October 2004 Archives

I've been bombarded with comment spamming! Aaarrgghhh!!!! Do people really believe that we will follow along and contact them for such dumb stuff! Really give us a break. If you're having problems and use MT go here for an excellent tutorial and tips on how to combat this problem.

Back to the world of knitting

I've made alot of progress on my SIL's xmas gift. I'm knitting her a scarf using a simple garter drop stitch pattern. The yarn calls for a US 5-6 but I'm using US 9s for a lacy effect. The yarn is 50/50 merino wool and kid mohair. Yummy stuff! I'm doing the same pattern for my MIL's scarf but instead I'm using a thicker yarn and added some eyelash to it. I'm thinking of adding beaded fringe to the scarves.

The poncho is also coming along and I hope to be done by late November.

Another trip

Yes, boys and girls I'll be heading out of town tomorrow, which means I'll miss late night at KH again! Darn it!!! The DH and I are going up to Maine for about 5 days. We're driving up there and stopping in NYC to visit friends. I wonder if I can make a yarn stop? Hhmmm...must convince hubby of importance. I'd like to visit Habu.

Speaking of yarn stops...any suggestions? I'll be in Saco, near Portland. I know there's lots of textile shops but I have no idea where the yarn is. I did find out that Tess' Designer Yarns is 4 hours north, Halcyon Yarns is 45 min away, and there's more in Portland. I can't wait! I want to pick up local yarns and spinning items.

If you have any suggestions drop me a line.

I couldn't go to late night at Knit Happens last night. So sad, so very sad. Instead, I was on my way to Gaithersburg for dinner and laughter. The DH and I decided to take the metro up instead of driving and killing someone on the road. Good idea. We had a great time celebrating my SIL's bday - the big 30!

I brought along my poncho and knitted some rows. I still have a good 10 inches to go. At this rate I won't be done until Spring. The problem is the knitting is so darn simple that I'm bored to tears. Right now I only have 3 projects on needles. And all three are super simple. I think I'll have to throw in a more interesting item in there. Maybe a sock? HHmmm....socks....or mittens...hhhmm...mittens. I did pick up some yummy Dancing Leaf Farm yarn just for mittens. Oooohhhh...yes, I must start that.

Nooks

My hobbies have taken over our family room. Yes, I admit it. I try to be organized but sometimes my nook flows everywhere. The cats don't even know what to make of it. I have a large clear plastic tote (you know the kind you can throw anything in) that holds my yarn stash; a small tool bag filled with ribbons, fabric, felt, embroidery supplies, etc; a large woven bag that holds my knitting magazines, books, yarn and more knitting supplies; a vintage standing knitting bag with my current project(s) and supplies; my beading tackle box; a flat bead organizer; random beading supplies laying around; and last but not least my expandable folder with my upcoming book making project. That doesn’t include random shopping bags, filled with lovely yarn, hanging out with the rest of it.

Does this make you dizzy? It makes me dizzy just thinking about it. My DH just rolls his eyes and smiles. He knows how it is to have consuming habits. His occupies our storage area. So what can I do to remedy this problem? Why buy more storage and organize!

Here's what I'm thinking of getting:

I could have this in the family room and move everything else upstairs and set up my craft room. This cart would have my essentials and current project. I could also use some of my fabric to drape over it and make it look more like furniture. If there's any fellow craftaholics reading this please drop me a comment and let me know what you use to organize. I'd love to read about other solutions! TIA.

More books

Did I mention I collect books too? From the wonderful world of eBay:

Somerset Studio: Return to Asia

Japanese Felt Fabric Doll, Animal and Toys' craft book

Do you see a theme here? The first book is for ideas and inspiration. I'd like to make my own book/journal, and I love anything to do with the Asian culture. The second book is for making felt fabric toys and such - yes, I'm knitting a toy but I'm also thinking of making some angels. Funny thing though I'm not sure where I'll find the time to do all of this. Regardless, finding things to do, generating creativity is fun and warms my soul. Speaking of creativity and inspiration have you seen Wee Wonderful's cat doll? Run over there and check it out!

And I want this!

And you thought I would be talking about knitting today. Well, maybe later. Ok, how about scroll down and skip this?

I've been gathering books these last couple of days.

