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!

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...

...and the dentist couldn't put her tooth back together again! The title is a tribute to today being Hump Day and to my feelings regarding my tooth and its failure to behave.

Another visit to Dr. John, another x-ray, and a referral to an endodontist. I don't know how they'll handle this, but I hope it's handled soon. I go in on Monday. In the meantime, I think it's a perfect excuse to pay a visit to my LYS this afternoon: Silver Creek Cabin. I'm dying to see the new Berroco Fall/Winter patterns in person. They're gorgeous!

Here's my own little bit of gorgeous-ness. Well maybe not actually gorgeous, but this will be my go to sweater for a long time.



I love love love and ADORE it! It's so comfy and the yarn is ridiculously soft. It cost me all of about $8 to knit because sadly, I think the yarn is discontinued, but that just means that I should try to snag some more before it's all gone. Yes, Bernat Denimstyle is an acrylic/cotton blend, but that cotton makes such an enormous difference. It's one of those sweaters that you don't even want to take the time to wash because you want to wear it any chance you get. I could have knit the small size just fine and it would have fit me more like the model, but it's great the way it is. The collar sits just fine and I love the deeper V. AND, no seams whatsoever. Even the crossing of the V-neck was achieved through switching and passing stitches. I could make this again in a heartbeat.

Look what I started with the leftovers:



It's the Easy Lace Scarf from Knitter's Review. I just realized that mine kind of looks like the one in the article. It's really turning out well and moves along so fast. What more could you ask for in a scarf?

I finished the first sleeve of 28thirty yesterday and instead of immediately blasting through the 2nd sleeve, I decided to go on a washcloth kick. I found a few great free patterns for diagonally knit washcloths, grabbed some leftover bits of 100% cotton and cast on. I made a reverse mitered washcloth last night and got halfway through Bernat's Eyelet and Ridge Washcloth this morning while I watched Angel. Fun fun fun! I love diagonal patterns because there's always something to look forward to. Plain straight up washcloths feel like they take longer. Maybe not, but they feel that way. Here they are so far:





I'd better call it quits today and get back to work. I have a few things to do before I take L. to therapy this afternoon. Amazingly, it's 74 degrees here and it actually feels warm to boot! All the windows are open but I may even have to turn on the AC today. Could it be true? Summer? Really?

Have a great 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!

My brain is on cruise control.

Thus, I forget things easily...like the whole reason I started talking about my Hourglass Pullover woes yesterday!

Like I was saying. It's a great sweater. The shaping is perfect, it looks great, color is awesome, fits like a flattering glove - I just have my own personal issue with things touching my neck.

So what am I going to do about it? Here's my dilemma. Do I keep the sweater as is and hope that I get over my creeped-out neck feeling? Or, do I take matters in to my own hands and try to steek the sweater and make it a cardigan?

I've never steeked before, not to mention this is a sweater that was finished with lower and neckline hems. I (in theory) could rip out the neckline and start the hem finish lower, but I really don't want to do that. Plus, now that it's been worn and washed a few times, is it really going to work up the same way?

I just don't know. Another solution would be to just make another sweater. After I finished the first one, I did immediately think how lovely it would be to have a cotton Hourglass. Perhaps I'll do that and when the time comes to think about wearing wool again, I'll reconsider the first Hourglass.

I'm pleased to say that today is the last day of teacher gift knitting! Fluffy Lap Blanket #5 is one purl row away from the bind off. Weaving ends will be minimal since I tried to weave as I went along. I have two washcloths all tied up with soap ready to go and two more blocking. I may try to make a few more, but I also have a lot of work to do today so if not, no biggie. I'd like to do something for the moms who helped me out this year with rides. I think I might do the basket liners from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I might even splurge on EuroFlax for it too!

No photos today, but perhaps if I get ambitious, I'll drum some up for later.

Who let in the wet sheep?

