Bran & I Did It

Right in our town hall.

Progress

I started this little Trellis sweater last week and am really cranking on it. So far I've completed the back (which was almost finished in the photo above) as well as the left front. I'm now more than half finished with the right front and I can't wait to get it finished up and gifted to it's new owner.

Duder's Dale

From the Dalegarn book #148. This is pattern nr. 12 and is worked with 3 colors of sport yarn. The pattern calls for Falk but I improvised. Next up, some matching mittens most likely missing the cute little pattern since all those floats and little hands won't mix. Damn, could I get any more m words in that run-on sentence?

Holiday Cash

I really hate begging on the blog but here I am doing it. Duder goes to St. Bernard's School. It's a small Catholic school (all religions are welcome, however) with small classes and amazing teachers. The largest class this year has 15 children and Duder's kindergarten class has just 10 students with a teacher and assistant for the class. They do tons of stuff with the kids and are patient and loving beyond belief. Because they are a private school they depend on donations to fund a huge part of the expense of operating the school. So here comes the begging...

Each year the school does a Holiday Calendar Lottery. Tickets are $10 each but every day beginning Thanksgiving Day and ending New Year's Day, a ticket is drawn from the barrel. If your ticket is drawn it gets put back in the barrel for more chances to win. Prizes are typically $50 a day throughout the week (although there are 2 days where they are $20.08 or $28) with weekends being $100 a day (again, 2 days where they are $29 or $30). Thanksgiving is $250 and Christmas and New Year's Day are $500 each. So there's a chance to win up to $3207.08 in prizes.

Since I'm begging you to buy a ticket to help support this amazing school I thought it only fair to give something in return. I will send everyone who purchases a ticket my pattern for the Trinity Sunrise bag over there in the sidebar. But wait, that's not all. At the beginning of January, I will draw a name and give the winner the yarn to knit the bag. Color choices will depend on what the LYS has in stock but there will be a choice. If you purchase more than 1 ticket you get more than one chance to win the yarn. How's that?

If you'd like to play along let me know and I'll shoot you my address so you can send a check or money order made payable to St. Bernard's School.

Duder and I thank you for your support! :-)

Pretty In Pink

I knit this little BSJ last month for Dan's boss. He and his wife had their first grandbaby around the end of September. I used the modification for the Blouson Sleeves and love the outcome. I will totally knit it like this again. I used Fleece Artist Merino Sock and a size 4 Addi Turbo. Next time I'll use a contrasting color for the cuffs and maybe an i-cord border. Too much fun!

Shhhhh...

Secret Pal 13 opened Wednesday.

There are a couple minor changes to the rules so please be sure to read through them if you think you'd like to join. :-)

Boring

Some plain jane grey socks. Knit for Daddy. Because he loves my socks.

Making a Splash

Might I present my latest FO?

From Miss Bea's Colours by Louisa Harding knit in Jaeger Matchmaker Merino DK color #656.

I love this sweater. I hated knitting this sweater. The chart was a real pain in the ass to work from since it had all 3 or 4 sizes in one spot with different colored lines to represent each size. Couple that with the fact that the sleeve charting was placed in the center of the back and front charts and well...it was a pain in the ass. Definitely not a pattern for knitting in the car. But I love the way it turned out. It's a really nice pattern. Wish I had the patience to knit it again.

Carefree Holiday Knitting

Take a look at this awesome KAL for some stress free holiday knitting. There are prizes and lots of great people to help encourage you to complete your projects.

I'm going to knit a vest for my dad that I wanted to do last year but never got around to. I can't wait to get started on the 1st!

A Word From My Sponsor

Conversations with Mr. Kerry Knits:



Me: What is your favourite thing about my knitting?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Custom fit socks.


Me: What is your least favourite thing about my knitting?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Too much yarn.


Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as good?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Everything.


Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Yes.


Me: Do you have any hobbies?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Cars.


Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Car parts.


Me: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?

Mr. Kerry Knits: No.


Me: Do you know my favourite kind of yarn?

Mr. Kerry Knits: Sock yarn.


Me: Can you name another knit blog?

Mr. Kerry Knits: QueerJoe.


Me: Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?

Mr. Kerry Knits: No.



Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?

Mr. Kerry Knits: I don't even know what it is.


Me: Do you read my blog?

Mr. Kerry Knits: No.



Me: Have you ever left a comment?

Mr. Kerry Knits: No.



Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?

Mr. Kerry Knits: No.


