Knitty Gritty Thoughts

May Day Mission Complete!

Well hello there - that was kind of a long break wasn't it?  Life has been busy, a lot of things came up in my personal life that I had to take care of.  Anyhow I'm still decluttering but I felt like talking about knitting today so you get a brief synopsis of what I've been working on.  Don't get your hopes up, it's rather brief, I'm still not in a chatty mood but I did want to share my little rays of knitting sunshine! =)

First up - I finished my may day socks, hurray!  It feels so good to be done early (they were due May 1st)!  Now I can find fun little treats to put in the bag and weave in those ends.  They've already been blocked but sadly you can't see the pattern well  because I can't use my sock blockers.  My pals foot is waaay smaller than mine.  But you get the idea.

The dream in color smooshy may have redeemed itself to me, the yardage on that skein is insane and it's very soft to knit with too!

Embossed Leaves Socks
All the rav details here

Here's my little WIP roundup and 1 FO too  - all of these projects are so enjoyable to me, I'm having a hard time choosing which one to focus on first! =)  Clicky for big.

1 - Butterfly jacket from the current wool gathering knit with 2 skeins of berrocco ultra alpaca.  I love this knit, the garter stitch and simple shaping have taken on a meditative quality while knitting and I love the cute retro shape!  Plus I always love when I manage to find something that few people are knitting, it adds to the fun! =)  Rav dets here.

2 -Tiramisu baby blanket - super easy crochet pattern, if I only could manage not to lose my hook every 5 seconds!  I'm off to buy another so I can finish it off.  Rav dets here.

3 - Glee has been resurrected!  The last time I talked about her I threw her in a corner due to concerns about fit, dye lot issues (well it really should be "year lot" issues.  The two skeins were from different years of shearings and are 100% natural colored prime alpaca.  One year is darker than the other.  If I had planned ahead I really should have alternated skeins but on second glance it's not as bad as I thought it was.  I'm planning on putting back in the needles I yanked out and give it one more try.  Rav dets here.

4 - Cabled Rangoli Hat - very cute and helps with hat hair syndrome, who doesn't like that?  I was SO inspired by Miss Nasseknits version - check out her photo here!  This may be a hat I will actually wear!  Ravelry dets here.

Anyhow have a great weekend all! =)

...Slow Down...

I've decided that the universe likes to send me messages sometimes, especially ones like slow down(!).  In a normal day I'm a whirlwind of activity - I dislike pausing or sitting still as much as I can and I love running from one thing to another.  It seems the universe has other plans however.

Remember I mentioned way back that I had started back up horseback riding again?  I know I really haven't talked about it much since then, I've been riding a lot, building up my muscles again and last month I started jumping again which was fun.

Yesterday I went on a trail ride with my instructor and some of the other girls.  I was riding Sunshine who is a thoroughbred mare (anyone who knows horses would think, whoa, fiesty!)  =)  Thoroughbreds are known for their, shall we say, high spiritedness and as we were riding she was getting more and more high-spirited, tossing her head and prancing.

Anyhow at some point she totally freaked out and tried to make a run for it.  I stopped her and then she reared, I held on.  She bucked and tried to kick the horse behind her, I held on.  At that point she tripped and fell on top of me!  It was then that I let go which I think was a good plan!

The only thing I could think of was I didn't want to get my foot caught in the stirrups and drug around (which has happened to me before) so I was happy to be clear!  I rolled away from her hooves as she tried to regain her balance.  Luckily nothing was broken, I was achy and bruised but not too bad.  I even got back on her after we walked to the road and rode her around a bit (you know that old saying "you've got to get back on the horse?"  it's true! =)

Anyhow so I went home, no big deal but when I woke up this morning I am SORE!  I feel like someone had run me over with a truck and I am suddenly 80 years old.  I'll be fine, I just need to take some time to slow down and pamper myself.

