Business is Booming

A huge thank you to those of you who stopped by my Etsy shop. I have now sold three memory boards. I recently added a bunch of stuff and this coming week I will be adding approximately four new boards.

To celebrate... I purchased a new banner and avatar from Masselyn... a designer on Etsy. Her graphic designs are beautiful.

Of course you know what all this means... very little knitting time. I managed to finish the Hemlock Blanket (#2) and spend a little time on the February Lady Sweater. Hemlock is going to be a Christmas gift so I am waiting a bit to block it and take better photographs. Reid... well, I think it is headed to the frog pond. The pattern is a huge pain in the ass and I really have no desire to keep knitting on it.

Only 69 days until Big Boy gets home!

I'm Sizzling... NOT!

I can't believe it has been a month and a half since I posted. This has been one wild and crazy summer. Piglet and I took a trip to Orlando to visit the parents. It was... well... like any visit with family. Shortly after returning we discovered that Annabelle, our 11-year-old Great Pyrenees mix, was very sick. We knew she was very anemic but it took several mortgage payments to figure out why. Turns out she has Immune Mediated Anemia, which, along with severe hip dysplasia, has made her extremely weak. She is now on Prednisone every day along with painkillers and glucosamine and Omega 3 fatty acids in hopes of getting her back up to speed. Our goal right now is to help her be comfortable until Big Boy gets home in December. Sadly, she was the only dog who would play with Baxter so now he is desperately in need of a friend. We decided it was either send him to “camp” every week or get him a puppy. Today he is off frolicking with new friends at our vet clinic’s daycare program!

The title of my post really does have a meaning. Last I posted I was working on Sizzle. It is finished… but I do not feel sizzling in it. The back portion is too large. Actually, it probably isn’t, but I tend to wear things that are more form fitting so I feel like it is. Last night at SnB we discussed a number of ways for me to fix this problem (without frogging) and most of them required a skill I do not have - sewing! I have to wonder if I should just stick to making blankets and scarves!

In the meantime I started two new projects. Reid is going to be a gift for Piglet’s half-sister for Christmas. It is done in light blue for the body and dark blue for the trim. She has the same blue eyes as Piglet so the blue will be beautiful on her. Of course as soon as I purchased all the yarn, the cashier at Michael’s handed me a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase this weekend. So, I returned all the yarn and will re-buy it on Sunday.

February Lady Sweater is the second project I cast on. The Superwash Bamboo from Elann is sooooo soft. I just hope the darn thing fits. It is top down construction so I get to try it on as I go. So far I am trying on each inch!

Lastly, I completed a sweater for Piglet. It is very cute. A little big, but cute. I have to make it big because the boy is growing every month. I just wish his head would stop growing, but I guess it is housing a big brain. He is coming up with new words every day and learning new stuff that scares the bejeezus out of me. His new favorite toy is my old cell phone. I never thought I would see the day when I had to tell my nearly two year old that he could not have his cell phone at the dinner table or take it to school.

Only 107 more days until Big Boy gets home… but who’s counting.

The Lady is a Tramp!

What else can you say about a pattern that is working its way through your stash? A pattern that you think will be perfect for a yarn but then leaves you hanging for a better, more expensive yarn? A pattern that looks fabulous in the dark but come the light of day its a double bagger?

Yes folks, the Lady Eleanor has once again made her way to the frog pond. I spent many months working on it in the lovely Sea Silk that Amy sent me and I did find it beautiful, but, that itty bitty yarn in an entrelac pattern became a chore. The yarn is gorgeous and deserves something light and airy - like strawberries needing angel food cake and whipped cream. I think it will be most happy as the Montego Bay.

It has been a crazy few months around our casa. Big Boy has been in Texas and was supposed to go to Wisconsin before heading to Afghanistan but at the last minute he was sent back home for three weeks. We are happy to have him here! On Tuesday our Calvin had a cancerous tumor removed. We are still awaiting the results of the biopsy and are hopeful that they got it all and we will have our little Chow Pei for a few more years. It is hard to watch the babies age.