From Atomic Books:
Barefoot Gen: #1 and #3 - a graphic novel written in the 70's by a Hiroshima survivor. Awesome, just awesome!

and one more but the title escapes me. It's another graphic novel.

From the library:
Knitted toys : 21 easy-to-knit patterns for irresistible soft toys
Mostly mittens : traditional knitting patterns from Russia's Komi people
Feltcraft: Making Dolls, Gifts and Toys

and I bought from there:
3 Curious George books
African themed alphabet book
What Game Shall We Play by Pat Hutchins

Support your local library! They're always a great source for cheap but awesome books!

Knitting

I'm slowly starting my Xmas gifts. I'm done with one and have started two others. Currently I'm working on two scarves using a simple drop stitch pattern. Besides these I haven't felt the urge to start anything new. I still have my poncho to complete. I think I will concentrate on those and then move onto a larger project. As you can see from the titles of books I've checked out I'll be knitting a toy soon. That will be a present for my niece. I'm thinking of doing a bunny.

Thanks to all for your compliments on Klaralund! I really do love this sweater. I've worned it twice now and have received compliments left and right. Thank you!

Here's my finished Klaralund! Yippppeee! Last night I cranked out the last bit of seaming. Best of all it fits wonderfully. I ended up using US 8 bamboos and was left with about 2 whole skeins. I love it! This is a super easy sweater to make and is definitely doable for a beginner.

RAOK & SP3

In this week's mail I received my latest gift from my secret pal in Canada. It's a card that you can plant and in the Spring you'll have flowers. Neat, huh? Thank you for noticing that I'm gardening freak! I absolutely love this.

I also received my first fiber RAOK from the wonderful Michelle at The Dye Pot. I received a cool peacock card along with 2 handspun, handdyed skeins. Thank you!!!!

my SP 3 card is on the right

Jewelry

I've also been very busy making jewelry and playing with my beads. Below are two bracelets I made using vintage Japanese beads, Czech glass and Chinese crystal. The silver watch/bracelet is made from chain maille sterling silver rings and a watch face that I bought.

LYS Fall Sale stash

And yes, I'm a sucker for sales. I went to my LYS yesterday and took advantage of my $25 gift certificate and their generous sales. Here's the booty:

I picked up enough New Tweed Tahki to make Dolman Updated from the IK Winter 03 issue. Also featured is this yummy wool/cashmere blend in a gorgeous red, and 1 skein of Trekking XXL. Love it!

That's it! I've been hoarding these photos for ever! Now I have to run and continue on my holiday knitted gifts.

Last night was pretty quiet at Knit Happens for the usual late night gathering. Regardless, we had loads of fun! I worked on seaming Klaralund with the fabulous help from Carol. Thanks Carol!

Afterwards, I hurried home to watch some of the debates and continue my seaming. The seaming won! It's sooooooooo frustrating watching those debates and listening to that idiot ramble on with his grade school English skills. I'm an immigrant, naturalized citizen, and I speak better than his Ivy League school a$$. Enough said!

Klaralund is about 90% done in the seaming category. I promise pictures as soon as I'm done. I've also completed my first holiday present. Yippeee! One down ten or so more to go. Currently I'm obsessing about dolls (see previous post). I'm searching for cool fabric, buttons, ribbons, etc. Funny thing though, I'm knitting this doll and he/she won't need an outfit made from fabric since it's already part of the pattern. I can't help it though. Looking at all of the DIY dollmakers makes my mouth water! There's such awesome stuff out there.

New Wallet

Check out my new wallet from poketo.com. Isn't it adorable?

Go get yourself one before they run out!

Yes, I have finished Klaralund! No photos yet until it's completely seamed. I have also started my holiday knitted items. I'm making hats, scarves, and possibly mittens for some family members. Oh but best of all, I'm making a knitted doll for my niece. I'm using a pattern from Bouton D'or Layette #11. Here's a pic of the book:

In preparation for this endeavor, I've started scouting fabrics, trims, notions, cute doll patterns, more fabric, etc. I've been surfing around and came across this link via Wee Wonderful's site: Fun Quilts. If you like non-traditional quilts, those with more abstracts images than scenes then this is your place. I'm currently drooling over the fat quarters sampler. Yummy! What I will do with these I don't know. I'm not a quilter but I'm thinking purse linings, doll clothes, etc.

