This Hat Looks Swell!

I know that it's been a loooooong time! The weather here has been hot and sticky which makes it not a good time to knit! However, I did see something on knitty that my 11 year old wanted me to make and that's the "swell" hat. I know that from the look of things it looks great! Easy to knit, great yarn, fun to knit etc; etc; etc; But there is one thing that's wrong with it......and it's too dang small!



I'm one of these people that doesn't believe in gauge! I figure....Hey! It's a hat! No big whoop! This hat is so small it would fit a baby! (I hope Sara has a boy!) I knit it exactly how the pattern called, so I will need to go up a needle size to fit on my boys' noggin. When will I learn? Probably never!

This weekend I'm looking forward to attending stitches with my knitting homies! We leave on Friday morning to shop at the market, then we'll be attending the fashion show, and then hooking up with some fellow knitters at the Embassy Suites later that evening! I can't wait! It seems like forever since I last picked up some needles.

On the homefront.......my husband passed his last appraiser test, so he's getting closer to "super appraiser" status. There's another class he can take in CA, but it's so darn expensive and it takes place during the school term for our boys. He told me we both could go, but I don't want to sit in a hotel room or roam around the city by myself.

We just got back from our first cruise and it was quite an adventure. First of all, we decided to drive from WI to FL.......when we left our youngest said "My ear hurts". Not a big deal.....that is until that evening when he's crying in pain! So.....we stop at the medical center in Columbia, SC, where they try to clear his ear out and inform me that it could be a perforated eardrum! What the heck? No swimming, no sun, no ipod, etc; etc; etc; They throw him on all kinds of drugs and tell me to visit the ships' doc on that Monday. But wait.......when we get to FL we are informed that our ship is delayed because on it's previous voyage it had the norovirus outbreak! What the heck?

Now onto the ships' doc.....nice guy......couldn't speak english....but nice guy! Informs me that the infection is so great that they need to put him on a stronger antibiotic! Poor guy! Here we are on a cruise in the caribbean and he can't go in the water! He made the best of it by wearing a hat, 50 sunscreen, and wading in the littlest amount of shade he could find in the pool.

Therefore....I think I deserve to buy something fantastic at Stitches! Don't you think?

Summer Knitting

Well....I know it's been awhile, but after I got done with the Shadow shawl, I decided to take it easy in the knitting department. Mind you.....I'm still buying yarn and I'm still knitting....but I've downscaled it a bit. Currently, I'm knitting some bibs and dishcloths from Mason Dixon Knitting. I love their website and their book! The book was a little pricey at $30, but I tell myself that if I make 3 things from it, then it's worth the price. The best part of the book are the stories they have concerning knitting. I loved the bibs so much that I designed a shadow knit one! I'm still knitting and working out the kinks, but should have it done by this weekend.

My birthday is on Friday and I'll be 43 years old. I certainly don't feel like I'm 43, and some out there would say I don't necesarily don't act 43, either. Having a summer birthday kind of sucks.......People always have stuff going on over the weekends and such. That's why I always make sure my youngest (who's bday is in August) has an extra special day. Me? I'm thinking that I might take my boys to see Superman and then in the evening I would have dinner with MY Superman...aka the hubby. I could go to Summerfest, the nations best music festival, but on Friday nights it can get a bit crowded and my hubby doesn't like crowds.

I'm also getting ready for a cruise! Whee! I've never been on one and am looking forward to relaxing. I should get some knitting done, since we are driving down to Florida to the port. I'd like to finish a few more bibs and a couple of burp cloths too. Then......I need to begin my Christmas knitting! Argh!

But before the Christmas knitting I get to attend Stitches! I going with a group of fun women who love to knit and have a few cocktails in between! A good friend said to leave my credit card at home, because I'll end up spending way too much! I'll just have to control myself and bite the bullet as they say! Next year I'm bringing my knitting buddy Kris, she's got a cute blog and is so much fun to hang and knit with! We laugh everytime we are together knitting!
But we all know how our schedules are and this year it didn't work out, but wait until next year!

Can we have a drumroll please?

Yes! It's taken me a little over 1 year.....but the Shadow Knit Shawl by Vivian Hoxbora is now complete! Phew! I received an email from a friend of mine, asking when I would update my blog and I said "Not until I can take a pic of this shawl!"


