fun

Only 9 days til Christmas!

Cookie swap was lots of fun last week, like I knew it would be. Made my 200 cookies, that's my baking over for another year. And brought loads home, have a couple of bags enticingly lining my freezer, yum.

Here is diastelo's Irish Potato Candy - not strictly a cookie but I forgive her -


KnitRedSox loitering by the chocolate fountain...

Table o' goodies, mmm

Pheelya and Knitty showing off their knitted finery!

There was even a rare appearance by Twiceknit, in between her travels round the world. Great minty cookies too, yummm...

Here's my Argosy scarf, which I am working on between Babette and wee sweaters. Just love the colours. And yes, it's for me. I really am embracing this whole 'Selfish Knitter' ethos...

On the home front - getting ready for Christmas by dropping many dollars at the post office. I always have a helper when I go:

Cheriwan got her swap package and I think she was pleased :) This is one of the best swaps I've been in. Thanks for organizing Pheelya and TulaBug!!

Paddy and Jamie also join in the festivities. Not willingly, necessarily. You know I had to hold out some serious treats to get this picture...

Best. Mittens. Ever.

bob02
Originally uploaded by muffinm

Saw these on Ravelry - so cute!
I know I won't have the time to make these this winter, but maybe I can knit while the new baby sleeps, will have so much spare time being at home for a couple of months...ahem... :)

What's new with you?

Wintry weather setting in here...worked at home last Friday and enjoyed this - this - and this - And wore my new socks!

Made them way too big though. They are practically slippers - I always do this, none of my knit socks are fine enough to actually wear with normal shoes. For once I actually used the whole ball of yarn though, have maybe 2 yards left, instead of the usual small ball that you hate to throw away (the thought!) but can't think of anything creative to do with. Though there's always these.

Right now am back working on the Babette, crochet blanket. Hit All About Yarn on Saturday to get in more pink n green yarn supplies. Am on the home stretch, in terms of making the squares. The sewing and weaving-in-of-ends awaits...New pics coming.

more knitting-related stuff you don't need - and scarfapalooza

Been trolling on Zazzle (who have a 10%-off coupon if you use Paypal - woohoo!)

Wouldn't I look smart showing up to S&K with these: knitting themed keds! Might be the only way I'd ever wear a pair - us height-challenged folks need a bit more assistance in the heel department than Keds offer.

Rory got a belated b'day gift from my friend J all the way in sunny (?) Belfast:

And this will be winging its way to her little girl shortly:

I even crocheted little flowers on there - to use up the yarn - see I do crochet sometimes still: this blanket was the first ambitious project I worked on - red heart yarn all the way but hey: Jamie likes it...
She is such a good model.

Here is is showing off my entrelac scarf:

(here it is folded in half - love this pattern)

Here's the clapotis, still not blocked...
Oh, and here's some sweaters I've knit - photo taken from 50ft up obviously...
And finally, the Grandiflora sock. I am now past the heel and into the gusset, but may have to rip waay back as I didn't center the heel in the pattern and so the lacey holes aren't even across the top of the foot. Grrr. The colours are totally mad too. I think these will have to be a keeper, can't see anyone else wanting them ;)

Another clapotis

After a hiccup-y start (this yarn gets tangled very easily) I am motoring away on my clapotis/scarf. Jamie happily modeled for me (rather - she wouldn't get up so had to drape knitting over her). It's 47 st. wide, and very portable for commute-knitting.

I kind of wish I had made it maybe one repeat wider, because I have a lot more of this yarn. Also, am not loving the colour - it seemed more red in the skein, orange has never been my favourite...may well be an xmas gift for somebody.

I also went to visit the Celtic-Knot yarn store in Ellicott City, up for sale and maybe soon to close :( and got the pink/purple Karaoke yarn you see here:

I tried out the intarsia using the King Cole yarn on top - not a great idea, the yarn is waaay too variegated and that colourway is not for me... But the Karaoke yarn is coming along great - I plan to make 2 skeins of it into a scarf, felt it, and send to my friend's 5-year old. That's the plan anyway...

a few FOs and a newbie

I finally finished and blocked Talia: Ta dah!!




Flat feet knee socks are blocking...



and a lacy scarf is slowly growing.

Knitting progress is slow though, as a wonderful book has me captivated. And will be busy bonding with the dogs on Saturday at the Walk for Paws. Both the dogs have birthdays in October, so they deserve a day out.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best Ravelry Pattern ever!

Look this this great new pattern on Ravelry - a Boston Terrier finger puppet!

Like it wasn't cute enough here already...

Sunday update

Finished 'Hey Teach' - I tried to wear it yesterday but it was realllly humid here. I am pretty happy with it - except it seems a bit big - when it blocked out I had to stretch it a little to let the lace show - but this made it very wide. And I am already on the unusually wide side what with being 'with child' and all...