So in the meantime I slow.down. and sit a bit and crochet since I can't hold my needles with my wrist tweaked.  I started a easy-peasy tiramisu blanket (a free pattern by Miss Posie, it's in her side-bar).  The ravelry details are here.  I'm working up to her super-cute baby cardigan so I'm treating this as bit of a warm-up.  I have lots of the new cotton-ease that I'm planning on using.  The lake color is for the blanket with a tan border, and then matching cardi eventually.  It will be super cute!  I'll take pics next time when I've managed more than a few rows and have something  to show you.

Until then I'll be over here, slowing down, putting my feet up and relaxing! =)  Have a great week!

Lendrum Wheel For Sale

Something about spring, the dogwoods are blooming, the sun is shining and the temps are perfect, it brings on major decluttering.  This isn't some wimpy cleaning, this is a full out assault on all things clutter! =)

Along those lines I finally made the decision to sell my lendrum wheel. I thought I would post it over here and on ravelry and see if anyone was interested.

I bought it used from a friend oh, only about 9 months or so ago.  It was a wonderful wheel to learn on and it made me realize how much I enjoy spinning.  Now that I have my matchless the lendrum isn't getting any attention and I'd like it to find a new home where it will be happy.

Specs:

Lendrum Single Treadle Wheel

• I bought it used, and it's a slightly older lendrum
• There are a few cosmetic wear marks on the knobs and treadle which would buff out nicely if you were inclined to do so.
• It spins lovely, very smooth and even and is a wonderful wheel to learn on, or to travel with as it folds flat into a bag
• It comes with a custom bag from the well-known "Bag Lady" that fits it perfectly
• 4 bobbins
• Jumbo Plying head with bobbin
• Lazy Kate (lazy kate is missing one of the metal rods that holds a bobbin but can easily be replaced with a skewer or extra knitting needle)
• New all items retail about $550, asking $250 + shipping and I'll send along lots of free fiber to get you started! =)

Whoa - The interest has been overwhelming!  I'm digging myself out of my email box now but I believe the wheel has been spoken for.  Thanks everyone! =)

Here's a photo from when I bought it...It hasn't changed a bit. 
I'm happy to send more pics of closeup if you're interested.

Thanks so much for looking, Back after more decluttering! =)

Cheapy Decorating

I've been traveling again, as you can probably tell.  When I disappear off the face of the blog planet for a few weeks, best guess is I'm probably traveling for work.  I enjoy traveling actually, driving up there is some great "me-time."  Plenty of good tunes, a hands free for my cellphone if I feel like chatting (as Angelika knows since I always call her! =))... I do my best thinking in the car.

The one thing I don't enjoy is all the prep-time.  I managed to only bring 1 kitchen sink this time unlike the usual two.  I even resisted packing up my wheel and sewing machine (but probably only because the hotel I was staying at would have been suspicious watching me drag it through the courtyard) =)  Getting ready to go takes me a good week or two and unwinding after that takes another good week or two, that doesn't even count the traveling time in between.  Whew!  Color me exhausted!

Anyhow - so I guess the timing was good - what else can I even remotely blog about that could possibly surpass the awesomeness of the ripple blanket?  I think I've been outshined! ;)   I did sneak a pic of my finished living room in there - and a few eagle eyes noticed, thank you for all your compliments on it! ;) 

I probably shouldn't say this, don't want to burst anyones decorating bubble of me, but I am a C-H-E-A-P decorator.  Everything in that room is from Target, bought on clearance, or with a 40% off coupon from Jo-ann's or AC Moore (the accessories) or preferably all of the above- aside from the few big items.  I absolutely detest spending lots of monies on decorating so I grab a few things here and there as I see them in the clearance aisles so it takes me a lot of time to find things, and a room is never really finished.

The next room I just "finished" which I wanted to share with you is our front-room which is an odd sort of space.  It's like a big dining room area right when you enter the house, but it's cut off from the rest of it so I spend very little time there.  Even when people come over they never really paused in that room, they alway continued right in to the bulk of the living space.  Anyhow, so I love books and reading nooks so I decided to make it into a reading room/library area.  What do you think???....

