into the stash!

yet again.......

Back in September, I succumbed to a nice little loopy ewe kit. It was the astral shawl and a skein of blurple malabrigio. After my sock disappointment (I have somehow lost half the pattern), I needed a new project and this surfaced.

I've cast it on, and it's just a tiny little thing right now....so no pics, patience....

As you can see, miss kitty was unimpressed....

socks....DONE!

just in time.....
finished the green socks.

I'm not really sure what'll happen next.....I have a couple of sock things in the stash I might work on, or maybe a shawl, could it be a colorwork sweater kit that's been in there forever, or something beaded?????

Gotta go dig and see what strikes my fancy........

still knitting socks.....

one is finshed, one at the heel, so it'll be finished this week. They take a long time, because they're BIG. One more pair to go. The next one should be easier, though, worsted weight on size 7's. WAHOOO!

After that, it's back to the stash......

Also looking forward to madrona. (and the flower show). Neither are that far away - first part of feb. Gives one some hope in the crummy winter.......

workin' the socks

This week, it was all about the socks, for ME!
After seeing this self-striping yarn on a popular blog, I just had to have it. It's been a long time since I've knit with self-striping, and I loved the colors. So, off to ebay, the only place it was available.
It arrived last Saturday, and I cast on right away for some simple toe-up, plain-Jane socks. These will be nice and warm, since it's currently 17 degrees here. They went pretty fast, and they're all done. No second sock syndrome here.

 

I also rooted through the stash a bit and found some knitpicks sock yarn I've been hoarding for a while. They'll make a good pair of man-socks, and one is already half way done.

 

I have to say, my experiment with lorna's laces solemate was a complete fail. The yarn is not as thick as I'd like, so it really doesn't keep you warm, and both projects turned out really small, even though they seemed the right size while they were being made. Not sure what happened there, but I don't think I'd use it again for socks or gloves, maybe a shawl if I liked the colors. DH says his socks feel "plasticey", not sure what that means, but I don't think it's good.

just sayin here......

 

 

This week, more socks and more stash knitting.  It's supposed to MAYBE snow again. The difference this time is that the ground is completely frozen, so, snow or rain, it's going to make a HUGE mess for a couple of days until everything thaws out.

 

working the stash (and other things)

So, after finishing the man-sock, I decided I needed a little treat. I rooted through the stash (don't ask me how long that took), and found this little scarf kit that had been in there, well, a while.
It was a fun little knit, and finished in a week......Madtosh sock, special loopy ewe color, the pattern is nefertem. It's more purple than it looks here, bad lighting

 

I also succumbed to my yarn desires this week and bought this fun self-striping goodie off of ebay. Yes, it's the same color that the harlot used to knit her socks. Fell in love with it when I saw it on her blog and couldn't help myself. I divided it equally in half and I'm working on a toe-up plane jane  sock, and it's going very quickly......

Also a bit off on the color.....

 

When this is done, it's back to the stash. I found some worsted that I bought for slipper socks last year, a knitpicks sock kit, and another dark green potential sock.

 

Don't worry, I'll have PLENTY to do, even if it does snow this week.......Have I said how much I hate snow????/

 

Ok, sucked it up

and finished the man Christmas sock.....
no pics, it IS a present after all....but they're BOTH done and put away.
YEAH!!

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be....it never is.

Next up.....after rooting through the stash a bit, I found a cute little shawl made with some nice, squishy mad tosh. I think I deserve some nice mad tosh knitting after that......

I'll leave you with  a pic of miss kitty, who has entered her rebellious teen aged phase, and woke me up at 4am by standing on my head. Anyone need an extra cat??

has anyone seen my motivation??

It seems to be missing.......Yes, I still have ONE Christmas man sock to finish and some slippers to knit and felt. Think I can do it? Think I wanna do it?   not so much.....don't know why, just don't.
It's pouring rain today, though, and the stew is in the crock pot. I think I'll suck it up and finish the sock (gotta start it first)

Maybe I'll feel better when it'sdone....

This week, I worked on the blankie  bit, nothing to see though.