Me: Anything you'd like to add?

Mr. Kerry Knits: No.

What a Phony

This is my first attempt at a Fake Isle. I love the pattern and had a great time knitting it. It won't be my last but I will make some modifications on my next one. I already shortened this one but I suspect it's still going to be too long. I'll also change the rib from 3x1 to 2x2 on the next one. I'm hoping to deliver it to my Aunt Noreen this week. If it's too long I think I might turn the rib and stitch it to the inside of the hat. Keep your fingers crossed.

Wowza

Where in the world has the last month gone??? I always think for some reason that summer is going to be less busy and chaotic than the school year. Right.

So, we bought a new van...

She is a 2008 Town & Country Limited and has 2 DVD/TV screens, navigation, hands free phone, backup alarm and camera, swivel seats, a table, and I'm head over heels in love with her. I can see us keeping her until her wheels fall off.

I got a new phone...

The Blackberry Curve in silver. I started with the Blackberry Pearl in pink but found it too hard for my poor text-challenged fingers to work. I can't begin to tell you how much I love my phone. It's awesome. The clarity is amazing and the capabilities are to dye for.

Bet you're thinking I've not done any knitting though huh? Well I have. Just look...

This is a little hat I knit for Darcie. It's knit in Catalina Chunky Baby Alpaca and takes less than 2 skeins. You hold the yarn doubled and knit on a size 11. Can you say 1 nite knit?

These are the Thuja socks I started for Daddy a really long time ago. They're finally finished and on his feet. He loves them. I knit these from Mountain Colors Bearfoot that I purchased from a fellow Ravelry user.And this is Girly from Wee Knits 3. What a fun knit this was! I never would have chosen these colors on my own but they work so well together. It's such a sweet sweater. I knit the 6 month size in the Mission Falls 1824 Cotton as called for in the pattern. Love it! I think I just might hang on to this one and donate it to the auction for St. Bernard's this year since the bag was such a hit.

Those are just the few projects I've actually finished since last time. There's lots more that's been cast on and I'll be sharing them soon.

I'm working on putting together a Mystery Sock/Fingerless Glove Knit A Long. We'll be starting on the 18th of this month and Sue will be offering a sweet discount on Tofutsie yarn for it. You can also knit from stash for this one so if you'd like to join just drop me a note to get signed up!

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer! I'd love to hear what everyone else has been knitting (or not)!

I Have A Little Bit

of what you call a

GAUGE PROBLEM!

Ok, well not really. I did this on purpose. It's the MinnowKnits Dutch Girl pattern and it's awesome. But it only goes up to a 4 year size. Dudette is 5 and I wanted her to be able to wear it for a bit. So I threw caution to the wind and knit this bad boy up on size 11 needles when the pattern called for 10 1/2. As you can see, it's quite large. But Dudette loves it and as she pointed out, she'll get a good couple years out of it. God bless the thought process of my baby.

I used some Bulky Lamb's Pride I had in my stash for this one and completed it with a gorgeous button Sue gifted me. That she made all by herself. I couldn't make this sweater any more special now if I tried.

Vogue Vogue Vogue Vogue

There she is, striking a pose in her new tank top I just finished. She's quite taken with it and wants to wear it every day until it doesn't fit her anymore. That's true love, wouldn't you say?

The design is my own and I don't think I could repeat it if I tried. I started this last summer and just never got around to finishing it until now. It's ok though, it would have been way too big last summer.

Cables, Cables Everywhere!

That is the completed back of the Cable and Rib Sweater with Hood by Debbie Bliss. The pattern is in The Baby Knits Book and it's insanely gorgeous. I started this on the 10th in the largest size given (4 years) and my knitting time has been EXTREMELY limited with the end of the school year here so you can see how quickly it actually knits up. If you've not knit one yet you really should. I can't wait to choose a yarn so I can knit one for Duder. I'm thinking a pretty pink CTH DK is in order.

Buy a Boat

Ok, not the boat itself but a chance to win the boat.

Duder's school (St. Bernard's) is selling raffle tickets for this awesome boat! Tickets are $20 but I hear the boat is worth $20,000. You can click here for more information on it. If you'd like a ticket (or 2 or 10) just send your name, address, the number of tickets you'd like, and your check made payable to St. Bernard's School to:

St. Bernard's School

63 River Street

Saranac Lake NY 12983

Won't you please consider buying a ticket and supporting the amazing school Duder loves so much?