My parents visited this week and spoiled Piglet rotten. He has enjoyed having attention 24/7 and I enjoyed the slight break. Next week the in-laws will visit. I am VERY glad that Big Boy will be here to act as a buffer.

Oh the places we will go

Edited to add better photos!








Before I tell you about our latest travels I will show you the latest in the Knotty repertoire of finished objects.

Details:

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket from Jared Flood
Yarn: Ecological Wool by Cascade in Latte
Needles: size 10.5 Options
Size: Ginormous - seriously, this picture is taken with me standing on my bed (and I whacked my head on the ceiling fan - the things I will go through for ya'll)! I ran out of room on the foam blocks and had to pin parts of it to my bedroom floor - good thing I just vacuumed. Now I just have to find a way to keep all the feet off it for the night.

If I were to make this again I would probably change the bind off. The ruffled bind off is pretty but it is a PITA to block

Now, for the good stuff. Did you see me on television? Yep, I was on the news in several different cities. Last week Piglet and I headed to San Antonio to spend the weekend with Big Boy. We got to Atlanta on Wednesday night and as I walked to my gate I wondered why there were a bunch of long lines at the ticket counters. Little did I know! Our flight ended up being cancelled. Since I would have had to stand in a very long line with a toddler I opted to have Big Boy buy us some tickets on another airline - for the next day. The hotels all sold out so Piglet and I spent the night in Hotel Hartsfield! A local station interviewed us around 2:00 a.m. and apparently stations around the country picked it up. By the time our flight took off I felt like a Sherpa as I was carrying a baby, car seat, stroller, diaper bag and purse! So, that wasn’t bad enough… the next day got even better. Piglet exploded all over himself and his very last diaper. There I was, in an airplane with no diaper! Fortunately the flight attendants were willing to go up and down the aisle asking if anyone with a toddler was willing to give up a diaper. We ended up with a diaper too big and no clothes. Wait, it gets better… my luggage had not arrived when I got to San Antonio and Piglet was still naked. I finally broke down in the Target as I searched for things that would get me through the next two days without my luggage. The weekend ended up being fun despite it all. We spent time with friends and took Piglet to Sea World. I also got in a few hours at La Cantera mall where I played with the iPhone that I will eventually buy (and I bought a pretty pink case). I am happy to say that our trip home was uneventful. Well, with the exception of traveling with a toddler.


And speaking of the monster Piglet. He started “school” this week and seems to enjoy his days. Of course this means that I have to buy more storage boxes to hold all the pompom caterpillars. I think he is just happy they have goldfish crackers for snack every day!

There is one last bit of knitting info… I frogged the cabled yoke of Tangled Yoke today and I will restart it on size 4 needles.

I think I tangled my yoke

I really have been knitting these past few weeks. I figured it was time I proved that to all. First up is the Tangled Yoke sweater from Eunny. I think I may have messed it up though. See, I used a size 4 needle on the body to get gauge. When I got to the yoke portion I went up to a size 5 needle because I was afraid the cabling would pull in too much, making the shoulders way too tight (plus my shoulders are wider than any other part of my body). Now, I'm afraid they may be too large. So, here is my question to ya'll... do I rip out those 36 rows of cabling and go back to the smaller needle or do I just switch now to the smaller needle and finish up hoping that it won't look too big.
The second project is Hemlock from Jared Flood, et al. I am doing it in the Ecological Wool from Cascade. I think I am about halfway through the chart now. This is a great television/SnB (if I ever get there to knit without Piglet) knit because you only have to pay attention every fifth row!

The final project is this... This is the one that occupies most of my time. Actually, I spend lots of time trying to figure out ways to occupy HIS time. Now that he is walking he is getting more and more brave each day, and I am getting more and more tired. Tomorrow we are off to an Easter egg hunt. As long as it isn't raining, I hope to have great pictures and great candy!