Now that I've shown you a picture I'll let you in on my cheapy decorating tips.  The bookshelves are from ikea (billy of course) with a few tweaks to make it look more built-in and custom and upgraded with doors and new fixtures.  The leather ottoman is from costco, but it looks like the one from pottery barn (see I told you I'm cheap!) =)  Candles and accessories are from Joann's and AC Moore (40% off coupons always).  The chairs are from Cost Plus with an end of season clearance sale (<50 bucks each, retails for @200 regular).  The rug is something which needs to go shortly, I bought it from walmart for Elle for her surgery so she didn't slip for 20 bucks but I have my eye on a replacement.  And that ugly planter has got to go too! =)

The accessories are hand-knit (Entrelac Shawl) by me and the pillows were another end of season sale at Costplus (5 bucks).  So - all in all a great deal for that room.  So what do you think?  Too much decorating information?? ;)

And if you're only here for the knitting and spinning, here's a few of my latest items. ;)

More hand-spun sock yarn that I just love....

From top left: Lisa Souza Hand-dyed BFL in Emerald City, Spun 2-ply into a sock yarn, approx 450yds/4oz; My Hand-carded Lichen Battlets in Scrumptious Merino/Alpaca, TussahSilk and Camel spun into a sock yarn, 432yds/4oz; Funky Carolina Fiber Club Offering, "Chill" in a superwash Merino/Tencel.  Sock yarn, 360 yds in 4oz and gorgeous colors!

I also finished my Kaffee socks!  You might remember them from a while back, I had the brilliant (said sarcastically) idea to do an afterthought heel?  Well short-row heels just make me nervous, I had never really figured out the process like my regular old-stand-by top-down?  Well - I DID IT! =)  I figured it out!  I'm so excited, now I just want to short-row everything!

Wendy's generic toe-up pattern really helped me, I was able to convert her short-row heel (which can be done toe-up or top-down) into my 72 stitch sock on 2.25mm and I was good to go.  I just love the fit of these socks, these are my new favorites! =)  The stripes lined up and they're perfect for spinning!

Happy Tuesday after a long weekend!  Hope everyone had a great one! =)

Unexpected News

I was going to blog about the ripple today until I just received some unexpected news.  A coworker and good friend of mine passed away suddenly, they were only 29.

It's funny how you can just go on be-boppin' through life, expecting that those in your life are always going to be there.  We have these silly/cute little awards that we send to people virtually letting them know that "they make our day."  I caught myself thinking how often do we do that to people in real life?  Do we send them little cards or emails letting them know that we're thinking of them?  That who they are and what they do are special and matters?

I know I personally all too often take people for granted, that those in my life will always be there.  That's not always the case, things can change, life happens and people are taken away from us in an instant.

I just wanted to have a moment of silence, to reflect on those who make a difference in our life, but we just don't tell them often enough.

Amen.

Things that make me go mmm....

Boy time sure flies when you're not having fun! =)  It's been crazy busy at work lately and a bit of a stress-o-rama, nothing big just lots of stuff to do and not enough time to get it all done in.

I've been wanting to get email under control for a long time.  I always feel like I'm behind so I've changed my email stuff around to try to get more organized.  I have gmail but I setup the pop mail to go to outlook so I can sort, sort, sort to my heart's content!  Let me know it it looks weird/different when you get email from me?  I'm slowly working through the backlog now so if you get some random email from me that's 3 months old now you know why. =)

Anyhow I was tagged 3 times (!) for making people's days and I feel so honored, thank you!

Tiennie, Angelika and Hilary, thank you so much! =)

Here's a few people who make my day (certainly not an exhaustive list ;) but you can't list everyone right?

Tasha
Stacia
Catherine
Erica
Rachel
Katie
Beth
Sasha
Rhea
and last but not least my special swap pal Debby!

Thanks Ladies for always making my day! =)

Other things that have made my day lately include:

A lovely mitten kit from Norway Finland, enabled by Chris and knitting up beautifully.  The colors are hand-dyed using natural materials and the patters are all created by her mom to match the yarns.  This kit is truly decadent.