Just Ribbing You

This is Yankee Knitter #16 (English Rib) in size 8. After having Duder try this one on (I didn't get to have her try on the other cabled sweater in red which was also a size 8 because she was sick and the lady they were knit for picked them up on Saturday while she was still under the weather.) and knowing that this pattern has a lot more give than the cabled sweater, I think I'll be totally safe knitting her the size 8 cardigan. I still can't believe I didn't get to take a photo of the finished red sweater. With Duder being sick my mind was other places. Oh well, like Bran said, it's the same as the yellow one. :-)

Picture MeMe

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One word to describe you.

12. Your flickr name.

One Down

One more in this pattern to go. This is the size 4 which is a little small for Duder as you can see. I'm anxious to get the 8 finished up and tried on to see how that one fits. I was thinking of doing an 8 in the cardigan for her for school in the fall but now I'm thinking maybe a 6 is in order instead.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has knit this as the neckline seems to sit quite low to me. It looks ok when on I guess but...I don't know there's just something that doesn't feel right. Feedback???

Seeing Double

Except for the fact that they're different sizes. And colors.

This is Yankee Knitter #22 and it's quite loverly. The pattern gives options for the pullover and a cardigan. I think I'll do the cardigan for Duder for kindergarten. All the knitting is done for both sweaters now with the exception of the neckbands. I just took a break from seaming the yellow one to write this post. I hate seaming. Although I have to say that the more I do and the better I get the less it bothers me.

Belated Wishes

To everyone who is a mom and has a mom, I hope you all had the best Mother's Day ever!

I hung with the kids for the better part of the day. I taught a clog class at the LYS for a couple hours then we had a great cookout with my parents. After the kids went to bed for the night I rolled around with my present that arrived the day before from The Loopy Ewe.

Duet Sock Yarn (original weight) Midnight Cricket and Camibella, Perchance to Knit Pamper Me Sock Yarn in Glory of the Snow, Schaefer Anne in Innocent, and Hand Maiden Casbah in Victoria.

ShiBui Sock in Sky, Creatively Dyed Luxury in New England Fall, Chameleon Colorworks Bambino in Cobalt, and Loopy Legends in Ronni's Jewel Box.

And Leslie, I certainly hope I get designer credit for the sock pattern. I believe I will but I didn't even think to ask. I'm off to email them now. :-)

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Ok folks, the bag isn't the only thing I've designed recently.



Introducing...

Well, I don't quite know what her name is yet. I designed her for SWTC and am mailing her off today. I'm having a hard time letting go but I think she's going to make lots of sock knitters happy.

And here she is ready for her closeup:

She's worked in SWTC Jezebel and her proud mama thinks she's just beautiful. Keep an eye out for the pattern which will be coming soon.

Trinity Sunrise

Here's my new baby...

The hubby isn't new, just the bag. And of course, he's holding the bag before felting.

I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of this pattern. It's all written up and ready for sale. I hope. Sue has graciously agreed to put together kits for the bag. If you'd like one, you can contact her at Adirondack Yarns. She has some gorgeous colors to choose from.

EDIT: For some reason the PayPal link isn't working. If you'd like the pattern only just drop me an email and I'll send a PayPal invoice. Thanks a bunch!

Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!

Oops, I Did It Again

I've gone and fallen off the posting wagon. I was doing so well at the beginning of the year and I felt so great posting every day. Then I fell. Hard. But here I am, ready to show you some awesome yarns I've added to the stash that I'll never live long enough to knit.

First up, some Loopy Love...


On the top row (left to right) is Paca Peds Heels and Toes from The Alpaca Yarn Company in Carribean Chocolate, Eidos from The Sanguine Gryphon in Critias, and Spindle City Yarns in Blue Lagoon. Then on the bottom we have All Things Heather in Maraschino, Periwinkle, and Raspberry, and then 4 incredibly gorgeous hanks of Luxury Creatively Dyed Yarn in the Saranac Lake colorway. When they say this is luxury, they really mean luxury. To. Dye. For.

Then there is this pretty STR Lightweight in Grinchy and 2 skeins of the new Grumperina colorway from Lorna's Laces in Shepherd Sock.


So my birthday didn't end up being so bad after all. :-)

Up next, my very own bag design that I'm head over heels in love with. I think I'm actually going to try posting it as a for sale download on Ravelry. Just need to finish typing up the pattern first.

36 Candles

If it weren't for this pattern being released, today would totally be in the shitter.

