checked my home email for several days. Turns out #281 is backordered for a few more days and they had asked if I wanted them to send one without the other. By the time I saw the email, it had been nearly the amount of time of the backorder. So I told them I could wait for all of it to come at once. Trying so hard to be patient...and to finish other things first so I can fantasize guilt-free.

The usual kind of Monday stuff is happening here, though I can't believe it's already noon! My son has already been too and from preschool and now I have to run off to the bank and the post office. Big insurance docs to finally get off to our mortgage company so that repairs can finally take place. The dog reeks to high heaven so my daughter is bathing him - cross your fingers she keeps the water out of his highly susceptible to infection Golden Retriever ears!!

Happy Monday everyone and I hope to see you, too, at the Summer KAL/CAL!

Finish-itis!

Not such a bad thing! I go in spurts of startitis and finishitis. I love to start start start, but then there's nothing quite as satisfying as finishing a bunch of projects one after the other. Okay, I find throwing out ball bands and a pile of snipped ends to be equally satisfying but that's beside the point.

I really wanted to bust the cotton stash in June. I tried, really I did...



This was less then half my washcloth production. When all was said and done, I'd made 14 washcloths for personal use and 4 more intended as a baby gift. Oh wait, I'm forgetting a couple - make that 6 more for gifts. All that knitting, and the cotton stash remains. It is smaller, but it's still there.

Doesn't help that I bought a cone of Peaches n' Cream and started this:



It's Rutabaga from Knitscene Spring 2007! I loved this immediately, but the word "cluster" scared me away from even reading the instructions. I envisioned having to knit a popcorn or bobble every few stitches (nevermind that I couldn't actually see anything like that in the photos) and couldn't bear the thought. Upon closer inspection, however, the cluster was nothing more than a couple wraps of a couple stitches. Big deal! I'm halfway through and it's really fun...though I can't work on it too much at one time since my hands are still recovering from the June Washcloth Mania (aka cotton hell).

I'm working my way through a couple sweaters. The Incan Pullover on the cover of the Summer '08 KnitSimple really is what this yarn wants to be, it's just taking a long time to become it.





I like top-down construction, but the yoke takes so dang long! I'm knitting this on size 6 needles which is the smallest size I've ever used for a garment. I finally made it to the back and my goal is just to have it done by fall - but I better hurry because that could come any day now!

The other sweater is crochet: The Sera Lace Top by Doris Chan from the Fall 2007 Interweave Crochet.



So far so good, but I'm going to definitely need more yarn. I'm using 7 balls of Knit Picks Shine Sport in Violet that I bought from someone on Ravelry. I knew I was rolling the dice by starting this with a finite quantity of yarn, but it was a chance I was willing to take. It's cute, but I'm concerned about the length. I know Doris is great about taking stretch into account so you don't end up with a dress, but it still is a little worrisome. I think I'll end the body with 2 more balls of yarn - one for each sleeve - then I'll order more yarn and leave my fate to the dye lot gods.

I'm very blase about work right now and thinking I'll bug off and crochet some more this afternoon. My daughter is at a basketball day camp in St. Cloud today and won't get home until 4-ish, but then right away at 5:00 we're off to Minneapolis for her last regular season soccer game. Eek. I won't be driving though so you can bet my lace scarf will be coming along. That thing is moving like lightning. Have I shown that yet?



The perfect use for the leftovers from my Knit it Down sweater and it satisfies my love of lace in worsted weight yarn.

On that note, have a wonderful day!

I've got great news...I'm wearing my Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell for the first time!



The link above takes you to Angela Hahn's blog (the designer) who shares her many adventures with pattern submission and pattern modifications. If you'd like to make one too - and have the Summer '07 IK - check out her site (and IK's errata) because you'll find lots of great tips to make this your favorite summer knit.

On that note, the calendar may say it's June 13 and in theory that should be a fairly summery time of year. We are, however, hovering at 66 degrees with strong and very cool winds a-blowing. I am determined to get some wear out of this, my first warm-weather knit - even if I have to shiver my behind off to do so!