Naw, it's just wash day! For Mr. Greenjeans, Ms. Oblique, and the redheaded step-child Hourglass. What better way is there to spend an overcast June 3rd when it's 57 degrees outside?



It's about time, really. This is the first washing of Oblique. I blocked each piece separately prior to seaming, but then I was so in love, I couldn't part with it for a wash/block. I've worn it everywhere and the itch on my neck is starting to get to me, so hopefully a soak in Sweater Soap will have solved that.

Laziness kept me from washing the others. All my wool things have been sitting in a heap on the upstairs hallway floor for a couple months collecting dog hair. Mr. Greenjeans will be a nice one to have clean again. I still adore that sweater for its simple and stylish practicality.

Why do I call Hourglass the red-headed step-child, you ask? Well, it's beautiful enough - I love the color of the yarn, the design, the hems, the fit...mostly the fit. This is one case where Ravelry did not work in my favor.

You see, nearly everyone commented on the neck turning out all Flashdance-y and nearly everyone commented that they solved this problem by knitting 3 more sets of decrease rows on the yoke before starting the neck hem. Or they said they wished they had. I foolishly thought I'd be fine by blindly following what everyone else said and taking it as a personal truth. My reality, however, is that the sweater would have been just fine and indeed, preferable, without those 3 extra rows. It hits my neck it such a way that scratchy or not, it irritates the heck out of me. It could be because of my thyroid nodules, but nevertheless, the neckline bothers me too much to wear it.

The other thing I've realized about my sweater preferences is that I am gravitating towards cardigans. For me, they are more wearable, have more style options and best of all, I can take them off if I get too warm. I never used to have that problem, but lately I've been overheating something fierce. Maybe it's just that I have 10-15 extra pounds hanging on. There are so many cute ones though, that it's difficult to choose. My queue and favorites lists are brimming with the best of them and I know there are more I want.

Lastly, I'm trying very hard to stick to my yarn diet. Today I scored my last 2 balls of Faded Khaki Denimstyle - go the the call last week that my order was in. I also snagged a ball of Lion Wool in Sage for $.97. I couldn't pass that up. As luck would have it, the Denimstyle was marked down even further than what I'd already paid for it and the difference paid for my Lion Wool and a ring pop for B, with some change left over.

Yesterday, I bought Lace Style by Pam Allen. I'm a little obsessed with the cover pattern. I'm going to swatch for that with my multitudes of Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds in Earthy Brown.

I do believe I need to take a little nap before L gets home from school. I've been trying to work and losing a hard fought battle with the Sandman. I plan to finish the last Fluffy Lap Blanket tonight and block all the Mason Dixon Washcloths tomorrow and be ready for gift-giving on Thursday, the last day of school. After that, all the knitting is selfishly for me!

Remember, play fair and see ya next time!

Has it really been this long?

Good grief! Give me a day off and I'll take a month! I really do love blogging - I just have to get into the habit again of doing it regularly.

So what's been going on? Well, we're patiently waiting for consistent spring-like weather. It was 39 degrees here a couple days ago. Right now we're sitting at a rainy 52. Not too bad - at least there's no snow!

We did, however, have some severe storms last Sunday. Here's what the north side of our house looked like after the baseball-size hail:



Here's one of the hail stones. This photo was taken 30 minutes after the hail stopped and it had probably been on the ground for 45:



Here's what happened to my poor mom's car. She was visiting so her car was outside:



We are going to need a new roof, siding, 1 window, an exterior light, and gutters. Our truck took a beating as well. Both my mom's car and our truck will likely be totalled. Eek. Hopefully this storm was not a sign of things to come this summer. I'm going to stock up on batteries just in case.

Ok, on to the knitting. I've been heavily into the 2008 Fluffy Lap Blanket Bonanza. If you're on Ravelry, you can find the details here. One more to go and then I'll pound out a few more Mason-Dixon Washcloths. Those two patterns are my favorite teacher gifts. Fast, easy, impressive looking, and always appreciated. What could be better?