This is a close-up of the "shadow" that takes place.

A couple of things I learned while knitting this shawl....

1. Don't always go by the colors they have in the book. I really liked how I changed the edge and center colors.

2. Don't give yourself a timeline. I kept thinking that I needed to get it done in a certain amount of time, realizing I enjoyed knitting it more when I relaxed about it.

3. Don't worry about the little mistakes. That's what makes it your own.

4. Make sure to have extra projects going at the same time. This made me from going insane!

5. Expect that not everyone is going to like it, what matters is if you like it!

6. Most of all......BE PROUD OF YOUR WORK!

Now that I have that done, I can finally knit with my "homies" on Tuesday night! I've been so busy as of late, that I haven't had the chance to knit with my friends. Ahhhhh! I can't wait to sit back and show off my new shawl! (Kris and Anne will be so proud of me!)

Next on my knitting agenda? Finish up the raglan cardigan.....I'll probably need help from Kris, Chris and Anne and I saw a tank I would like to make from Knit Picks before I leave on a cruise in July. I also fell in love with the felted rug from Oddball knitting that seems easy enough.

For now.......I'm going to finish up a pair of socks and relax!

Visiting the newest yarn stores!

I'm still working feverishly on my shadow knit shawl. It seems that I just keep knitting and knitting and getting no where fast! I did take a break though and had the chance to visit a new yarn shop in Mayville called Loose Ends Yarn Shop. (thanks to Kris for helping me figure out links!)

Let me say that our day started by having lunch at a quaint little place that I believe was called the Celtic Cafe. Everything is homemade and was delicious. The staff were pleasant and had a great love for their little cafe.

As we approached the shop, you couldn't help but notice the front window. Beautiful hand knit shawls, yarns, and notions made you want to go in there immediately and take a look around! As we walked through the door we were greeted very warmly by Michele the owner who told us to touch all the yarns and look around. There is a sitting area with a nice comfortable sofa and chair that you can sit and knit. She had jelly beans and store copies of the latest magazines to look at. Michele didn't have as many yarns as some other places, but she made up for it by her georgeous displays. What I loved about her shop was that there weren't all these hand knit scarves laying around. Arent' we tired of scarves? As I was eyeing up some of her shawls, I saw that she too had a shadow knit shawl from Vivian Hoxboro in the works. It was good to know that someone else is attempting this shawl, besides me!

Michele is very knowledgable about her knitting and crocheting. My friend Teri and I spent 2 hours there and walked away with some yarn, free patterns Michele designed , and a class that we are going to take. It was definitely worth the trip.

I must admit thought, that I am working on a very lacy mohair shawl for a cruise that I'm taking this summer. And before Kris blurts it out to the whole blogging world........I've been taking a stripper pole exercise class! Now let me tell you.......it's a lot harder than it looks! After the first class my thighs and arms were killing me! Of course, everyone in the class is laughing because the instructor does teach us "stripper" dance moves! Give me socks to knit anytime and I can do that........but trying to whip myself around that pole is virtually impossible!

Mindless Knitting

These are the dishcloths I've made while teaching my friend Sara how to knit! I would normally bring my shawl, but it's so big and the lighting isn't very good, which makes it difficult to travel with. So.....when in Rome do what the Romans do! Since she's knitting dishcloths, I thought it was the perfect time to learn some new stitches! My sis-in-law Peg bought me the calendar 365 knit stiches a day so I thought I'd try some! I only had to rip one out, because my husband said it was to "holey" for a dishcloth!

The shawl is still coming along nicely......even though the weather is warming up while the shawl gets heavier and heavier! I'm really looking forward to meeting with the "ladies" and knitting tonight at Starbucks. However, there is one person missing from our group and that is Anne! She will be laid up for a few weeks until the doc says she can drive. Good thing Kris, Chris and Lois are there to help me if I need it! Goodness knows I need it sometimes!

I also found out that there might be a new yarn store that I'm not aware of! I read about it on Kris' blog and I can't wait to find out where it is! Like I need more yarn!

Moving along.........