I finished another She-Knits bag yesterday. This is Lorin:



I modified her slightly from the original pattern. After the base, I increased enough to allow for two more motifs than originally called for - I think it was 16 stitches more. Then after pattern #2, I decreased 8 stitches around on two separate rows (with straight rows in between) to get back to the original number of stitches to finish off. I also made pattern #2 a little wider. I'm not sure about the I-cord straps yet. A little too long for me so we'll see how she wears. No biggie if they don't work out. I'll just cut them off and buy something to work better.

I have several things nearly ready to fly off the needles. Firstly, my Knit it Down sweater - remember this one, with only one sleeve?



Well, it's a couple sleeve ribbing rounds shy of all done and I couldn't be happier. It looks great - a little less fitted than the original photo on the cover of Creative Knitting - but very comfy and the perfect layer for a cool spring-summer-fall day. You take your pick!

28thirty from Zephyr Style is one that is surprising the heck out of me. I'm making it with Bernat Denimstyle as well and I love it! It's cloud-soft and really nice to work with. I liked the pattern when I first saw it but fell in love with it when I saw so many nice full-length versions on Ravelry. Here's the only photo I have of the collar, though I am nearly done with the body:



What I found as I made it was that I think the cropped version would be extremely flattering and very good for my almost-short 5'5" stature. I have a tendency to look rather squatty if I don't plan my outfit just right and a short cardi would do wonders to help visually stretch me out a bit. So would losing some weight, but that's a whole 'nother issue. I think I'll make the cropped version in TLC Essentials. I have a boatload of sage green that is begging to be made into something. I think acrylic would suit this pattern just fine.

It's Friday people! What are you doing this weekend? I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow the wind will die down enough to facilitate our first fishing trip of the year. The hail storm on Memorial Weekend incapacitated our truck such that we had no way to pull the boat - much to my sons' dismay. We finally got it to the adjustor, then to the body shop for a windsheild (body work is on hold until July) so now it's back and ready to haul the ol' Crestliner. Sunfish, here we come!

The plan for Sunday is to take everyone to see Kung Fu Panda at the "big movie" as Lucas calls it. He has been to a few movies at the theater and each time it's a bit of an ordeal. I think he gets a little sensory-overloaded and overwhelmed and thus wants to spend the first 20 minutes of the movie in the bathroom. We've prepared him though and he really wants to go see this movie. Again, crossing fingers that we can all go out and have a good time together.

Time to go get some work done, then I'm plopping on the couch for an afternoon of knitting. At my office, on Friday the 13th's, they always take the afternoon off to go bowling and have pizza - since I can't join them, I may as well have my own little yarn party here, right?

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

I'm really trying!

This spare laptop isn't cutting the mustard - every time I try to post anything, I.Explorer shuts down on me. I have photos and stuff, doesn't it know that? I'll give it a shot.

First and most importantly, the 1st Communion Dress is almost done! All that's left is the slip and the zipper and I WILL finish it today. I don't have to leave the house at all and can concentrate completely. My other motivation is my root canal redo tomorrow. I'm sure I won't feel like sewing after that and I don't need this pressure hanging over my head anymore. Plus, the big day is Sunday. I need to get the dress done and out of the house.

I've run into a crossroads with the Knit It Down sweater from Creative Knitting, January 2008. It's a great sweater and I want to live in it. However, I need one more ball for the second sleeve and one more ball is not to be found anywhere. I'm debating about whether I should drive down there again and special order it for $2 a ball and no shipping or order it online for more plus shipping. Maybe Friday I'll do the special order thing. I really want to wear this sweater!

I crocheted the Boteh Scarf (scroll down) out of my languishing Knit Picks Shine Sport in Hydrangea. Yeah, I know, I still have to weave in ends and do a quick steam blocking, but it is pretty cool, huh? There was one error in the magazine pattern that was easy to spot and only meant I had to rip out one of the motifs. No biggie. It moved along really quickly and I love the results.

Hmm, what else have I been working on while my laptop has been causing me unnecessary amounts of stress? Oh, I added eyelets to my Big Bag. That was fun! If I'm not careful, I could go eyelet-happy! Now I want some black rope to thread through, knot, and use as a shoulder strap.