OK!!!Off to sock!!

I'll leave you with a pic of sweet baby Yogi. He turned 3 just recently......time flies.....

cat house

This week, I decided to make our little kitty criminal a new house. She loves to burrow into the towels while we're taking a shower, so we thought she'd like her own little cat cave.....
We were right

 

I was pretty proud of myself.....this was knit with some stuff in the stash that I had bought at a yard sale about a million years ago. It was originally intended to be some kind of afghan. It felted up like a dream, and I think it turned out pretty darned good, so does miss kitty.

 

Next week, back to Christmas knitting. I'm inspired by my felting success, so I think there's going to be some slippers in my future.

plugging away at the blankie.....

yesterday was a dark and stormy day here, so the only activity, aside from making chili, was knitting on the blankie and watching movies. It's making some nice progress, nothing much new to see, though.....

We also went to a craft fair/bazaar and bought miss kitty her very own catnip mouse, after which, chaos abounded. This morning, the cats are all lying around, wasted, and the mouse is no where to be found.....

I also have to take a moment to rant, just a bit......When did the day after Halloween become Christmas???????
I went out to run some errands on Friday, only to find that we had jumped into some kind of time warp continuum that took us straight to Christmas! decorated trees, Christmas carols and all. YIKES!!! I know it's a shorter shopping time this year, but honestly......At least when I worked retail, about 100 years ago, we weren't allowed to put up Christmas stuff until the day after thanksgiving, and,  honestly, that was bad enough. It gave me a lifetime case of Bah-humbug. So, let's put the Christmas stuff away for a bit and have thanksgiving first, OK????

And while I'm on it.....I HATE spring ahead and fall back! Almost enough to consider moving to Hawaii or Arizona!!!!

Ok, rant over......
we will now return you to your regular programming......

back at the blankie

well, I finished my Christmas leftie, and I'm back at the blankie......not much progress, though....I found some nasty sinus crap this week (or maybe it was just and air quality issue), and spent the better part of 2 days doing absolutely nothing. I'm feeling better now...the fog has lifted, both literally (weather-wise), and mentally, so back to work on the blankie.....

We're supposed to be back to the rain this week, so there will probably be more progress. Now I just need to get miss kitty to leave it alone!!!!!

I still have one Christmas man-sock to finish - not much enthusiasm there......Maybe I'll work on it a bit at a time.....one blankie square one hour of sock knitting......

another leftie!

the same one from last week, with the leftover bugga leaves. It's almost done, just a little diversion from a bad kitty that caused it to fall off the needles for a short amount of time. No pics on that one, it's put away now, safely in a drawer.

hard to believe that innocent little face hiding there could be guilty of anything, huh???

Next week, finishing leftie, back to the blankie, some Christmas socks, maybe......
have to see what the weather does.

Christmas knitting....

Done!
This week, I finished my little leftie (love it), and returned to Christmas knitting. I made this pair of gloves for my sister from some leftover bugga that I had from a sweater. They are thick and warm, and I  think she'll love them. Yes, that right hand ring finger is a bit short. If you remember, she lost it to a dog bite a couple of years ago, so she really appreciates having "custom" gloves.

 

I also had enough leftovers from the bugga to make her a matching leftie.

Dug around in the stash (I have a LOT of stash), and found this nice complimentary color to do the background...both yarns are 10 percent cashmere, so I think it's going to turn out great.

 

 

I'll be working on leftie this week. We'll see how far I get, though. The weather is supposed to be nice, so, I'm thinking last chance to paint outside and plant my bulbs.

 

Next up, knitting-wise.....finishing the other man-sock.

 

 

Leftie

Ok, I'll admit it, I couldn't wait......my only excuse is that it was raining and miserable and I NEEDED something new.....so, I cast on with my cute little leftie kit I bought at OFF last weekend.
It's really a fun, kind of mindless knit, with just enough interest in the leaf pattern to keep you on your toes. I made some pretty good progress (before the weather got better).