I bought my first skein of Malabrigo Chunky yesterday at Silver Creek Cabin. The color is Stonechat.



I was forced to buy this after seeing Parikha Mehta's Dolores Park Cowl. I simply had no choice. Plus I needed some yarn therapy after signing up for a stupid safe driving course to keep a ticket off my record. I bought it, wound it, and promptly knit it up. Like it? I adore it!



I definitely can wait for winter weather, but believe me when I say I'll be looking for any opportunity throughout the rest of spring and summer to wear this. I think this could be a new fave for gift giving as well. At $11 a skein, it's pretty darn economical too.

I suppose that's about it for now. I'll be casting on Blanket #5 today - Oh, and I got the call from JoAnn that my Denimstyle in Khaki has arrived! Yay! I'll get it tomorrow and I hope I will finish that sweater (from my last post) over the weekend. It's all good!

Have a great Thursday!

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!

It's finished!

Yippee! I finished my Dusty Miller Cardigan! I don't care what anyone has to say about Red Heart Super Saver - it made a great crocheted sweater! I wanted a workhorse, and I got it. It's comfy, warm, and has beautiful stitch definition. Here she is!

I love crocheted sweaters. It's so fitting that March is National Crochet Month - I didn't even know that when the bug hit me in late February. Much to the dismay of Oblique, the crochet bug is not satisfied yet. I finished Dusty Miller, I'm nearly through the back of the Lady's Kanga Sweatshirt...



...and the estranged back of the Hooded Pullover from Weekend Retreat is quickly being transformed into Climbing Cables from More Crocheted Aran Sweaters.

You might notice that Climbing Cables is the same color as the Fisherman Sweater. Well, I really love that Fisherman Sweater pattern and I know I need that sweater, but I realized that I just haven't been crocheting my cable crossings loosely enough. I'm just not sure I can block the acrylic yarn out enough to make it work. When the Hooded Pullover has been obliterated, I'll continue with the yarn from the Fisherman Sweater. I trekked down to JoAnn yesterday for some more sale priced TLC Essentials and ended up with 5 skeins of Medium Thyme. I'm pretty sure it's destiny is the Fisherman Sweater. I'll make sure to crochet more loosely next time...and enlarge the pattern. The print is teeny and doesn't cut it for my weak 34-year-old cruddy eyes.

I also started the Pillow by Annette Petavy from CrochetMe. I'm using stash yarn exclusively for this. I thought at first that I would make this into a throw, but I like the colors and the patterns so much that I think I might just use this pattern to make several pillows for our couch. Everything in my family room is starting to look dark and character-less so this could be just the punch it needs. I also buckled down and finished Baby Genius Burp Cloth #2 from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I love how the solid color softens the effect of the variegated yarn.




On the home front, while the little buddy was extremely disappointed to miss his concert (he's still talking about it today), his fever finally broke sometime between Saturday and Sunday and he's better now. He had a rough day at school yesterday and cried a couple times about the concert, poor thing. I hope today goes better for him. His teachers decided to re-implement a feedback sheet for him. They hadn't been doing it this year but felt that it could give him the motivation he needs right now to get back on track.


For every stage of his day, he gets either a smiley face or sad face for the following categories: I said "ok", I used nice words, I was quiet, and I walked. The sheet from yesterday is kind of funny. The first stage of his day is reading and he got all sad faces for that, but everything else for the rest of the day has a smiley face. Mr. L. really likes to get smiley faces so I hope this continues to work. His teacher even commented that the afternoon went really well for him. Yay!


Time to get back to work. Miss A. is getting braces in a couple weeks (yippee, hoo ha, hooray) and has an appointment today for impressions and x-rays. It's a 40 minute appointment so I'll bring my crocheting. I'd love to bring Oblique, but I'm very near the sleeve cap and I don't want to have to mess with measuring while in the orthodontist office. Perhaps I'll start another burp cloth. That's mindless enough. Cast on at home, get through the first color change, then go go go!

I'm back!