I do not have pictures to post, because I'm still working on my shadow knit shawl! I'm bound and determined to get this thing finished if it's the last thing I do! Everyone who knows me thinks it's hilarious that it's the only thing I'm working on.......but I want to get it finished! My youngest has seen me drag this out everyday and has figured out that just one side of the shadow part is 56,840 stitches! That's a lot of stitches! Figuring it takes me about 1 hour to do two rows (there are 280 rows with 203 stitches on size 2 needles), that means that I have worked on one side for approximately 8,400 minutes or 140 hours! Phew! That's a ton of knitting! Currently I'm on row 160.......only 120 to go!

The purses I made for the auction went for $30 and $20 a piece. After talking it over with Peg, we thought I probably should have donated some scarves. I was a little bummed, but unless you knit, you have no idea the time it takes to make something like that.

Right now I'm currently teaching a friend of mine to knit. Instead of a scarf, I'm making her knit a dishcloth. Why a dishcloth? They are fast.....they are relatively easy.....and it's instant gratification! We were at Caribou Coffee (I love the campfire mocha...Yum!) and we're knitting away when all the sudden she drops a stitch! She says *shit* pretty loudly and this woman comes over and says "A good knitter says *shit* and fixes it, a bad knitter says *shit* and gives up!" We cracked up laughing! This woman must have been 80+ years old! She sat with us for awhile and chatted. My friend is now ready for the "bind-off" so I'm meeting her tomorrow to show her how. I'm thinking I might bring her a little knitting gift because she's doing so well!

*Note to Joan.....maybe we should start you off on a dishcloth, I think the scarf was too much!

My husband is planning to take my boys camping this summer for a long weekend! He told me that he felt bad leaving me home alone! Is this man crazy? I've already thought that I should probably meet a bunch of my knitting buddies, hit some knitting stores, come back to my place, eat, knit and drink! Now I just have to get him to set a date so I can put my plan into motion!

Awwwwwwwww!

Aren't these the cutest? These are the umbilical cord hats I made from the Stitch n' Bitch book. I used 1 skein of Plymouth Encore worsted and got a total of three hats! I'm thinking I should have another baby, just so I could make him/her a hat! Trust me.....there isn't any way I'm going to have another child.....it was just the "knitting crazies" talking!

I'm still working on that dang Shadow Knit Shawl! I've declared that this is my March Madness month and that I'm bound and determined to get this done! Enough already! How many times do I need to look at that and say "Tracy, pick up your needles and get cracking!" So that's what I'm going to do! See ya later socks....I'll be back! Hey you! Rowanspun cardigan! You'll have to wait your turn, because the shadow needs to get done! Don't feel bad dishcloth......it's not personal.....but this shadow has been looming around long enough!

My newest addiction is podcasting! I love to listen to people talk about knitting and give reveiws and such. I've added a few to my blog so try them out! Also, I'm going to put on some "comedy" ones, too! Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love to laugh! Some of these are so hilarious! My son and I want to start our own podcasting, too!

Well, enough of this blogging stuff! I've got me a shawl to finish!

Charity Knitting!

After much delibiration I have decided to keep the coral/brown bag for myself and donate this Blue Sophie bag with Glamour yarn to my sis-in-laws auction. This one turned out so great! It's a bit bigger than the first one, so it would be a great tote for books, shoes, etc;


This is the close up of the bottom of the bag. I like the "glitzy" look that's achieved with the glamour yarn. I'm also donating a felted purse for her auction. I'll let everyone know how much they both went for.

On the knitting homefront....I'm still working on my socks and I've begun a raglan cardigan using Rowanspun Chunky. I already have the back and left front completed. This time around I'm going to attempt to knit this sweater without any help from my knitting guru Anne! I want to see if I can "go it alone". So far.....so good! Keep your fingers crossed! I would have taken a pic, but my camera battery ran out. Oops! I also have to begin a baby hat for a friend of mine. I think the "fruit" hats are cute, but I also like the umbilical cord hat from Stitch n Bitch. Maybe I'll just make both!