I also purchased the She-Knits patterns Marly and Lorin from Sharon's Ravelry pattern store. I finished Marly in only a couple days and felted her yesterday. I checked her after about 6 minutes of agitation - not enough. However, 5 minutes later, she'd gone too far. Good to know. I had to really wrestle her onto the trash can I used for blocking. That was also due in part because I didn't carry my yarn loosely enough through the slip stitch patterns. It's that first pattern up by the handles is the one I really have to watch out for. Now I know.

I made the optional pocket according to Sharon's directions, then I added another smaller pocket hoping it would felt down to cell phone size. The pocket is a bit wider than desirable for my size phone, but the height is perfect. Again, now I know.

I wish I had known all of this stuff about pockets when I made the Big Bag. I love that bag dearly and think it has great potential, but it REALLY needs pockets. Otherwise it's just a huge black hole! The stupid thing is of course I could have figured out how to add pockets if I'd just taken a moment to think, but literal me didn't think to depart from the instructions and add a pocket!

Another irritation is that I had a magnetic snap floating around my desk for nearly a year. Not two weeks ago, while cleaning my desk, I tossed the snap thinking I wouldn't be using it. Grrr. Oh well, nothing a trip to Wal-mart can't cure.

As I catalogued the wool stash in Ravelry the other night and contemplated which colors to use for Lorin, I realized that Marly and Lorin are almost the identical bag. The slip stitch patterns and sequence are exactly the same! I felt a little stupid for buying both patterns when I could have just winged it for either one, but I'm feeling better about it now. Marly is top down and Lorin is bottom up. And their handles are different. Both of these patterns can help serve as a base for any future designs I might come up with on my own. Yes, it would be rather shocking for me to design something myself, but I have Knitting Never Felt Better by Nicky Epstein and I'm feeling fearless.

Well, I promised myself I'd finish the dress today and I went ahead and told my SIL it would be done today, so I'd better make good and get going. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Yarn Eradication is a Goooooooood Thing!

Evil grins abound today as I make stash yarn disappear! It's great! The best part? I finally get to use the Sam-eaten skein of my beloved hand dye!

This was the stuff I dyed with Wilton Icing Colors. Loved it! Then one day Sam got bored inside his crate and picked through the bars until he caught hold of one of the skeins. By the time I found it, it had been slightly peed on and chewed into itty bitty bits. I couldn't bear to throw it away so I washed it, untangled it, wound it back up, and wondered what the heck I could ever do with it.

Turns out Baby's Got a Brand New Big Bag is the perfect pattern! My hand dye looks great paired with leftover purple and brown and a felted bag is ideal for using up little yard-or-so-long bits of yarn without worrying about hiding ends. It's moving along super fast - I just started it last night - and I'm so excited about having a new bag. The bag has only a slit-type handle at the top so I might add a purchased shoulder strap when all is said and done. We'll see.

Wanna see the Fun in the Sun Hat?

I used two almost-complete skeins of TLC Cotton Plus (love that stuff!) that I had leftover from the crocheted bunnies. Yeah, I could have used the skeins to make 3 more washcloths EACH, but I was in a crochet mood and I'd just found a couple back issues of Interweave Crochet - Spring and Fall 2007 to be exact. Whee! Love them! I fell in love with the hat and had to give it a try. It is a little small for me but I'm sure I could will it into size if I wore it enough. Perhaps A. would wear it? One never can tell.

Burp cloths are moving along swimmingly. Here's the 4 I've finished so far.

The green one on top is my favorite. Each one is better than the last and I just love making these. The 5th one is even better than any of these, but I'll wait to post a photo until it's done. My friend's due date is T-minus 19 days so I'm gonna keep plugging away on these.

Next, the Mason-Dixon Washcloth frenzy. One ball of red TLC Cotton Plus made 3 washcloths and they're just so soft and nice! I had just enough yellow left over from the hat to make another. I also have enough Cotton Ease for at least one more. I have a lot of Peaches/Sugar n' Creme, but I'm hesitant to use it for these cloths because I don't want them to shrink and get goofy looking - at least not right away. These are going to be for teachers who don't get the blankets. Don't make me think of the blankets yet!

