Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I Can never Again Say . . .


That I never win anything. Now that statement spoken aloud would be completely false.


Look at what I won



WOo Hooo. I have never tried Malabrigo or this awesome scarf pattern so I am so pleased that I have won. I cannot wait to make this!


I also have been adding to ravelry a bit slower than I thought I might. I was hoping to be able to work on it more. I have a bunch of things ready to add so the big chunk of that work is done. Although I have been trading with some really great people so that is definitely helping my focus.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Weeds are just a matter of perspective


I don't even know where to start with today. So many things filling up my brain. This blogging thing is a bit odd because it is a journal, but not the journal I keep just for me. I don't know if that makes much sense.


Happy news-I got my Ravelry invite this week. I am littlepeeps if you are so inclined to add me as a friend. It is a bit lonely with the friends 0 staring at you from the screen. What to say about ravelry. I could get so lost in a giant time vacuum on that site if I am not careful. Lots of yummy yarn pr#n, inspiring projects, fun knitting talk. I am going to use ravelry to my utmost advantage. I really would like to catalog and organize my stash and this site is the perfect way to do that. I have far more yarn than I know what to do with and I need to start busting a hole through it. So, my DH put up all kinds of shelves for me, bought me small see through totes and I will be photographing,cataloging and such for a few weeks at least. I am going to assign my yarn to future projects in queue, destash it or, in rare instances, keep it until I know what I would like to do with it. Projects may change but yarn must fall into these criteria. Hopefully this will get me past the daydreaming stage and using up the really beautiful yarn that I already have.


I also need to start working on one of my other passions, quilting. I have culled my fabrics and quilting books for the last few years so I am left with all kinds of things I really want to work on. My sewing machine is calling my name.


Next post:Finished Monkey Socks, my 1st pair.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Cure for UFO's

Apparently for me it is going to the lake. DH and LM go out fishing and playing. I sat in the shade enjoying the cool lake breeze and working on my knitting.

Finished: Saturday Market Bag


Yarn: Peaches & Cream worsted weight cotton. Color: Peppercorn Ombre
Needles US 15
Pattern: http://www.magknits.com/June06/patterns/market.htm with modifications here http://disdressed.blogspot.com/2006/08/string-bag.html I made my handles a bit larger (for throwing over the stroller handles since it is a few miles walk with a two year old to farmer's market on Friday's in my village.

Quick, fun knit. More of these are definetly in the works. I love me some kitchen cotton yarn, this colorway--not so much. While I thought they were pretty in the cone nothing I have knit with this colorway has been pretty. I have been using up this yarn on these bags and some dishcloths. These cones have a lot more yardage than I gave them credit for. I have gotten a ton of compliments on the bag at the supermarket and the farmer's market. They fold up quite small but hold a great deal.
Next nearly finished project:

Mason-Dixon Baby Kimono
Yarn: Sugar and cream dishcloth cotton scraps.
Needles: Whatever was called for in the pattern.
Mods: I made it more of an extended cardigan than a kimono due to yarn shortage.
I thought I had enough of the yellow for the entire kimono but I ran short. I am going to reinforce that curling button band with ribbon and have hidden snaps. I was thinking of knitting a big star applique for the back and a few small ones for the front to balance it out more. The good news is I used up a bunch of little scraps lying around. Now I just need to find little star buttons.
Work in progress:

Well I have been work on this last minute knit for quite some time, off and on. This is the infamous chevron scarf. I keep going back and forth about deciding if I like how it is coming out. The brown semi-solid is a fab yarn from fearlessfibers.etsy.com and the blue (which is a bit thicker) is from twowaters.etsy.com. Great yarns but I have to say again Fearless Fibers yarn is dyed to perfection. I think you would be hard pressed to find a better semi-solid sock yarn out there. I am almost 1/2 way done and I am just going to keep moving along. It is supposed to be a Christmas present so I need to pick up my pace a bit.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Anyone want to trade


http://www.flickr.com/photos/northcountrymom/

Anything in there marked destash is up for grabs. So far I have been going through my knitting stash-- next up quilty stash.