I've missed out on a lot of knitting due to my boys sporting events, however it's almost over and I'm able to see the knitting needles at the end of the tunnel. This Thursday I'm having a group over to knit and drink. It should be a great time! It was an impromptu gathering, because where we normally meet (a Cafe) is closing, and we had nowhere to go on March 2nd, so I told everyone if they wanted they could come to my place! We found a new home......but we can't meet there until the 9th of March, so what the heck! My boys are going to hide out in their room, but said they would come out to see what kind of snacks are out!

Today I'm going to watch the movie Mad Hot Ballroom and do a little knitting. I absolutely love those kinds of days. Happy knitting!

I'm in love with this bag!

Here's a photo of my first "Lucy" bag! I love it! Shhhhh! This is the one I'm supposed to donate to Peg's auction, but I'm falling in love with it! I made it a little different than the pattern. After round 28, I turned my counter back to 0. Rows 1-23 were made with the coral, rows 24-45 were done in the mosaic stitch (using the brown) , then rows 46-78 were knit in the coral. I then started the strap set-up and only knit that 88 times or 176 pattern rows. Doesn't it look fantabulous? I'm going to felt the one below and see which one I like the most and then decide which one to donate.


Now this is an unfelted "lucy" bag with some glamour yarn at the bottom. This is knit according to the pattern (tall version) along with the strap length. You can see the difference in size and how much it shrinks when the felting process is complete.

On a more serious note......I was referred to as a "yarn snob"! I knew that deep down in the crevices of my soul that I was, but to actually hear it....how painful! I was in denial, I admit it! I love the way cashmere and wool feel against my skin! So I knit with my head held high and my needles pointed upward and announce to everyone that.............

I AM A YARN SNOB AND PROUD OF IT!

My next project is a cardigan from a Rowan magazine with Rowanspun Chunky. It doesn't look too difficult, but it seems that it's always the patterns I think are easy, end up being a pain in the arse! This time I told myself that I would do a gauge swatch.....seeing that I had to rip out 20 rows from my cable sweater, because it would have been too small. Tsk! Tsk! When will I learn.....

Today I'm meeting some women on the North side for some knitting and chatting. These women crack me up! The whole time I'm there I just laugh! They tell the funniest stories about their husbands and their knitting. I can't wait to see them.....I need to laugh today!

Bang the Thrum!

Here's what "thrumming" looks like! I know that it's difficult to see but I think you get the picture. You knit your cuff in a K1P1 rib for about 3 inches, then you start with another color, along with your thumb gusset and then you start adding your wool according to the pattern. The pattern is from Fox and Geese (or something like that!). Now all those dark blue things sticking out is the wool.....you see....that will be on the inside of the mitten. After time, it becomes matted and kind of felts! I know it sounds weird, but I've been told that's what's going to happen. If you've knit mittens before (like I have) then thrumming is really easy. Also, it can be a little boring, but I'm here to learn new techniques......right?

This week I bought a new knitting bag! Whoo! Whoo! Actually, it's a bag I saw at Bath & Body Works and I decided it would make the perfect bag. It's got two big pockets on the outside! (great for patterns!) Two pockets on the side! (great for bottled water) One zippered pocket on the inside!(great for holding money) Two pockets on the inside! (great for needles, notions etc) It has a handle and a shoulder strap and is made of fabric! It's fairly big, but it prevents me from bringing 2 bags when I go and meet my fellow knitters. So before I use it, I sprayed it with scotchguard, (it stays cleaner that way) and am awaiting anxiously for it to dry!

I've done a fair amount of knitting this week.....but it's difficult because it's been pretty darn nice outside. There isn't any snow and it's been mild, so my husband and I have taken advantage of the great weather and have been outside.

Currently, I'm working on a pair of socks using Knit Picks "dancing" sock yarn! I LOVE IT! I decided to use the pattern that was on their website and so far so good. I remember not to long ago I said that I would never knit socks, because it seemed really difficult to do. What was I thinking? They are so easy to take along and I always get compliments when I wear them! Now back to knitting..........

These are Off the Cuff!

Hello my fellow readers and Happy New Year! I know that it's been awhile....but I've been rather busy. I had to finish up Joan's scarf.....which she loved! I made her a scarf from Knit Picks baby Alpaca! It was so soft! My Mother-In-Law, Mary made me a beautiful lap afghan! I was so surprised! It's just gorgeous! I'll take a picture and post it, but let me tell you that the picture won't do it justice!