Lastly, Annette Petavy's Pillow from CrochetMe. I'm using worsted weight acrylic from the stash and an I hook, but following the pattern exactly. I stopped after 15 strips for the one on the right and still have a few more strips to go on the left one. I'll crochet backs, stuff, and toss on our sofa. My family room is looking dark and bland lately and I'm hoping these will help to brighten things up a bit.

This is a lot of stuff. What's gotten into me, you ask? I'm doing my usual thing of "I have something I have to do but I really don't want to do it so instead I'm going to enter a stage of profound yarn catharsis and produce so much that I delude myself into thinking I'm actually using my time productively."

The thing I have to do is make my niece's 1st Communion dress. I'm ready to start and I know I can do it, but it's a big and quite important project so I'm waiting for the planets to align just right before I start and that is NOT this week. It's spring break, A. has been at WI Dells with the neighbors so it's just the boys and I. Now really people, can you see the logic in laying out mounds of white (WHITE) satin, lining, tulle, and organza with two boys running rampant and just waiting for the opportunity to strike? Me neither. I'll start after they go back to school next week.

So in the meantime, I'm trying to make yarn go away. There's nothing more satisfying than throwing away bits of yarn too small to make anything with and watching the pile lessen. Plus, when I'm all done, I can buy new yarn guilt-free!

A little sad...

Hi all! It's been a while - and I blame my dog, Sam.

You see I crocheted myself this adorable little cell phone case. I could say it was an original design, but I really just morphed two designs into one: the Cell Phone Pouch (which I found on Crochet Pattern Central) and the Cell Phone Hugger from Knit Pixie.

Isn't it cute? It's made out of Aunt Lydia Shimmer in lavender. The Cell Phone Hugger was the main pattern for the body, then I added the strap with the metal clip on one end. I guess I forgot to take a picture of the back, but I single crocheted around a cabone ring and tacked that onto the back so the clip could attach to it. The strap looped around my purse handle with the clip attached to the ring. The smooth button made for easy opening and I love the little window on the front so I could still see the time. It was a wonderful case - for two days.

Enter Sam. I left my bag on the floor, went upstairs to do something, forgot about it, and came back down to find that Sam had started the unraveling process and the case is now impossible to repair.

Sigh. Back to throwing my phone into the bottomless pit that is my purse.

Wanna see more crocheted bags?

I should first mention that I found all these bags through Crochet Pattern Central. That's my favorite site to find new crochet patterns of any type. It's sister site, Knitting Pattern Central, is my favorite site for knitting patterns.

This is the All-Occasion Totebag from Lion Brand's website. It was my first bag and I chose Peaches n' Cream in Peppercorn. While I'm not all that fond of the color anymore, the bag is huge and extremely functional. I like to pack it full of snacks and sunscreen when we go fishing.

This is the Summer Sling Tote. I really love this bag, but I need to line it to really set off the shape. I liked the construction of this: you make the front and back, then make one circular piece to function as the bottom/sides and handle. All parts are slip-stitched together. It's finished with a wooden toggle button. I think the front/back section could be easily adapted to be a baby bib, or a good looking adult bib.

The yellow and green bags are both the Drawstring Cotton Bag and the blue one is the Easy Mesh Tote. The Drawstring Cotton Bag has to be about my favorite bag. The pattern is dense so nothing will fall out, with just a hint of texture with some rows of crossed double crochets. My favorite part is how the strap is done. It's a chain with one row of single crochets. You make it long enough to attach at the base of the bag, thread through the drawstring eyelets, and attach again at the base of the bag. You can sling it over one shoulder or as a backpack. I made the strap for the Easy Mesh Tote the same way. My favorite use for this bag is to take it with when I walk my dog. I can load it up with plastic baggies and if I'm not near a trash can when Sam does his business, I can put the poop bag back into my cotton backpack and carry it home without incident. And I still look cute!