Musings From The Gym

I joined the Y back in July and it has been an interesting experience. My old gym had members who were seriously trying to get into/stay in shape. The Y... well, it is equal opportunity. I thought I would share some tips with those of you who are considering joining a gym.

1. Yoga is supposed to help me find my inner peace. I can't find inner peace when your outer pie hole is yapping.
2. Unless you are a surgeon who is on call to perform a life saving operation you do not need your cell phone turned on in said yoga class.
3. I understand the concept of "workout buddies" but this does not mean that you have to stand around each other's weight machines and hog same machine.
4. If there is an open machine in another room, please use it instead of asking someone else to get off theirs just because it has the flat screen television.
5. 300 pound man... I don't care how much you can bench press, you still have a beer gut and are sweaty. Stop trying to impress!
6. Please do not wear perfume. I understand you want to not smell sweaty but when you get hot and sweaty, that CoCo Chanel smells like CaCa Chanel.

Ok, got that off my chest. Hopefully it will help those of you as you head to the gym. Feel free to let me know if you have a tip you would like to add.

I have had a little fiber in my life over the past few weeks. Maybe I should change that to say Yarn so that I don't get a bunch of spam regarding my colon health.

Here is a skein of the Eco Wool that will be used to make the Hemlock Ring Blankie once my needle tips arrive. I have three skeins so it will be a very big blankie.


A second pair of Fetching are working their way off the needles. The yarn is Elann's Highland Wool along with some Diwa. I love the way the two purples look together. I have all the details over on my Ravelry page. This is a super easy pattern and one that I could do repetitively without going comatose.
I also busted out this little baby hat for charity. Not sure which charity yet. It is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and the size is toddler. No, it will not fit a toddler sized head. Again, all the details can be found here.
Finally, I realized I haven't given you Piglet love in a while. Here he is trying to comb his hair with his pick. Annabelle is in the background looking very worried that she will be next victim of this amateur hair stylist. I don't blame her as I have had this same pick try to make its way into my ear, nose, mouth and eye.

Snow and Waves

Snow and waves... how can you have both? Well, here in Knottyland we managed both over the weekend. First, I finished the Print O' The Wave stole. Yes, I still have to weave in some ends. This little lacy thing took me six months to finish!


Details:
Needles: Size 4
Yarn: Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks, in the color stream
Pattern: Print O' The Wave from Eunny Jang
Mods: I worked this in one piece instead of doing the center graft like the pattern calls for. I also blocked the body and then picked up my stitches based on the length simply because the pattern does not leave an edge stitch and I had a hard time figuring out where to pick up. I have quite a few mistakes on the border - not my finest work!

Now, for the snow. We had snow on Saturday. Only about an inch but that was more than enough for me! Big Boy went out with the camera and got this great shot of perfect little Baxter footprints. He had never seen snow before and wasn't too sure about this cold stuff under his toes.

My piglet was equally unsure about this cold stuff. Here we are making a snowball. Shortly after this pic was snapped he plopped down in the snow and was not happy about the cold stuff creeping through his pants. As you can see, he is standing on his own - at least for brief moments. He will occasionally take steps on his own too but once he realizes what he has done he will plop back to the floor.



I decided I needed a quick knit to work on so I started a pair of Fetching. I am holding two yarns together to get an Aran weight and make these guys warm and toasty. They are going to a young girl with more pairs going to her teen brother and sister. The next set will be in purple and the boy's will be in a tweedy brown. The mitts are really fun to knit but I don't like the way the picot cast off looks.

Oh My Eyes Hurt!

Because I have been looking at this...