As you can see, I finished my "Off the Cuff" socks! I like the color, the pattern and how quickly they knit. I picked this color scheme from sockotta because it brightens my day! Here in the Midwest all the snow has melted (since it's been in the 40's & 50's), so we are left with the color brown! When I wear these I think of summer and warmer days ahead!

I've picked up my Shadow shawl again in an attempt to try and finish it. It took me one hour to try and figure out how I did it! My persistence prevailed and I figured it out! Phew! I was getting scared!

This is my newest felting project.....the Lucy bag from the Two Old Bags patterns. I'm making it from Cascade 220 (Coral & Brown). The camera makes it look orange, but trust me, it's coral. My sis-in-law Peg has a fundraiser for her church and I told her I would donate something for their silent auction. But the more I knit it, the more I think I want to keep it myself. The stitch sequence in the middle is a mosaic stitch. I wanted to make that part 46 rows, but my knitting guru Anne told me that it could become tighter because you slip a stitch every other row. I caved in and did only 23. I can't wait to see how it turns out. The great thing about felting is you can manipulate it as you go.

This weekend I'm doing a little gambling up in Green Bay........and since I don't have to drive, I'll just sit in the back and finish up this bag! Maybe I'll win so much money that I can put it all in here! Wouldn't that be sweet....

My next project I'm working on is thrumming. This is when you knit raw wool into a mitten which creates additional warmth. The most difficult part is preparing the wool. You need to separate it, roll it between your hands, twist it, then knit it with the regular yarn, making sure the regular yarn doesn't show. What a pain! A friend of mine said she only made one mitten, because it was slow going.........

Again, my apologizes for not keeping up with my blog......but I promise that I'll be better!

Completed Cable Sweater!

Sound the alarms! I finally finished my cable knit sweater! What a great feeling! It only took me about 2 1/2 months and I learned a lot of different things. With the cold weather we have been having this sweater will be great to "snuggle" in. My son loves to put it on because it's so warm.
I would love to make another one, but I would have to change the yarn to something not so fuzzy like the lamb's pride.

This is a close-up of the cable pattern. I especially like the middle cable and the way that it weaves in an out of each other.

In other knitting news......I have completed the gift bags for my sister-in-law! Whoo! Whoo! I just need to box them up and ship them to her. I haven't been working on my cuff down socks lately because I'm trying to get some Christmas presents done. I'm still feverishly working on Joan's gift. Something I thought I was going to give to one neice is going to another, because I forgot I already bought something for the other neice. Oops! It seems that every year I do that! I see something......I buy it.....then I forget and get or make something! This year I'm going to turn over a new leaf and when I get something or make something, I'm going to record it right away so I don't forget!


Here are my first "slip stitch" mittens with some Cascade 220 that I had left over from my stash! These are from an Amy Anderson pattern called "Over the river and through the wools", which is also a "felted" pattern. When my husband saw me making these he commented that they looked really big! How funny! I had to explain that I needed to shrink them! I did have a bit of a gap when I was working on the thumb, but because it's going to be felted, I just "fudged" some yarn in that little hole and it looked fine. I can't wait to felt them and wear them!

I've been working a lot more hours at my retail job because of the holiday. It gets so hectic and customers can get very mean! If you read this blog.....I ask a couple of things for you to do this holiday season.

1. Don't wait until the last minute to purchase your gifts. If you see something buy it and don't wait, because it probably won't be there the next time you shop.
2. Huffing, puffing, and stomping your feet does not make the line go faster!
3. If paying by check...have it written out ahead of time!
4. Have all your coupons ready and give them to the cashier BEFORE she begins your transaction.
5. Make eye contact with employees......we aren't monsters!
6. Have everything you need before you get to the cashier! Don't leave the line to get one last item! It holds up everyone behind you!
7. Most of all.......be nice! Treat people how you want to be treated.