More zen-handspinning on my new wheel:

Jolly Green Giant BFL from Vesper

...and Ming Handspun Superwash Merino from Middle Kingdom Fiber (Becky's a great blog pal as well)

And no I haven't forgotten about the last step on my bread-basket tut, I ran into some issues with the binding (my first real one) so it's taking a bit longer than I hoped.  Next time for sure! =)

--Hi--

Well hello there.  Long time no chat! =)  A few things happened in rapid succession back there in December to take me away, first I had to travel for a week for work.  Then the day after I got back Elle's other cruciate ligament fully ruptured and the poor thing couldn't walk!  I ran around to the surgical vet trying to get her evaluated and see if she was healed enough from the first surgery to do the other leg.  We weren't really happy because we wanted to wait longer but in the end we didn't have a choice, she had to go in. 

In the midst of that, my husband came home from Iraq for his what they call R&R (basically 18 days vacation mid-deployment).  I hadn't seen him for over 8 months and this will be the only 18 days in 15 MONTHS that I get to see him so I did what anyone would do.  I took 3 weeks off work, I turned off the computer and I spent some quality time with him.  It was wonderful! =)

Unfortunately with Elle having the surgery we had to scrap any plans of going away.  We spent lots of time close to home, his mom/dad and 1 of his brothers and family flew out here from CA to see him.  We were able to spend time with everyone and have big family Christmases which I just adored!  We also finally got to spend an anniversary together as well (first 1 in 4 years but ah well)! =)

He left late last week and it's been hard readjusting to this big empty house.  Today is my first day back to work and I'm slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things.  I must say it was an absolute treat to turn off the computer and just relax.  I didn't realize how much I needed to just get away from it all - I spend so many hours a day on the computer it was a treat to unplug.

Anyhow, so if you emailed me you didn't get a response, I'm slowly working through the backlog now.  I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone, I've missed chatting with you and seeing all your projects! =)

In other news, I've had a lot of requests for new project bags, I've been working hard to get a bunch more out there so you can actually have some choices. ;)  6 new project bags are going up tonight in my store and about 6-7 more are coming this weekend (you can see a preview here on flickr.  I'm experimenting with some heavier weight fabric to see how I like it.  Aren't the sheepies adorable???)  Then after that it'll be a short break so I can focus on battlets.  I've been hand-dyeing like crazy but haven't had a chance to card any up.

Oh and I almost forgot project news! =)  The ripple blanket post will have to wait, I haven't had a chance to take any FO pics, but I wanted to share my yummy new project with you!

At a SnB that Margaret invited me to when I was traveling (thanks for the invite, I had a great time! =))  I finally got to see the infamous malabrigo lace and it was scrumptious!  I had absolutely fallen in LOVE with Heather's Victorian Lace scarf version (seen here on Ravelry!) and I knew that would be the perfect thing to knit.  I looked all over for other colors of malabrigo lace but didn't find anything that spoke to me so I decided to do it in green (colorway: VAA) as well.  Sometimes you just can't beat a great idea.

Just about 5 minutes ago I checked my mail and it had arrived from webs and I had a good laugh.  The package it came in was TINY and it barely weighed anything and I thought to myself, wow Webs must have messed up and forgot to put anything in the box!  When I opened it though, I was surprised, inside were two tiny little skeins that weighed next to nothing!  I put a chibi next to them for scale.  Apparently these little suckers are almost 500 yards each which seems impossible, but who am I to doubt?  I ordered two just to be safe! =)

Here's to some scrumptious knitting! =)

Project Bag Shop Update + Finished!