SEX that Rocks

That's 13 hanks of Socks That Rock Lightweight. They are (in no particular order) Algae, Count Cluckula, Lapis, Lovers Leap, Star Sapphire, Turquoise, Mr. Green Jeans, Purple Rain, Rhodonite, Jasper, Backstabber, Scottish Highlands, and Dixie Chick.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go roll around naked in my new yarn.

Elementary, My Dear Watson

I really need to start using bigger words.

Straight From Hell

That was this week. Seriously. It was so bad I forgot yesterday was Friday. Yeah. That bad.

But, I have the kiddos and the hubby to be incredibly thankful for. That helps so much. And of course there's always yarn in the mail. :-)
This is my haul from Julia's Craft. 4 hanks of Salvia and 14 balls of Vinca. I can't wait to see how it knits up. I have 4 other balls of Vinca in my stash somewhere that I've not gotten to just yet. At $3.99 a hank for the Salvia and $2.99 a ball for the Vinca the price couldn't be beat and I've heard really great reviews on it. Go check it out while it's still on sale.
This is some Suri Lace in the Birches colorway by Cherry Tree Hill that makes me absolutely shiver when I stroke it. I ordered it to knit a Birch shawl with. Kinda corny huh? LOL
This is some laceweight wool from Extreme Yarn that I bought on eBay. It was wound way too tight when it arrived so I rewound it today. The balls are now twice the size of the ones in the picture above. I was a little nervous about adding these to the stash. I found a break in the second ball about half way through when I was winding it. That didn't bother me as much as finding about 8 breaks at the end of the ball. They are nice clean breaks though and I found no evidence of moths. I'm guessing that somehow it got swiped with a knife since the breaks were all stacked in a line. I put them in ziplock bags and threw them in the freezer just in case.
Then there is this amazing color changing yarn from Lazy Perry Ranch. I found this on Ravelry and snapped it up. Gorgeous isn't it?

Monday Mail - Again

Seems as though Monday's are pretty decent mail days lately.


First up is my Sock Knittin' #2 package containing 2 gorgeous skeins of Claudia's fingering yarn, a great beaded sock pattern from Knitty that I've never seen before, and some beautiful blue beads that match perfectly. There were also some yummy goodies included that didn't make it into the picture as well as what I believe might be a scissor fob? It's very cute and I'll decide a use for it soon. :-)
Then there are these 3 cones of Zephyr 4/8 DK for a beautiful sweater I want to knit from the Winter 2007 issue of Knitter's Magazine. It's the Honey gold pattern on page 84 and although I tried swatching in worsted I just can't get gauge without going down to a really ridiculously small needle that makes a fabric so tight you could bounce large heavy objects off it. I swatched with some dk weight I had here and it worked so much better. I can't wait to get to work on this one. I'm working feverishly on getting some other projects finished so I won't feel so guilty about starting something new. And the yarn that was originally purchased for the pattern will now be used for an afghan that I've been wanting to knit as well. Winning situation if you ask me. :-)

Last but certainly not least from today's mail call we have some Dream in Color Smooshy from The Loopy Ewe. There's Butter Peeps, Gothic Rose, Punky Fuchsia, Midnight Derby, Some Summer Sky, and Lunar Zazzle. This stuff is absolutely intoxicating.


Before I forget, I have to show you the package I received from my St. Patty's Day sock swap partner. As if the fact that my pal lives in Scotland isn't exciting enough, she went and sent this beautiful hank of Araucania Ranco Multi as well as a hank of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. Can you say "YUM"?

My LYS Owner Went to Stitches West

and all I got was this

GORGEOUS skein of Socks that Rock in the Peaseblossom colorway!!!

OMG!!! I thought I was going to pee my pants when she pulled it out of her bag and presented it to me. I've been watching on Ravelry for a skein of this to come up and keep missing out. It's so pretty and I can't wait to get to it. I have the absolute best LYS owner in the world!!! Thanks for being you Sue!!!

Pinky Dinky Doo

This is the Jacobean pattern. It is the first pattern we've been given for the 2008 Sock Knitters Pentathlon. This is an awesome pattern and I'm really loving it. I've not knit many toe up socks simply because I can't ever seem to get a neat looking cast on. I followed the directions for Judy's Magic Cast-On suggested in the pattern and fell in love. It's incredible. I'm working these in Pale Pink Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock on a 2.5mm 40" circular. Can't wait to wear these!