For all the unruly customers I deal with, I always get those few who are so kind! In fact, yesterday this woman told me that I waited on her last year and was so excited to see that I was still there! She also said I have really white teeth! Hee! Hee! It made me feel so good! My husband says that because I've had so many jobs in customer service, he notices that I have so much patience when things go wrong in a restaurant, store etc;

Now back to knitting.......I can't wait for the weekend. My son has a wrestling tournament, so that means I can sit back and knit! I forgot one thing.......my family and I went to the Milwaukee Bucks game last week, and of course, I brought my knitting! My husband and kids couldn't believe it, but in my defense....I needed to get some stuff completed AND I really don't like to watch professional basketball. Anyhoo......we walk in.....they check my bag......and actually took me aside because of my needles! This very pleasant old man looks at me and asks me what "they" are and I explain that they are knitting needles and that I planned to knit during the game. He told me "I've seen everything brought into a game, but I've never seen anyone bring in knitting needles!" He patted me on my back and let me and my knitting needles in. By the way.....the Milwaukee Bucks won in overtime and I completed my project! Go Bucks!

No! I didn't fall off the face of the earth!

Here's the back of my calbe knit sweater! I finished up to the shoulders and have the neck on a holder. I put it on......and I guess I'm ok with it. I'm not a big "sweater" person, so I'm not jumping up and down about it. The reason I made it was to learn cables and to read a pattern a little better. As long as I learn something, I'm pretty happy! Because the yarn is thick, this seems to be going pretty quick!



Here's sock #1 from the cuff down sock pattern. I love this yarn! It's called Sockotta and the pattern is so great! Whenever I'm making this in public, people stop and admire the yarn. I think I'm going to "gift" these to me! They are so fun!


Here's sock #2.....just waiting to be finished! He's sooooo jealous that sock #1 was done first! I keep telling him that I'm trying, but to no avail!

With the fall temps approaching.....it makes me want to stay in the house and knit more. But I was a very good girl today and finished staining and varnishing my front window, and I also did the same to the front door. With all the cold weather and salt the front door looked as if it was about to break into pieces! However, I saved it and hopefully we'll get a couple more years out of it!

So what are my knitting goals for November?

1. Finish the cabled sweater!
2. Finish my socks!
3. Work on Joan's order for felted bags!
4. Start the "blush" project from knit pixie and finish by Thanksgiving!
5. Start and finish Amy's scarf for Christmas!

If I get all those things done.....then I'll be one happy knitter!

Some completed projects!

I know that I've been a bad blogger........but I was so busy finishing up some felted projects. Here you can kind of see what the zig-zag bag looks like! The strap is the Checkmate ribbon with knots tied at about every 2 inches. I crocheted a strap for a button, but haven't found a button, yet!


Here's a project a friend of mine asked me to do. It's a felted compartment bag! The premise is to make two bags, attach them up the side and bottom and you'll have an inside compartment. I made mine with Lamb's Pride worsted and was quite pleased with the way it turned out. My friend has a bunch of us making the purse, so she can "fine-tune" her pattern and hopefully sell the pattern. Another knitter made the purse without the flap and instead installed zippers on the inside.


Here's how the bag looks without the flap over the top.


Here's looking inside the bag. Kind of cool, huh?

I recently placed my first order with Knitpicks! I can't wait to see all the yarn I ordered! I want to work on a gift for someone for Xmas, so I'm anxiously awaiting for my yarn. I can't talk about the gift because this "certain someone" reads this blog. Okay! It's for Joan!

My cabled sweater is coming along nicely. I'm almost to the bind off for the arm holes! Whoo! Whoo! I hope to get this bad boy done by Thanksgiving and wear it in the chilly months!

I also started on a pair of socks for me! I started knitting them at my bowling league, because the women on my team were fighting and I didn't want to get involved. So....I brought my bowling ball and knitting! More women came up to me to find out what I was doing and more than once did they mention how cool it was to be knitting socks!

I finally broke down this week and bought an Ott-Lite! Now I can see! I got it at Joann's with a 40% off coupon. I also do beading, so this really helps with my eyestrain!

The nights are finally getting chilly so that means more knittin' and drinkin'! Lately, I've been drinking reds. My doc told me that every woman should have a glass of red wine or purple grape juice every day. I told him that I have two.....just in case I miss a day!