I didn't really go anywhere, but things have been unbelievably crazy. It all started with Presidents' Day...

Mr. T had an interview in Salt Lake City for a job in Fort Collins, CO. The interview went really well so I went to work researching special education in the Fort Collins school district. And I scheduled a market analysis on the house. And I started looking at houses. And I started freaking out. Mr. T got offered the job, but after some very serious consideration, we decided he should turn it down. The job looked great, but every thing else was stacked against us, from health insurance to selling our own house. Oh well. What are you gonna do?


Then there's been work. There's a meeting coming up which means I spend several days going nuts getting the agenda ready to send out to the world. It's crazy, trust me on this. Today is D-day for the agenda - it needs to be sent by the close of business today.

Today is also L.'s first grade concert - an event that has been eagerly looked forward to by all - so I expected today to be a mess, considering the whole agenda thing. However, L. woke at 3 a.m. today crying and flushed with very hot cheeks - but he was sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow again. He had been talking nonsense so I figured he'd had a bad dream, was kind of sleep walking, and would be fine when he woke up for the day.

Wrong-o! Poor kid had a temp of 103. Needless to say, the poor kid doesn't get to take part in the concert that he's been practicing so hard for. He told me he had to go to school so that I could come and hear him sing. I told him he was sick; his body was hot and we needed to make it cool again. He suggested he wear shorts - now I know we're hardy folk here in MN, but I have to draw the line at -10 F. The concert is not happening for Mr. L.

Little Mr. B. even had to miss preschool. L. was complete dead limp noodle weight when I tried to hoist him up to get him out to the van, then he thought he was going to throw up. He collapsed on the couch again and I had to break it to B. that he couldn't go to school today. Great. Two little boys upset about not going to school.

On a brighter note, I'm on a major crochet kick lately. I've nearly finished the Dusty Miller Cardigan from Jane Snedden Peever's Crocheted Aran Sweaters. I just found out that the book is no longer in print. That's so sad! I've now made 3 sweaters from this book and another sweater from the second book, More Crocheted Aran Sweaters. I just found out that both of these are out of print. Look for them at your library and if you like them, I'm sure there's a way to hunt down used copies or copies on eBay.



This cardigan has gone along great. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in Linen - ok, all of you fiber snobs can be quiet! I love Red Heart and thought it perfect for this because I want a workhorse cardigan. Plus, it's tax time so a girl has to make do if she's gonna satisfy her need for fiber arts. I still have to crochet the front bands, but I ran out of yarn and did not want to buy a whole 'nother skein. I was trying to figure out how to tastefully use something else from my stash for those bands when I found some more Linen deep in my stash. Yay!




I finally found a destiny for my TLC Essentials in Persimmon! It had previously been intended for the hooded pullover in Patons Weekend Retreat - which I still love - but I started that back when I really had no idea about what size sweater was appropriate for me. I started knitting the large size and though it went along great, it's just enormous. I'll probably knit it someday, but not with this yarn anymore. Yes, back to the new destiny: the Fisherman Sweater! It was originally in Crochet Today!, but now it's a free download on the Coats and Clark website. It's very cool and going along super fast.



And, I started one more crochet project: the Lady's Kanga Sweatshirt from the Bernat Urban Camouflage booklet. I've wanted this for a while, but never really had a good idea of what I wanted. Well, a new destiny has been granted to the Patons Decor in First Spring. Yeah, I know I started another Mr. Greenjeans (of which the body is near completion) with it, but my recent burst of crochet love has brought this pattern back to the front of my mind. If there was mindless crochet, this is it. The yarn feels silky and flexible and the colors are great. I also really love crocheting with variegated yarns because they look so totally different than when they are knitted. The texture of the stitches really makes the colors look great.