On Wednesday at S&K The Other Denise very nicely wound my Blue Heron rayon metallic for me - and I started to make the Drop Stitch shawl pattern that came along with it...Here's how far I got till I lost confidence in it. The wee little 3x2 in. picture that came with the pattern didn't look anything like what I was making, plus it was looking way too pointy. So I frogged it. Yarn is pretty slippy and tangly, so not sure what to make now - maybe Jeanie? Or another Clapotis?

Meant to show you the yarny gifts I got recently:

from my ole college friend J:

a needle-felted doggie to match my real dog :)

and from work friend P:

a necklace made, I believe, from Bernat Matrix -

clever way to use this yarn, and it's a pretty striking necklace. Plus now I have an idea what to do with the several balls of this stuff I picked up a couple of year ago, thinking I was getting a great bargain (hah!)

I'm off to Ft. Collins Colorado tomorrow, for the week. Have already scoped out where I'll be buying my souvenirs: here and here.

More Guilty Pleasures

Check out Entertainment Weekly's list of Cheesy Ballads: be warned, not for the lactose-intolerant.


One of my all-time favourites is on there: Crazy for you. I actually won a competition* in the mid-80s in Smash Hits, and the prize was a Crazy for you tracksuit. Basically just a grey jersey tracksuit and Crazy for you across the back and I think up one leg. Which I wore till it fell apart...
*Competition question: what is Madonna's real name?




So tomorrow we're having a bbq to celebrate DHs 40th (actually falls next week, while we're in Ireland). You know that Guilty Pleasures Mix will be played loud and proud - he's Class of '87: The Golden Era of Guilty Pleasure music...

Here he is being welcomed home by Paddy and Jamie:

Happy Birthday hon!

A short one.

Here's what's been languishing in my knitting bag...this lethargy is hard to shake...
Baby boy sweater - this is the back of a sweater for a 6-month old (to be born in August) that will have a brown heart on the front. Hopefully.
The toe-up sock I am making from the Flat Feet yarn - really love how it is striping, though perhaps the pattern I've devised here isn't the best to show that...
And this is the Debbie Bliss bear I've been working on..It is honest! I cast on for this months ago, got this far, and then realized with all those increases and decreases etc. it just wasn't going to happen with 2 dogs, 1 kid and 1 husband all wanting stuff ;) maybe I'll rip out and make Twiceknit's elephant...Red is a good elephant colour right?

Speaking of dogs, look how happy Paddy was this weekend:Bought him a new basketball, and put some water in the old baby pool. He was out there all day long, just chewing and snorting up a storm...

In other news - am off to Ireland in a week (yay!) to see family and friends, and attend the wedding of a very dear friend in Dublin. I'm sure I'll have lots of say about that when I get back...unfortunately last weekend I learned that my brother and his fiancee are no longer an item...which means that I made these in vain...

I had even knit their initials into the heels, eegit that I am. After his wedding a few years back(he was recently divorced) I cross-stitched a whole sampler for them... Next time I'll hold off on the handknits till at least the first anniversary...

The saga continues

Cast off the first sleeve of the purple cardi! Very excited. Took many pictures as proof of knitting awesomeness. Thought shaping looked weird, but eh whatever.

It wasn't till this morning I realized I forgot entirely to do the shaping at the top of the sleeve. In my giddiness at having knit the required 21.25 inches - which coincided exactly with the end of a pattern repeat - I cast off, took pictures, and patted self on back...Just as well no-one's waiting on this sweater.

Is it Monday yet?

Cable guy didn't come till Saturday. You all knew that would happen - I was just deludin' myself, sitting there, ears perked till way after 6PM - anyway look what I got accomplished:
One stretchy super-skinny sock!* Am now nearly at the heel of #2.

After I finally abandoned all hope of Cable Guy I stopped off at AAY en route to daycare:

Yep, more sock yarn, pretty...and replacement Brittanys :) There was only one ball of the Maizy (which I have used before and really love), not enough for one pair of socks tho, so I got the Panda Silk (also used before) as an accent colour.

But I knew that wouldn't work. Saturday morning I went off gallivantin' again, (hairdresser**/handbag shopping) and ended up at another LYS:

Some Pace yarn for heel/toe/cuff accents, Collinette Jitterbug, and size 1 needles.

I also got a hold of Cat Bordhi's book on new ways to knit socks: New Pathways for Sock Knitters.***

Pretty time to be in Maryland. Obligatory cherry blossom pictures coming soon - here's some springtime shots of the neighbourhood...

And my next project...
Spent Sunday afternoon prepping the garden for seed planting.**** Here's my co-gardener. She got a wee bit dirty in the process.

What are you all at this week?

*I do look like I've serious cankles though...
**She's taking knitting lessons!
***I need to go on a serious yarn/book diet
****Guilted into it by Michael Pollan, I've decided to grow some produce...