Also, ladies please remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! If you are 40 you should be getting your first mammogram and every year thereafter. There are many women I know who've been diagnosed with breast cancer, but because of their mammogram it was caught early and they are living cancer free lives. So....put your needles down and get a mammogram!

I'm So Stuuuuuuupid!

So here I am, cabling away on my sweater, when someone notices that it looks kind of small. They say "Is your guage on?" I say "Of course it is, what do you think I am......an idiot?" Guess what? I am an idiot!

When I measured myself for the sweater, I measured and determined that I was an ample 46" across the chest so I thought that's what I make my sweater at! However, I want the sweater to be loose fitting therefore, it would be more appropriate to make it 49-50". Now....there are one of three things I can do.....frog it, loose some weight in the chest area, or keep knitting and give it to someone else! Through much deliberation I've decided that losing weight does not guarantee that I will lose weight in that particular area! Giving it to someone else would kill me, because only fellow knitters know the time and effort that goes into it. Therefore the logical choice is to riiiiiiiiiip it out. The one good thing is that the yarn is very bulky so it won't take long to rebuild it! (I sound like the Six Million Dollar Man!)

So we can all learn a lesson here........make sure you know the difference between finished size and your actual size. A special thanks to Lois, Chris, & Chris for noticing my sweater mistake and pointing it out before I was almost done!

Now I need to open up my bottle of Mad Housewife Chardonnay and start frogging!

I'm Kooky for Cables!

Ahhhhh! I started my cable knit sweater about 1 week ago and am finding it not too bad. I think I was intimidated by the cable and thought "how the hell do they do that?" Well, now I know and I'm not scared anymore! Anne has taught me how to cable without a needle and at first I was a bit confused. I left my Kooky for Cables class, thinking that there was no way I could work on this by myself. However, I sat down and used a pencil as my cable needle then I figured out what she was trying to teach. So.....I now do not use a cable needle! The women I meet up with on Thursday nights couldn't believe that I didn't use a cable needle, so they sat around and watched me! I was so nervous that I would screw it up.

A couple of things about this sweater.....I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky (kind of itchy), it's knit in the round (Whoo! Whoo!), and it has seed stitch sides. So far I'm liking it! (let's see what I say when I have to do the sleeves!)

A friend of mine Rose Ann has designed a felted bag pattern and asked me to make one before she tries to publish it. She has a range of knitters trying out the pattern. (I think I fall into the intermediate knitter category) I can't wait to start it, because it has compartments in it!


Here's the purse I made out of the recycled silk yarn. It was a bit tough to work with. The yarn itself varies from skein to skein, so if you wanted to make something (like a sweater), I think it might be kind of difficult. However, the colors are very vibrant and I really liked the way the purse turned out. It stretches a lot, so it would be great to hold paperback books, notebooks etc; I like to describe it as a "grab and go" purse! You grab it, throw your book, wallet, keys, knitting and go! The strap stretched a bit, but you can knot it at the top and adjust as necessary. I handwashed it and the water was brown! Gross! But I rinsed until it came out clear and laid it flat to dry. With the extra yarn, I'm going to make a smaller bag that would hold keys etc; but I'll probably have to line it and I'm not the best seamstress!

Now.....you're probably asking yourself "Hey Tracy! whatever happened to the Zig-Zag felted bag?" My, my my, aren't you knitters curious! Well you see, sometimes Tracy reads too much into a pattern and the result is a "not so good purse"! You see what happened was the pattern said "make your flap slightly longer than the length you want it", well, I thought it meant to make the flap longer than the whole length of the purse! Therefore, when I sewed up the sides I made the flap about 3 inches longer than the purse! The result? A felted purse with a flap that overhangs the purse! I've decided to felt it some more then cut the flap! Can you believe I did that? I'm now in the process of making another one! Phew!

Looky What I Bought!

Here's what I got in the mail the other day from ebay! It's the recycled silk yarn from Nepal, which is made from the snipped ends of sari's and handspun! You never know what colors you are going to get.....so be careful when you bid on this stuff. Some of the skeins seemed to be tightly wound, while others were rather loose. Also, you must let it dangle because otherwise it twists on itself. My personal testimony is that it would be kind of scratchy to make a scarf out of, but other websites suggest that you carry along a kid mohair with it. Me? I'm making the Unbiased bag from knitty! I know, I know, I know.....I SHOULD be working on the shawl but I was so excited to get this yarn! Wait! I did finish the hunting socks and following bag. So there!


