Finally! A FO!

Editor's Note: I forgot to put in the ribbon before taking the picture - DUH!

Close up of beaded bodice

Close up of I-cord edging

I promised I would show you a finished item with the next post. What I didn’t tell you was that I would not post until the item was finished. Over the weekend I finished Crumpets. I never want to see stockinette again – ever! This was about 15 inches of knitting over about 350 stitches. This dress will go to Piglet’s biological sister, along with Monica.

Details:
Pattern: Crumpets
Needles: Size 5
Yarn: Elann’s Esprit (1 skein) for the bodice and Sonata (8.5 skeins) for the body.
Color: Ruby
Notes: I did a normal cast on instead of the Picot cast on. For the bottom edge I did two rows of garter and then did an applied I-cord with three stitches. The straps are 2, 3 stitch I-cords that then become a 6-stitch I-cord. They look big and they kinda are but they have to be because the dress is heavy. The I-cord was really hard on my hands for some reason.

I am so glad to have this off the needles! This is the second one and I think from now on I will stick to making it in the six-month size.

I had a compliment a few weeks ago. The momma recipient of the first Crumpets emailed me to A) say thank you, and B) tell me that she thought I could sell my knit stuff on Etsy. A huge compliment from a non-knitter! Even though I could never get paid enough to cover the time I put into the dress, the fact that a non-knitter thinks it is good enough to be salable makes me feel good.

I probably would have accomplished more knitting this week if it were not for Ravelry. I am sucked in! I haven’t even loaded the past finished objects yet or taken photos of my stash because I have been too busy checking out what everyone else is making and looking for friends. It is like a peep show for knitters!!!!

Swatchy Swatchy 5 Dolla

This is what I received from Sarah’s Yarns! For $4.90 I got enough yarn to make a decent sized swatch; in a color that is easy to see stitches; tagged with the gauge, fiber make up and color; a price list; and color cards of Sarah’s own branded yarns. Her cashmeres are delicious! I think I am going to use the Bamboo to make the Perfect Periwinkle Tube Turtleneck sweater from Fitted Knits – some day. This yarn is sport and the pattern calls for worsted so I have to do the math. You know, if someone had told me that I would end up with a hobby that requires math I would have paid attention back in the 9th grade. Maybe then I could tell you if the train leaving Chicago and heading west would get to Boston before the stagecoach carrying the yarn from Knit Picks!

Ok, enough of that… on to the good stuff… I finally got my Ravelry invite! I am on there as KnottyPurls. I am so excited!!!!! I loaded in two of my projects last night but then got caught up in finding friends, then got caught up in looking at people’s projects, then got caught up in looking at people’s yarns. Do you see a pattern here? At midnight I realized I had not blinked in a while and the Piglet would be up in a few hours and he doesn’t care about knitting. Am I a bad mother for choosing to skip the park today in favor of Ravelry time? Will it help if I mention that the other mother’s at the park are kinda like junior high? Will it help if I tell you that it is going to be 89 degrees at park time? A Ravelry side note... you do not need a blog to join! So, you non-bloggers, get your name on the list!

I hope to have a FO to show you very soon. Crumpets is still drying and then I need to put on a few straps and she is good to go.

Fishy Wishy in a Dishy

Jayne has a yarn called Fishy Wishy in a Dishy. Well, this fishy wishy in a dishy is just way cuter – sorry Jayne!

Is it total PWT to:
A) Own a plastic swimming pool;
B) Stick your feet in the pool while your child is playing; and
C) Allow the dog to drink from the pool while your child is playing in it.

If so, I have joined a new race. I was tempted to take my glass of wine out there too but decided against it due to the mosquitoes. Wait, Let me add another picture to your mental library – Big Boy, boxer shorts (with some sort of picnic theme), black work t-shirt, sandals.

Aw, come on, we all have our white/trailer trash/ghetto moments!

A few people have commented on spinning Baxter’s hair. It can be done but first I would have to collect it and wash it (this house barely has enough space for storing our food). It has to be blended with another yarn, such as wool, because it is so fine and fluffy. To be honest, I wear Calvin, Annabelle and Baxter hair everyday so I’m not sure I want to spin it into yarn for a sweater. We do recycle the hair, in a way. The birds usually collect it for nests. Well, the birds that dare come into our yard and are not chased off by the dogs.

Warning... Lots of stuff!

This month’s Project Spectrum colors are Red, Black and Metallic so it is only fitting that I use it to post a congrats to the San Antonio Spurs for their win last week, making them the 2007 NBA World Champions. Living in San Antonio you can’t help but get caught up in the Spurs fanfare. Watching the end of the game made me a little sad that we were not there to join our neighbor’s party!