Yes, that is a stitch holder in the middle of my lace panel. Why? Well, that is a good question. The other night around 10:00 I was working on Print O' The Pain in My Ass and realized I was working the wrong row of the chart. I did what any other good knitter would do... I tinked until I dropped a stitch. I picked up the stitch and kept going. Or. So. I. Thought. I heard a little popping noise and my heart sank. Turns out when I picked up the stitch I missed the part where it had dropped down and released a K2tog and each of those stitches dropped to a K3tog. Now, I have 5 loose stitches. ACK! I took it to SnB last night where the gals were nice enough to give me tips on how to fix my giant sink hole. Not one would take a bribe to do it for me though.

So, what is a girl to do during a crisis? She shops! My Big Boy was out of town this week and I was having a hard time sleeping so I was on Ravelry when one of those horrible ads showed up. Horrible because they make a girl do wild and crazy stuff, alone, in her bed, with a computer, at midnight...



The yarn is from Spritely Goods and is the Sylph in Watermelon Tourmaline colorway. I have no idea what its destiny is... other than to make me smile.

Have you seen my mojo?

I seem to have misplaced it. Not just my knitting mojo. My, well, everything mojo. True, I haven’t felt like knitting much over the past few weeks but I also haven’t felt like blogging, reading, cooking or cleaning. So, what have I done? Um, played computer games. I tried blaming it on the holiday rush but truth is, I think it is more than that. Maybe it is that parenting a one year old is such a joy; you know, what with the whining because his food isn’t on the right plate, and the whining because his cup has milk and not juice, or the whining because he isn’t allowed to bang on the computer, or the constant picking up of the Tupperware (thanks Jen!) that has exhausted me. Or maybe It is knowing that the coming year will be a difficult one that I’d rather not face. In March my Big Boy will leave for San Angelo for two months of training so that he can leave us in June to spend six months in Afghanistan.

But, you guys came here to hear the good stuff. Yes, Piglet had a great Christmas. He is now the proud owner of a rocking horse; five new books; a shape sorter that talks and thankfully, has an off button; a dashboard that makes all sorts of car sounds and, thankfully, has an off button; a ride on toy; a Little People school bus that is politically correct with a kid in a wheelchair, but, has no off button; and, a bunch of other goodies as well. On Christmas Eve he left Santa some applesauce cake and found a love for it himself. Check out his stocking with a new "backup" lion.

I scored a Tom Tom navigation system, two different gift certificates, and this bracelet from Etsy (sorry, I couldn’t get a good picture at home).

What little knitting has been done has been somewhat depressing. I love the Lady Eleanor in the Sea Silk. In fact, I downright adore the Sea Silk. However, this pattern sucks yarn faster than California can fall into the ocean. I will likely have to buy a second skein.

Clapotis is coming along nicely and I think the decision to frog the original Lady Eleanor was a good one. My plan is to give it to a friend who has a birthday on January 12. Will I be done in time? Not likely! I have to put in quite a few more of the straight row repeats to get it long enough.

Finally, there is Tangled Yoke. The first sleeve is huge. Right now it is measuring about 2” larger than my wrist and it fits comfortably over another sweater. My original plan had been to wear it over a tank top but a recent bout with contact dermatitis (with an unknown cause) has made me think I will need a long sleeved shirt with the wool. This leaves me contemplating whether or not I really need to frog the sleeve or not. I am on a mission to finish this sweater. You see, MaryAnne has promised me lunch at Panera if I finish it and wear it to Stitch and Bitch. This deal came as the result of a conversation in which she pointed out that I never wear anything that I make; mostly I give it all away because I either make the wrong size (I have been fooling myself for a while now) or I don’t like the pattern once I get started, or I just plain ‘ole screw it up - what can I say, life is a constant learning curve.

Birthdays, Haircuts and Frogs... Oh My!

My little Piglet had his first birthday last week. I can hardly believe it. To celebrate we had some chocolate cake (picked out by Big Boy and oddly, had flowers on it).
And the next day we hit the salon for a first haircut. Turns out he had way more hair than we thought - it was just all on the top of his head. So, now he is sporting a more even, little boy haircut. He was such a good boy. He sat on the booster and was quite happy to watch himself in the mirror. Mommy had a hard time not crying!