My doll/craft supply shopping began this weekend with a trip to JoAnn's for their Columbus Day sale. I picked up felt, fabric, ribbons, embroidery thread, and needles. On my way home I noticed that my local Frank's Nursery & Crafts was having a store closing sale. Off I went on Sunday to check it out. I picked up some more ribbon, a lovely basket, craft glue, and garden supplies. The ribbons will be used for my jewelry making efforts as well as embellishments for clothes and other crafts. If you have one of these stores near you I would recommend stopping by!

I got a really cool gift from Annie - two downloads from Audible.com! Awesome! I've been wanting to try this out for quite some time. Thank you Annie!!!!

Julien's Afghans

My Mother and Grandmother have made a wonderful donation in memory of Julien. Check out this great crocheted afghan:

This one and three others have been donated to afghans for Afghans. Gracias Mami y Abuelita!

More inspiration

Today's post from Norma has a beautiful pic of her new purse handles. These were made by Gibson Girl Design. I had seen something similar to this at Knit Happens as one of their displays. They currently have a class on making these. It's something I definitely want to try out especially since I have so many beads! Yikes!!

This week I picked up two books at the library that were ordered for me. I got Knit and crochet with beads by Lily M. Chin and Knitting With Wire. Knitting With Wire is quite interesting especially if you want to venture into another realm of knitting and jewelry making. I believe Rowan has kits for knitting necklaces. You could probably get the materials for much cheaper though.

What Am I Knitting?

Yes, I know. I have the same question for myself. I had started the kitty bed with this yarn I got off eBay but I just can't knit with it! This yarn is absolutely foul. It smells, it feels waxy, it smells, it's just gross. So, I think I will get some other yummy stuff and begin ASAP. I'm also finishing up Klaralund. Slowly but surely. The sleeves can really drive you insane. I'm doing both at the same time so it seems much longer. What else, let's see...

1. Little Leaf Scarf, in Koigu, US 6 - I need to rip back and restart. Yucky.

2. Poncho - in Mountain colors Weaver's Wool, Colinette Mohair, US 8

3. Basketweave Pullover, in Lana D'Oro, US 8s or 9s

It doesn't seem long but I'm stressing about my holiday knitted gifts. I may have to reduce my list.

But first, here's a picture of the festival from the parking area:

I meant to take more of the vendor area but got caught shopping with not much time to spare. As promised, here's the haul from the event...

click image for larger picture

Pikachu and Lobo feel the need to inspect before I can take a picture. They are very curious about the cashmere and coopsworth fiber. Starting from the top left corner: 6oz of handdyed wool/mohair from Three Waters Farm, 14oz of multicolored coopsworth, 2 skeins of Salsa from Dancing Leaf Farm, 2 oz of cashmere fiber, 2.5 oz of mohair locks from Spirit Trail, 5 oz of kid mohair from Misty Mountain, 1 skein of handspun, handdyed wool/mohair from Three Waters Farm. That's it! Oh and I picked up a pattern for a flapper hat, which the Three Waters skein is slotted for.

I had loads of fun finding these items and making my purchases. Now I just need to figure out how to spin. For now though, I'm starting to stress on my holiday knitted items. I need to start on those otherwise I'll never finish. Yikes!

Are you knitting any gifts this holiday season? If so, I'd love to hear what others are doing.

I had a great time this weekend visiting friends at Smith Mountain Lake! We went hiking, kayaking, and mushroom hunting. Awesome place!

On the way back home I stopped at the Virginia Fall Fiber Festival. What can I say? This event was wonderful! Lots of people, kids and animals. Everyone was super duper friendly and helpful. The exhibitors had great merchandise and the weather was just gorgeous! I have pictures but I'll post those later tonight. But just to give you a taste I picked up things from Spirit Trail, Three Waters Farm, Wild n' Wooly, Dancing Leaf Farm, and Stoney Crest Farm. Let's just say I see spinning in my future....

I highly recommend this event to those that are easily overwhelmed by large festivals. This one is just the right size, not too big but not too small. Just right. It's easy to get to, great scenery, and the right mix of vendors, classes, and demos.

I would love to go to Rhinebeck or Stitches East but I think that will have to wait for next year. I'm thinking instead of going to the Countryside Artisans Tour in the foothills of Sugarloaf Mountain in rural Maryland. There's two fiber shops on the tour plus pottery, painting, glassworks, etc.

More later...