Trade list:


2 Skeins Rayon Rick Rack yarn in fingering weight. 650 yds a skein. Colorway: coral from an etsy seller. Impulse buy. I don’t wear anything yellow.
Patons Divine- 2 full skeins in charcoal gray color. 80% of the cream left (not knit with but wrapped in a loose ball.) 50% of blue (not knit with but in a ball.)
9 skeins Fantacia Cinese from Italy. 70% viscose 30% cotton Color 121 navy blue. Each skein is 50grams approx. 93 yds. Aran weight.
2 skeins of Lion Brand chenille yarn—ball bands missing. Dark green and cream. Maybe a yard or two missing from each.
Fan Pel fur type novelty yarn. 8 skeins. Blues, tans, cream.
½ cone of light DK weight rayon chenille.
2+skeins of NY Splash multi-color yarn. 2 full skeins 1 small remnant. Left over from an infant sweater.
1 ½ skeins Lion brand Moonlight Mohair—blues.
5+ skeins Moda Dea Ricochet. Color: soul.
4 skeins ICE gold novelty fur type yarn. Great for costumes, maybe?
4+ skeins Moda Dea Ricochet. Color: Salsa
1 skein Crystal Palace Iceland Yarn. Not sure of color.
2 skeins Precious unger yarn. Yarn: Precious unger 50% camelhair, 50% lambswool 1.35 oz. color 1 handwash. supersoft. Not sure what the yardage is on these.
Handdyed fingering weight from Etsy. This is a rayon/cotton/poly blend 400+ yards. It was advertised by the etsy seller to be fingering weight. Color: Wild Piazzi 3 strands twisted together.
Noro Yoroi 2 skeins Noro Yoroi 87% wool, 7% cotton 6% silk. Color no. 5 lot no.A 100grams 120 meters. Gorgeous new yarn.
Sunny Yellow Rayon Rick Rack Rayon Rick Rack fingering weight. From an etsy seller. 625 yards
Noro Himaraya 8 skeins. Discontinued very similar to noro kureyon but with less colors in the ball and longer color repeats. Felts great.
Destashing 2 skeins French sock yarn Bergere de France. A tweedy gray-green color with flecks of tan. Cablenyl—230yds per skein.

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/northcountrymom/

Looking for:
Indie sock yarn
Cotton/cotton blend yarns- esp. Tahki cotton classic, brown sheep cotton fleece, d. mumm, rowan calmer
Berroco plush
Or Baby knitting books—try me.
Rowan cork

Heather Ross or Heather Bailey fabrics


I have a ton more to trade but it will take me a few days to get the rest together. I do have dogs, cat, and an angora rabbit but they are not allowed near the stash.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Thoughts of Independence . . .

I think I could write entire novels on my thoughts and philosophy of independence and freedom, especially how goverments warp these to fit their needs. But don't worry-- I won't do it here. Except to say that I had a huge tag sale this weekend (over 4 full-size truckloads of stuff). What didn't sell went to my local fire department for their annual auction. I am relieved to say it is gone, gone, gone!

I am legend (well at least in my own mind.) I am the packrat of the family, as well as the historian- geneologist- crafter- fixer of all things fiber, you get the idea. Those aforementioned truckloads were just things I have been picking up around the house and shoving into boxes for the last 6 months. No deep cleaning of the house or closets or dressers or attic or garage. Are you starting to see my packratting compulsion.

Anyway, these truckloads have been pretty inspirational for me. Time to start cleaning house. I started with the most important space in the house-- my studio. Anyone interested in trading with me. I am going to start my wish list here on this post.

All things up for trade will be listed here:

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Strawberry Moon


Since I love strawberries it should come as no suprise that this time is one of my favorite moments of summer. I took LM and DH out strawberry picking. We picked about 25lbs. I have a bit of jam and pies to put up but quite a few get eaten fresh. Lm can eat berries faster than I can pick them. Again this year he decided that it was far easier to pick from my basket then from the plants. Well, I guess it does have a certain logic.


I have been working on a new quilt project and finally joining the cheveron scarf craze. I am about a foot into it and I can't decide if I like it or not.
Things I want to remember:
-- LM doesn't say birdies he says "bwwdys." He loves animals and for many of them know their name, the sounds or action they make and where you can find them living. Not bad for two.