Knitty Gritty Thoughts

I'm feeling "Rogue-ish"

I probably shouldn't have mentioned anything about straight lines, now y'all are probably staring at the computer, trying to see it =)  I have to say that I work hard at trying to cut straight and sew straight, and as Sasha had mentioned, they do have little tools.  I bought one of those magnet sewing guides that works well with my machine from Joann's (40% off coupon of course!)  If you have a computerized machine you probably don't want to use one of those things as you probably know. =)  It definitely helps for seams that are close to the edge of the fabric.

Practice makes perfect, what can I say?  I am a perfectionist and I HAD to get that zipper down right.  A few days ago I picked out some cute fabric, this little pouch is a present for grandma for her birthday.  The puppy fabric looks alot like her beagle, starla.

It turned out pretty cute! 

I also received the cutest card from Kate as a little pick me up, sadly her stitch markers which I am sure were gorgeous got slit out of the envelope and lost in the mail.  I know somewhere, some mail sorting lady is probably knitting away with those lovelies on her needles! =) AND I received the loveliest virtual present from Miss Nuttnbunny herself, she sent me a itunes pressie of one of her favorite bands.  Finding new music is such a pick me up and I'm rather in a music rut myself so it was such a treat to listen to something new.  I'm always looking for other new stuff also, so if you have a favorite, will you tell me so I can try it out???

And here's the status update on Rogue, just finished the first chart for the hood and moving on to the next.  The construction on the hood is really smart and I LOVE the cableing details, it looks really neat in person.  Sadly the combination of yarn/cableing is just really hard on my hands, so I only knit on it here and there.  The yarn is bartletts yarn 2-ply in medium sheeps gray from kpixie and I think the rawness of the yarn really makes the cables pop so it's a double-edged sword.

It may drive me to pick up Rona again, that yarn is silky smooth!  BTW have you seen Angelika's?  Very lovely and very motivating to "git'r done!"

"Ketchup" Post

This is my "ketchup" post so to speak, just to "catch-up" on a few things I've been meaning to do.

First off, a few people had requested to see the "unmentionable side" of the mitered blanket.  Warning - if you don't want to see this, shade your eyes now.  You may also want to remove small children from the room! =)

It's not that bad really, I used judicious amounts of this stuff on all the ends because I have a deep-seated fear that they may spring free at any moment.  I may put a lining on the back at some point, haven't decided yet.

I also was RAOK'D by Sarah!  She sent me such a lovely package and must have known I have a weakness for not only yarn, but bath products.  The philosophy smells soooo good, thank you so much!

AND I received the loveliest of packages from my blog buddy Joanna.  She is amazingly talented and made the earrings and the pouches herself.  I had actually been eyeing them on her blog when she posted about them and receiving one in the mail is like a dream come true, thank you so much!

And in other news, Miss Leah is the winner of the knit.1 magazine contest.  I really, truly appreciate all of your wonderful comments, positve thoughts and jokes headed my way.  And ya know, when my heating went out yesterday, I re-read them all when I needed a little pick me up.  Here's hoping we don't have to replace the whole thing and it's just a small part.  Ah, the joys of home ownership!  I am woman, hear me roar, I can handle ANYTHING!!! =) hehe.

AND if you've made it this far you deserve a pic of rogue.  Just last night I picked up the sts for the hood and seamed the shoulders together.  I tried it on this morning and I'm happy to say my gauge is on track and the darn thing actually fits.  Which is a relief, really, considering the FIRST time I tried to knit it.

Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

De-nial (not just a river in Egypt!)

Thank you all for having fun and posting comments about your stash, I really enjoyed reading each one!

Special thanks go to Erica and Alisha for playing along- go check out their stashes! =) And have a big smile at Erica's (her's was a little overwhelming) and I just about fell out of my chair laughing, it was really cute.  I loved Kristin's comment too, I copied part of it here:

"And just so you know, your stash is a good size. Not so large that you would die if it fell on you and not so small that you don't really have enough to make anything."

Hehe, truly that is the measurement of a stash, can you imagine being buried under it? =)  All joking aside, I very much believe that the stash is the right size for the person who has it, as much as I joke around about "too small."  Each and every ball has a story behind it and perhaps a plan and what we find is a reflection of us, and what we hope to make. 

Jumping off my soapbox now, I spent the weekend on the couch sick.  One of the bonuses of working from home is that you're not subjected to all the colds and sickness that gets recirculated via the inter-office air conditioning.  When I worked in an office I would be rather sick atleast 5 times a year, however in the year working from home I haven't been sick once!  That streak ended rather abruptly on Friday when my husband came home sick and promptly got me sick!  Sheesh!  I spent the weekend on the couch working on Rogue.  I ripped the original version back to it's roots when I had a gauge issue and was in major DENIAL.  The sweater ended up being about 52 inches around and it was way to big for me.  If you know me, you know how much I hate ripping things, even though I am trying to embrace the process and all.  I let it go way too long really, I even did the back shaping.  Here's a before picture....anyone want to jump into this sweater with me, it looks like about enough room for two at this point. =)
Vegging on the couch this weekend looked alot like this, I finished up just past reattaching the pocket and I'm lengthening the sides by two repeats and it's coming along nicely.  As much as I was avoiding it, I feel much better now and a well-fitting sweater to boot!

P.S. Knitters Tea Swap 2 just opened and I had to join.  I had such a lovely pal last time!  Hope to see you there.