Here's another little bag that I worked on over the weekend. A big shout out to by knitting buddy Nancy for giving me this pattern called the Zig-Zag felted bag! It takes one skein of Noro Kureyon and is simple to knit up. The pattern calls for a ribbon strap which will look great once it's felted. I saw the one Nancy completed and it looked great! Hopefully, I'll be able to felt it this week and then purchase some ribbon!

This is a close up of the stitches on the felted bag. I love how it looks and I hope it shows up when I felt it. This weekend I finished up on all my little projects and had a chance to have some breakfast with my knittin' friends. So here's my shout out for the week.....

Happy Birthday Anne! I was told (by Chris) to make sure I brought a nice birthday hat for Anne to wear! Well, she thought it was funny, but would only wear it for a few moments in order for me to take this picture in the restaurant. What a trooper! Best wishes this upcoming year, Anne!

I'm a bad, bad, girl!

Okay! So I didn't get to the 100th row of my shawl! How could I? It was mid 80's everyday on vacation with the sun shining and the margaritas & beer calling! I couldn't take the shawl outside, now could I? I really tried to get up in the early morning to work on it, but then the fish were calling me! I caught some perch, blue gill, bass and (yuk) catfish! So don't blame me about the shawl....blame.....the weather! Look at this sunset.....could you really concentrate on knitting with a sunset like this?

I did get a little knitting done, though. My buddy Tim was with us and I did finish one of his socks so he could try it on. He absolutely loved it and can't wait for the next one. This is one of those take-along projects that I hopefully will get done before October! (don't worry...I will!)
If I don't......then I guess only one of his feet will stay warm while he hunts! Then......I'm not making anymore hunting socks until next year!

Slowly but surely

This week I began with the intention of working on the shawl....however, I needed to get going on the hunting socks for my buddy Tim. I like to buy two sets of dpn's then work on each sock, so I don't get bored. However, I grabbed the "wrong" sock and started knitting around and around and around and then noticed that I didn't work any of the instep decreases! You see I should have been working on the "other" sock, because I was at that point with the decreases already done! So what did I do? I backward knitted around and around and around to get back to the decrease point of the sock! What a pain........

The shawl is coming along nicely, thank you very much! I worked on it while watching the movie "Saved" with my 13 year old. What a great movie! I'm taking the shawl with me on vacation next week and my goal is to get to 100 rows. (I'm currently at 70) Total row count for the shawl is 280, but remember my knitting friends....one row is 203 stitches on size 2 needles! It takes about 45 minutes to complete 2 rows. A friend of mine is curious to know how many stitches the actual shawl is! I told her that I'd figure it out when it's complete.

Last night I met with my knitting group and we had a great time! One woman said her husband was invited to a "meat" party! I guess it's similar to the pampered chef parties, however some guy cooks up a bunch of meat and then the men order what they want! What's next.......lawn tractor parties? Also, Rachel in our group completed her first sock. It was from a pattern back in the 60's where you knit it flat and then seam it up. When she seamed it up and put it on, it looked like those genie shoes from Istanbul with the pointy toe! We could not stop laughing! It was the funniest sock I'd ever seen! She is such a good sport because she was laughing along with us.

I'm gone until next weekend.....I hope to get to that 100th row while I'm gone!

Only the shadow knows..........

Well, as promised I've been really focused on getting the Shadow Knit shawl done this month. However, it's starting to get to the point that it's heavy and hot! I also wasn't too keen about the "orange" side, but after working on it I'm now getting used to it. I have no idea where I would wear this though. I suppose I could wear it when I'm working on other projects! When I'm not working on the shawl, I have begun another pair of hunting socks! I know, I know, I know.......but socks are so easy! A year ago, I didn't even think about making socks, because I thought they looked difficult....but now I'm a sockaholic!

Here's an angle shot of the shawl. You can see the "shadow" that forms depending on how you look at it. I was surprised at how well this shot came out!

Now enough of this blogging stuff.......back to knitting!