This is the String Tote Bag. Another nice tote bag, but I really should line it to increase it's functionality. I used it last summer to stylishly carry piano music to a wedding I played in, but the pencil I brought along kept falling out through the mesh. It is a cute bag though. It's constructed in 6 strips - 3 for the front and 3 for the back, then all is single crocheted together.

These are my two workhorses: CroBear's Shoulder Bag with Flap, and Denim Hobo Bag (this isn't a direct link, but look for it in the bag listings - it's a PDF file). The shoulder bag was my purse for all last summer. It's all single crochet so it's very stable and sturdy and the extra long flap keeps everything secure. The strap turned out too long though so I'm considering replacing it with a purchased strap. The Denim Hobo Bag was made with a single strand of Lion Cotton instead of a double strand of something lighter weight (can't remember what). It's all single crochet with a wooden toggle closure. I LOVE this bag!

Ok, last, but not least (and really not even last since I'm not including the bags I've made for my daughter), is this one...I can't remember what it's called! I think it was something like Honeycomb Bag, but I can't find the link. This is made from Red Heart Super Saver in a really pretty sand color that's subtle shadings of tan and ecru. I finished it with circular bamboo handles. I like this one a lot, but I need to add some kind of closure. I don't like having my bags open at the top too much for all to see the contents. Maybe velcro or a magnet. This is a nice bag for summer outings with the gals!

Ok, there's a smattering of the bags I've crocheted. Now back to work!

Ok, there's crochet too!

I have a thing about bags. In particular crochet bags made out of 100% worsted weight cotton. I prefer cotton because it's strong, doesn't stretch, and it's washable. I prefer crochet because it's strong, doesn't stretch, and looks so darn neat and tidy. And I love the texture and that worsted weight works up fairly quickly. I crochet tightly so I always use a hook one size larger than whatever is called for in my instructions. My favorite place to browse for new bag patterns is Crochet Pattern Central.

My latest fancy is the Bands of Beads Totebag. The pattern is provided free, but it's also part of a larger collection in the booklet Trendsetting Totes from the American School of Needlework. I bought a cone of ecru Peaches n' Cream and a bag of pearly copper mix pony beads and got going. In the meantime, I placed an order at Knitting Warehouse for the leaflet, cuz I can't get me enough of crocheted bags. I also bought some cotton for sweaters for my two boys, but that will be a future post.

Round and round I go. Beads look great, crocheting looks great...yippee! On to the lining. I've crocheted a lot of bags, but I've never lined them because in a lot of instances, crochet bags are strong enough that they don't need it. I had some great basic fabric (like Dockers pants fabric) on hand so I cut the pieces per the pattern directions. It was a 15x29" rectangle sewed into a tube and a 19 1/2" diameter circle for the bottom. The 19 1/2" circle seemed huge, but I forged ahead.

Next the directions said to ease the rectangle to fit around the circle. There would be no easing about it - I had to make actual tucks and pleats to get the circle to fit. Every instinct in my gut told me this was not going to work out, but I ignored my gut (never smart) and continued on.

Even though it looked funny, I went ahead and hand stitched the lining inside the bag. I got done and felt wonderful...that is, until I put my hand inside to straighten out the lining. No good! That huge circle of tucked and pleated fabric was puddled in the bottom of the bag. There was no option other than to remove the lining completely and do it again.

By this time, I'd received my Trendsetting Totes book in the mail and I thought for sure there would be different lining dimensions in the book. Nope. After looking at my keyboard, though, I'm conviced that it's a typo. Since the 0 is right next to the 9, I'm certain the diameter was mistyped and it should be 10 1/2". I recut the rectangle and used a dinner plate as a template for the circle. Re-seamed, re-pressed, and re-sewed, the lining now looks wonderful and fits perfectly. Like it? I love it! It is quite huge though and needs some pockets inside. That's next.

The rest of the book is fantastic and I'm already almost done with another bag. I should really be finishing my brother's blanket, but I have so much cotton lying around and now so many bags to make! Plus I always like to take a little break and trade crafts every now and then. I love them both!