I might finish this up this week, depending on the weather, of course, and then I ABSOLUTELY have to get back to Christmas knitting. Another pair of gloves with some leftover bugga, and, I think, another of these lefties, hopefully with the leftover, leftover bugga to be the leaves.....wouldn't that be kind of a nice set? I think so.......

I'll leave y'all with a couple of miss kitty pics.......warning.....cuteness ahead.

 

she's totally outgrown her box......

 

yes, that's the same box.....

 

It was a dark and stormy day........

On Friday, we took off for OFF. (Oregon flock and fiber). We took our time getting down there, stopping at Twisted in Portland (awesome yarn store if you're ever there), and fabric depot (also in Portland).

Fabric depot is a HUGE fabric store, like, if they don't have it, you don't need it kinda huge. I didn't succumb, I mean, buy anything......this time.

After the depot, we went off to our hotel, only to find the weather report had declined into "crazed weatherman, sky is falling" mode. Seems there was a bit of a typhoon, left over from hitting japan, coming right towards OUR fiber festival. Being the hardy northwesterners we are (and not minding a bit of wet wool), we decided to go the next day and make the best of it.

Well, it WAS windy and rainy, and some of the vendors gave up before they started, but the tents outside were dry and there were plenty of inside folks and critters to look at.

I only came home with one thing......It's a miss babs "kit" to make leftie, a cute little project I've been wanting to do for a while.....

 

I won't start on it right away (Christmas knitting, ya know), but it's nice to know it will be there when I'm ready.

 

We also made some new friends.....

 

Pam's new bestie, mr poofy pants

These guys wanted to come home with us, they really did.

We were good, though, and left the critters where they belonged, although I think I want a Siamese angora bunny, just sayin'.

 

We managed to get out of there before the weather got REALLY bad, and a good time was had by all.

What more could you ask for?

 

Next week....more blankie and some Christmas knitting....wahoo!!

 

off to OFF and switching gears......

On Friday, we'll be packing up the car and taking off to OFF. (Oregon flock and fiber).
It should be a fantastic time. The vendor list alone is enough to make any knitter weep with anticipation, over 130, just sayin'.
Next week, there will be a full report. I have to remember to take the camera, or better yet, take pictures.
Needless to say, I'll probably be sleeping in on sunday!

In other news, I decided to take a week or so off from knitting man Christmas socks, and to change direction a bit on my sock yarn leftovers. Remember all those hexipuffs I've made? Well.....I decided I didn't want to sew them all together and switched projects entirely to THIS

 

So, now I'm dismantling the hexis and making this little blankie, which will actually be a BIG
 blankie eventually. It's kinda fun to see the different yarns, some of which are mine and some gifted from friends. It makes me think "this was a pair of socks, or this was a sweater".  I'll be plugging away on this for a while. When I get bored, I'll go back to the man-socks, and the pair of bugga gloves I need to knit for Christmas.

 

This week, the camp loopy yarn arrived too...If you finish all 3 challenges with camp loopy, you get a free skein of yarn. This year, it was lorna's laces soulemate. I chose this colorful blue and white. No idea what I'll make with it, but I do like the blue.

 

 

Next week, more blankie (it's supposed to rain anyway), and a report from OFF. I think I need to rest up for all the potential yarny awesomness!

 

secret christmas knitting.....

nothing to see here.....
I've just been working on some secret Christmas knitting.....socks if you must know....great big man-socks, and, honestly, they're kinda boring. I have one done and I'll start the second this week. It's supposed to rain anyway....

The man-socks have slowed me down a bit and I'm just not feeling the knitting mojo right now. I'm hoping my trip to OFF (Oregon flock and fiber) at the end of the month will give my inspiration a kick in the behind. With nearly 130 vendors, it looks to be quite the experience! That ought to keep me going all winter.

The loopy ewe summer camp yarn should be available in a couple of weeks, and I'm looking forward to that. In the past, it's been wollemeise, and dream in color smooshy with cashmere, so I can hardly wait to see what they have in store for us this time around. They really seem to like the Shalimar breathless there, and a nice skein of that would be fine by me.