One other quick note. I realized that I like the Unisex Knock-Around Cashmere (um, Shetland Chunky) Pullover with the reverse stockinette side out. The pattern is written to be reversible, but I thought that the way I did my seams made it look not so hot. Happily, I was wrong. Having the reverse stockinette stitch side out means that you get to see the cool slipped stitch edging of the panels and mock shoulder seams and - this is the best part - the center panel hangs completely flat rather than pooching out (really, who needs that happening around their middle?). It's great. I'm wearing it right now.

Well, I supposed I've sloughed off from work long enough now. Have a great weekend everyone!

I hear patience is a virtue...

...but I'm having a very hard time being virtuous!

I subscribed, I paid online, and I'm trying to be patient, but I STILL haven't received my Spring '08 Interweave Knits! It's been below zero for days on end and I need my dose of spring, people!


I'm slowly making my way through the sleeves for Oblique. She isn't making quite the progress I'd hoped for, but my distractions have been many. I've had this rotten flu, which sank in my lungs over the weekend. Luckily my most excellent asthma doc is kind enough to give me an emergency course of prednisone to keep on hand for these very situations. I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.

Another distraction, in a good way, is my girlfriend's baby boy due in April. I had the gift-knitting withdrawals so I'm very pleased to be making things for little Will. Not to mention the serious stash-busting potential. I have enough 100% cotton to make several burp cloths and bibs without ever setting foot in a store. So far I've finished one of each.

I really like this color combo. My next set is going to be even better. I started this one late last night so I haven't had much time with it, but it's looking so great!

I also found out that a cousin of mine is expecting in July...yay! Another baby to knit for - and it's even spaced out enough so that I won't have to knit for two babies at the same time! How thoughtful of them!

Remember I mentioned the mindless knitting I started while watching Lord of the Rings over the weekend? Here's my progress on it. Yep, it's another Mr. Greenjeans.

This time I'm using Patons Decor in First Spring from my stash (there's a theme here...). I had bought 4 skeins for a Clapotis, but made a pair of socks instead and the rest has been sitting here. After seeing a couple Greenjeans in variegated Patons, I got going. I think I will need one more skein to make it all the way through, but that's not so bad.

Lastly, along the same vein of trying to create spring when spring is not even remotely in sight, I've begun my semi-annual kitchen overhaul. The cupboards with dishes were the easy part. I loaded a box full of stuff that I haven't used in at least a year, wiped them down, replaced everything and that was that. The pantry cupboard is another story.

We all know I have a boy with autism. One of the ways we treat this is with the gluten-free/casein-free diet (GFCF diet). I'm also allergic to dairy. We've been doing the diet now for almost 5 years so the cooking part isn't the problem...it's the sheer number of products I need to have on hand. Check out the upper half of my pantry cupboard, which is devoted to all things flour, plus a few cans of chips. It's a deep cabinet, and it's stuffed.

In my former life, these shelves would have been nearly empty. Canisters of white sugar, brown sugar, and wheat flour would have been the only things there. Ok, perhaps also whole wheat flour and bread flour, but big deal.

Now, however, I have the who's who of alternative flours: white rice, brown rice, sweet rice, potato, sorghum, garbanzo, garfava, potato/corn/tapioca starches, and don't forget xanthan and guar gums. Then there's the larger canisters of premixed (by me) Featherlight Flour Blend (Bette Hagman), GF Flour Blend (Carol Fenster), and Quickie Baking Mix (Special Diets for Special Kids 2). Oh yeah, and two kinds of pasta two: rice and wheat.

Yesterday, my kitchen was a cloud of fine GF flour powder as I mixed up fresh batches of all these mixes and tried to make some sense of what I already have. Oye! I gladly put up with the powdery mess of some of these flours, though, because the ladies who developed them have made my life so much easier. These are my favorite flour blends and they are perfect for all my baking. Casein (dairy) free is like tiddly winks compared to the transition to gluten-free, and these flours are fantastic.

I'd love to go more into the GFCF diet, but that will be for another day. Work is beckoning and this post is already far longer than I'd expected. I like doing it though, even if nobody is reading it! Stay warm everyone and have a great day!