I've just finished posting a few new small project and sock bags in my etsy shop, and it feels good to finally get them done and off my work table!  Thanks so much to everyone who has given me such great feedback on them, Miss Nuttnbunny mentioned how much she liked hers, and Angelika too, oh and don't forget Miss Qutecowgirl, and Kim too!  I also got a lovely email from Margaret saying how much she liked hers, and Hilary is very tempted by the packaging and wants to peek inside even though it's a gift for her knitting grandmother, hehe!  Thanks for the love ladies, I greatly appreciate it - it's fun to make something that other people enjoy too! =)

So as I mentioned there are a few new ones up, this may not be the last update before Christmas but it most likely will be the last one where the package will arrive before that date.  Also - I cleared out the last of this fabric, so if you had your eye on a particular pattern just want to warn you this will be the last one of it's kind. 

I spent the weekend working on finishing my largest project this year, I'll give you a little hint -
check out all those ends!

Any guesses???

Pics coming this week, as soon as I manage to fit it all in the camera! =)

Blogger Commenting - 2 thumbs down.

Anyone else as annoyed as I am about the new blogger commenting change that they dropped on us like a bomb? 

Basically sometime last week they removed the ability for commenters to leave a blog url making people either leave a blogger id or anonymous signature.  Now I don't know about you but that annoys me because putting my signature and URL on blogger comments was a great way to leave comments from those of us who are other platforms and be able to link back to our blog.

I searched around blogger to find out why and found out they're in the process of implementing a openId Key format.  I went over there to put in my 2-cents on why this is a bad move and I encourage you to do the same.

After all - making a huge change on comment functionality without letting it's customers...the users... know?  That's bad MOJO!

Shoppe Update and European Style Bread Basket

Hi There - how was your thanksgiving??  Mine was very nice, I got to spend the day with hubby's family and we had quite a smörgåsbord of treats and food.  Yummy!  Among other things, I was responsible for bringing the bread and of course you know I couldn't just stick it on a plain old tray, it had to be handmade.

I took my inspiration from the bread baskets I saw on my travels in Europe this summer (speaking of which, I don't think I ever finished talking about that - oopsie! =))  In Austria particularly they had these wonderful quilted breadbaskets that served to keep the bread warm and had a nice presentation as well.  They do breakfast a bit differently over there than they do in the states.  Bread is a big staple, and not usually slices of bread, but big rolls or biscuits.  They are usually covered in either meat and cheese or fresh preserves and butter slathered on thick.  Mmmm - I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Anyhow - so I had a few thanksgiving themed panels from the local quilt shop - slapped those together with heavy-duty interfacing, batting, etc and quilted the sides.  It was so easy I had it done in only an hour.  The hardest part was putting on the binding, I didn't have a lot of colors around so I had to make do with what I had. 

The piece is sewn flat and then tied up in the corners, easy - peasy and done!  What a wonderful way to present bread!  I know this is kind of a slap-dash approach, anyone interested in making your own?  I could do a tutorial.  It's reversible too - so you can change which side shows. 

In other news, I received a lovely special swap package from Kim - this poor little package has really been around the block so to speak, we thought it had gone missing, and my faith in the US postal service may have been renewed when it showed up on my doorstep.  There was lovely wine (!she really knows how to swap! =)), biscotti, beautiful hand-dyed merino lace yarn and a lovely notebook, all wonderful things that fit me to a t!  I have such a thing for little notebooks and yummy yarn! =)  I had a hard time taking a picture, I've already eaten the biscotti and put my feet up and had a glass of wine so I had to run around the house putting it all back together to photo it!  That is the most wonderful type of swap, thanks so much Kim! =)

And in other news I just did a shop update!  There are new peri-twinkle battlets as well as a new color, bluebells in both BFL (a wonderful fiber for both beginners and experts alike) and Cormo wool top.  The Cormo is very special to me, I got to meet the sheep that produced this wonderful fiber.  The farm itself has won many awards for it's fleece and it was an absolute treat to work with.  There's also a few project/sock bags as well.  I'm so happy that people really like their sock/project bags, they are wonderful to carry around with you, you can hang them from your wrist and walk and knit at the same time and they also stand upright when you're ready to sit and knit for a bit.  These also have the built in pockets and holders for your needles to keep you organized.

OK - enough talk about that, happy friday all! =)