Knitting news... Well, I did it. I frogged and frogged and hopped on the lily pad before the pond froze over. So far I am loving the Lady Eleanor scarf in the Sea Silk. The colors are blending nicely.


The Noro Lily is going to make a beautiful Clapotis when I get around to starting it. This yarn is a joy to frog and wash. It was all crinkly in the water until I pulled it up and all the crinkles fell out with the weight of the water - it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I still have a few more skeins to ball and then I will be on my way to clappyville.
I thought I would sneak in a photo of my Tangled Yoke in its very early stages. I hope it fits once it is done (stop laughing MaryAnne!) as I think I have gained weight since I started it... on Thanksgiving. LOL!

What Does the Froggy Say?

Being the parent of a now toddler means endless hours of “what does (fill in the blank with anything) say?” All because he can’t possibly go to kindergarten unless he knows what every animal on the planet says.

Oh wait, I digress. That is because no one really wants to me get to the point of this post. No one really wants to hear what the froggy says. I discussed my plans the other night and Christine all but covered her ears and sang La La La, I can’t hear you.

So, here it goes. I am going to frog my Lady Eleanor. I spent time on it over the past few weeks and realized that it was just too bulky. Even though it is sport weight cotton/silk yarn, it still makes me look like a snow bear. 16 skeins of yarn folks. Yep! Call me a freak but the thought of frogging it actually got me a little excited. I said excited, not turned on, get your minds out of the gutta.

But, that isn’t all. I also plan to frog my Argosy, which is currently done in Sea Silk. I have 400 yards and it is going to make for a very long Argosy scarf. Nice, but not quite what I want. So, here is the current plan… the Sea Silk will become a Lady Eleanor scarf. And, the Noro Lily from Lady Eleanor will become a Clapotis.

Here is the way I see it… the Clapotis is a pattern that can grow with the cotton and not be snow bearish. Plus, it is a great pattern for showing off the colors of the Lily and not making it look like funfetti.

In other knitting news... the Tangled Yoke is coming along fabulously. I love the pattern, I love Eunny, and I love the yarn (highland silk from Elann). This puppy has best fit!

The one where she is a little crazy...

The other night I thought I was losing my mind. I kept hearing a strange sound outside my bathroom window. Big Boy said that he had turned off the sprinklers so that wasn't it. The sound was too even to be Annabelle snoring. My fear was that something was living outside (and despite Big Boy's suggestion, I did not go outside in the cold dark to see what it might be) or under my whirlpool tub. I heard it two days in a row and was about to call Ghostbusters to come help when I found the source. Piglet's stuffed cow. Yep, cow has had a bad case of Insanus Bovinus ever since it arrived here. Calvin's attempts to revive him have only served to increase his unpredictability but now the random MOO's are more muted.

To add to my frustration, I finished Piglet's stocking. I know, after a year, that should not be frustrating. I attached the trim for the second time only to discover that I seamed the trim in the front of the stocking instead of the back. Now it is back in timeout while I decide if it is worth removing it or not.
The one piece of sanity in this house is that I did the sleeves to Piglet's sweater separately and somehow they came out the same length! This has never happened before! Now I have to attach them and work the yoke. Maybe it will be done in time for Thanksgiving.

As for the Thanksgiving knitting... I have been giving it some thought. I know it is still two weeks away but one has to have a plan. We have a 10-hour drive ahead of us as well as four nights in a hotel. I think I will cast on for Tangled Yoke using the Highland Silk from my stash. You would think that with Grandma and Grandpa around I would get more knitting time in, but it is doubtful. Instead I will be chasing the Piglet around, keeping him out of the fireplace, trash can and off the stairs.

So what's new with you?