I'll leave you with "cat in a box". We had to find her a bigger box, since she's growing like a bad weed. Goofy cat.

Paying it forward....

this week, there were more than a few rainy days....They were spent running errands and working on this little project.
Now, it's not particularly my cup of tea, but it was easy......
It came about because one of my pilates clients asked if I could finish this for a friend of hers. The friend apparently was determined to do it, but couldn't figure it out and really wanted the little scarf.
1x1 rib, with 7 different colors, just knit until you run out and start the next one.....it's all done except a couple of ends to weave in.

she offered  to pay me for doing it, but meh......it wasn't THAT hard.

I also finished the Christmas gloves, no pic. I don't know if I'm happy about them or not. The lorna's laces solemate seems to stretch a bit as you work with it, and I think they came out a bit big. I used the smallest needles, size 0......I'll give them to her anyway, but I also have some nice bugga leftovers and I think I'll end up making another pair.
Also started working on some man-socks (a Christmas present too), but didn't get too far. I'm using the solemate for those too....we'll see.

This week, working outside until we can't anymore (it'll  happen soon enough). I'll probably work on the socks a bit and gift the scarf when my client comes back on Wednesday.
We're also going to the fair on Friday......look at the critters and have some lunch. There's just nothing cuter than a baby pigmy goat!!

some fo's and a goodie

this week,  I was happy to finish my vitamin D sweater. It was the final project for camp loopy. This will qualify me for the "free" yarn. Last year it was smooshy with cashmere, the previous year, wollemeise. I can hardly wait to see what they have in store for this year.
Here's the finished sweater.....
the pics don't do it justice. Just doesn't look good on a hanger....

I also finished my girasole, and put it out on the deck to bake while the weather was still hot.
I would SO do this pattern again and again.....it was a fun challenge, but not too hard.
I think it turned out beautifully.....

Now, it's back to some gift knitting for Christmas, a pair of gloves for my sister and some man-socks.
I've already finished one glove and started the second one....no pics of that yet. I should be done this week with those, and then it's on to the man-socks.

Speaking of the loopy ewe......in spite of my self-enforced yarn diet, I had to have their anniversary kit. I'm just a sucker for blue and those cute little sheep stitch markers just tipped me over the edge.

 

like, I need more yarn......

a burst of finishitis

On Thursday, it rained....for the first time in two months. I took the opportunity to finish a BUNCH of things that have been languishing around the house, waiting for a rainy day.....
first up, leafling......This one only needed some buttons to be done.
(I HATE sewing on buttons)

Next, the bee sweater....I'm still not sure I like it, it came out kinda big....
It only needed to have the finished front edge sewn down.....

 

I also blocked a little scarf I made with the leftover bee sweater yarn. (there's still LOTS left)

 

And, last but not least.....my finished vitamin D for the loopy ewe camp project 3. Completing this will qualify me for the "free" yarn. Gotta love free yarn!!!

 

For my next trick.....I'm working the edging on the girasole, hoping to block that one this week. It's so big, I'll have to put it out on the deck to dry. Good thing the weather will be nice.

 

I also had to get the loopy ewe anniversary kit. I'm trying to save my pennies for OFF, but that deep blue and the sheep stitch markers just JUMPED into my cart. I couldn't help myself. Go over there and check it out, you'll have to have one too. You can thank me later.

 

 

Once Girasole is done, I'll be working on my Christmas gift knitting. I promise!

 

i got nothin' for ya

Spent the week working away on the vitamin D sweater, watering the yard and weeding.
Can't keep up with any of them, and can't seem to finish them either.
The sweater is in the "endless stockinette" stage, where you just feel like you're knitting backwards and nothing is getting accomplished. I'll probably finish it this week, though. It will just need a bit of steaming/blocking and some pics and it'll be ready to go. Then it'll be back to girasole and some Christmas knitting.

I'll leave you with some cute kitty pics instead, why not.....

as you can see, she's outgrowing her strawberry box, although she still loves it.....
we're moving her on to a salad box......

I'm not sure what the box attraction is, but at least it's cheap.