So, knitting is making a slow but steady progress. I have many more inches to go on Crumpets. I keep going around and around and around and…

Monica is done! The final product is cute, again. As you will remember, this is the tank that had the color bleed problems. Before vacation I removed the ruffle and washed the blue body again, three times, with vinegar. It still had color coming out. Last week I washed it three more times with color still coming out. Last Thursday Christine (who is working on the never ending shrug) suggested I run it through the washing machine. Even though the instructions are for hand wash I figured I had nothing to lose. So, I popped it onto some dental floss and threw it into the washer on delicate with some Woolite and a color catcher. The color catcher came out very blue. So, I ran it through another rinse cycle with another color catcher and this time it came out exactly as it went in. When I hold up the body against the leftover yarn there is a definite difference in the color, which shows just how much color ran out of this yarn. I am contemplating contacting the Brown Sheep Company to complain! The details of this FO will be posted under the link for my 2007 finished projects.

I still have many more projects on the needles and I am starting to feel the pressure of finishing what I have started. Let’s see, the list includes:

Finish sock #2 in the Jitterbug
Finish the sleeves on Angelina (this has been waiting on a pair of Knit Picks Options needles. A group of us were going in together to save the shipping but KP has repeatedly delayed the CotLin’s arrival)
Lady Eleanor
Print ‘O The Wave shawl in Alpaca Cloud
Piglet’s Christmas stocking.

Did I mention that I had frogged the stocking? Well, I did. Now, I am recharting the entire pattern in hopes of correcting all the mistakes before they happen. I know, it would be easier to find a new pattern!

In other news, fellow SnB’er MaryAnne turned us on to Sarah’s Yarns last night. Sarah will send you a small sample of a yarn that is enough to make a swatch. The cost – the cost of shipping - $4.90 by Priority Mail. That’s it! Today I ordered a sample of her Bamboo to try out in hopes of using it for the Tubey Turtleneck in Fitted Knits. I am happy to spend $5 and get a sample to test rather than spend $50 and get yarn that won’t work for a project.

On a final note… Can you guess what this is? If you guessed Baxter, you would be correct. This is just five minutes of brushing tonight. This photo does not show the pile of Calvin. Calvin didn’t lose as much in the brushing because he has dropped most of it on my living room floor. Ugh! I hate coat-blowing season.

Vacation... Not Really!

I’m back and I have so much to tell y’all. The past few weeks have been extremely crazy.

First, thank you for the prayers and good thoughts. Our trip home was stressful. We didn’t talk about “the issue” until the last day. This has taken a toll on my dad’s health. Just before we arrived he was hospitalized with chest pains and shortness of breath. The doctor found nothing wrong with his heart and blames it on stress. Some good news came this week. He went to court and his attorney says “the issue” has been dismissed and will go no further. Their house is 99% sold. They have pretty much severed all ties in their small town. It is sad really.

After a few days in Maine we headed to Big Boy’s family in Massachusetts. Thank goodness we stayed in a hotel! Our families are so different – there is no way I could discuss “the issue” with the in-laws. Instead I had to pretend like nothing was wrong and play nice. I can only play nice for so many days before I lose my mind! MIL seems to be losing her short-term memory because she asked me the same questions a minimum of three times. They never have enough food to eat; they don’t use spices in their cooking. MIL didn’t understand why I didn’t want to use the high chair that Big Boy used 38 years ago. It is metal, and rusted, and sitting out in the basement. We could just “tie him in”.

Piglet… Oh Piglet… He was a trooper in the car. But, then, he grew accustomed to having someone hold or play with him 24/7. Naps that are normally two hours in his bed became a half hour on Grandma and Papa’s laps. Coming home yesterday was a big hit of reality. Suddenly, he was required to go to bed on time and he had no one in his face all day (MIL). The poor kid was like a tourist attraction! And the questions, sheesh! Does he have a high chair? Why does he make that noise? When will he outgrow this car seat? Where do you buy car seats? Does he have a high chair? Why doesn’t he have a high chair? What does he eat? Well… you get the point. While we were gone he practiced rolling over on the beds and got his first hand slap (in-laws were not crazy about it but they can kiss my ass).

So, here are a few new photos of Piglet. He is hanging out on his new lawn chair, in my parent’s backyard.

His new friend E was trying to steal his binky and he wasn’t too happy about that.


Here we are at Fenway Park. Notice Piglet is decked out in his Red Sox outfit, Red Sox binky and binky holder. He now owns a training camp jersey just like dad’s!


A little knitting happened during the trip. I started and finished the replacement ruffle for Monica; got in a few inches on Crumpets before I ran out of yarn; and made it all the way to the start of the foot on sock #2. I also read The Knitting Circle and the new John Sandford book.