The other day Knitiot Savant had a great post about how we sometimes blog out of obligation and not because we have something great to say. Oh boy was she right! Sometimes I think that I should go blog about something but don’t because it would likely be boring or I don’t feel like taking pictures or the pictures are on the computer that is in the office and what I really feel like doing is being the boob in front of the tube. Or, I have absolutely nothing knitting related (seriously do you want to see those four rows of stockinet that I finished?) and I think y’all must be sick of the Piglet.

Ok, I know you aren’t sick of Piglet so here is a little photo array of our Wednesday. We started out at the local Farmer’s Market where the mom’s group got together for a puppet show, hayride and pumpkin picking.

After that it was all downhill. Later that afternoon I caught him standing up all on his own. Yep, he will be going to college tomorrow.


In the last post I mentioned being on a people hating kick… I am at a stage where I am tired of the drama. I love the different forums on Ravelry but I hate the people who just take everything too seriously and start drama. I am tired of the people who see criticism of an establishment and threaten to sue for libel (and you know who you are bitches). You know the type - they believe in freedom of speech until they don’t agree with what is said. And then there are those who always seem to be in the same mess and don't realize the problem is with themselves. Well, that is my soapbox for this week...

There has been some knitting going on. Let’s see… Print O' The Wave is sitting in a bath now and will block later this evening so that I can find those edge stitches to pick up; I am ready to attach the top edge to Piglet’s ginormous stocking; Lady Eleanor is still plugging along - I don’t think it will ever be finished.

Stockings, Swatches and Scarves

Last night I had my first baby/yarn near tragedy. I was swatching along for Piglet’s sweater and suddenly one of the strands felt like it was caught on something. So, I pulled. And, it pulled back. You guessed it. Piglet had and end and thought this whole tug-o-war thing was quite hilarious. I guess my days of knitting while the boy is awake are over for a few years.

Speaking of Piglet’s sweater… here is the swatch for his sweater…
It is Fibonacci (thank you MaryAnne and Jen) - a three-row sequence of four colors. Make sense? Didn’t make much sense to me either until I started working on the swatch. Sometimes ya just gotta have faith! The yarn is Cotton Fleece. I need to go down to a size 4 needle (swatch is in size 5) because I don't like how drapey the yarn is. For a boy who is in constant movement the sweater will need a tighter knit. Plus, I need to learn how to better carry my yarns. Check out the back of the swatch - EEK!

His stocking is nearly done. Do you think the stocking is large enough? (You can click on the photo to get a larger image and see just what the tape measure reads) LOL! At least it will hold all the underwear and socks he will get as an older kid. I have had to rewrite the edge piece because as written it looked like crap. Can you see the eyelets? Nope? That’s ok, you aren’t really meant to see them. They are small enough to hide once this thing is sewn on but also large enough to weave a ribbon through if I so decide.

My final piece worth showing… Argosy.
I really like this pattern and I ‘specially love this yarn. Amy, queen-o-the-fish sent it to me in the Coffee Swap. It is yummy AND it smells good.

This week I had a coupon for Barnes & Noble and guess what popped into my bag?

Fried Blue Tomato

Tomato is finished! Actually, it was finished before I left and it blocked while I was away. Even with the stretching it is still too small for me (read: clings to all the wrong spots!). It will become Christmas for my SIL. This sweater is very cute and I would definitely like one in a larger size for myself. Thanks to Knitting Daily I now know that I have been knitting the wrong size and was dreaming when I thought a size 36" bust would fit me. So, which is cuter - the sweater or the baby?

Details: Started 7/9/07 and weaved in the last end on 10/1/07
Yarn: Sonata from Elann. About 3.5 skeins of blue and .25 skein of white
Needles: Size 3 & 4
Size: 36". However, the yarn I used is a smaller gauge than the yarn called for so my sweater ended up a little, um, snug.
Notes: With my yarn being different I had to do more increases at the top to get the right length. I also did more ribbing at the bottom and on the sleeves instead of having the rolled edge. I think it is neater looking. This is a super easy pattern!

For those of you on Ravelry, there are full details here.

Up next: A sweater for Piglet and Argosy for me!