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 ;)

all quiet

Not a lot to report - am on my 5th scarf in a row - a blue stripey one for the brother, birthday in less than two weeks, and seeing as he is in Ireland and I left it in Panera's last week (thanks Sarah for minding it for me!) it may end up being a Christmas gift. It's a very simple pattern, 2x2 ribbing in Lion Brand wool, simpler the better if you actually expect a guy to wear something knitted I have found.

I've picked up the second Grandiflora sock, looking good. Plus it's coming into sock-wearing weather here. Thing is, am getting so pregnant - now weigh more than Himself - that normal sizes don't fit me and I have a lovely case of the cankles! Maybe will wear them in Spring.
Scored some lovely Sheila Rovelstad yarn for the Winter Wonderland Swap. Won't post a picture in case the swapee reads this :) (And I will also spare you a picture of my cankles).

Some FO pics

I already put these up on Ravelry but am nothing is not a showoff ;P

Here's my Grandiflora sock,

Made from the Opal Harry Potter Tonks Yarn - here she is on the label, cute eh:

And donated some knits to charity (daycare 'yard sale' for Make-a-Wish):

this scarf, that was languishing half finshed for over a year...

it started existence as a trial-run for this.

This hat - too big for any normal headed person

And (blush) the beleagured Baby surprise jacket!

Neat things

I have all kinds of neat things I'd like to show you - and have finally uploaded pictures.
The blue&green flat feet socks are blocked and ready, hopefully my friend's legs are as slim as I think they are...and if time permits this weekend I may even break out the bead stash and make her earrings to match. Sure all the best-dressed folks have socks that match their earrings nowadays.

The pink/red lacy scarf for a friends birthday (already a week overdue, and she lives in Europe) s done done done, scarves are so boring to make, even when pretty. But for this one, one skein made a nice-length scarf (about 5 ft). I read somewhere the optimum scarf length is approximately equal to the height of the wearer...so if she hunches over a bit while wearing 'twill be perfect.

A couple of Friday's ago I got that serious burning-wallet feeling and ordered myself some yarn from Little Knits and from Webs. Little Knits should be arriving today (I should have paid for expedited shipping, I have nowhere near the amount of patience required for online shopping) and (most of) the Webs order arrived last week. Lovely lovely sock yarn, including the Opal Harry Potter yarn in Tonks, that are on their way to becoming the Grandiflora socks as we sit here. yay!

I think my knitting blah period is well and truly over for the year. I love the Autumn.
So what are you working on? Don't send me to Ravelry - comments please!

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!

sock knitting season again

That wee nip in the air makes me want to sock-knit again. I am still wearing sandals, even in October, because I have a nice pedicure. But this weekend I want to get a cute pair of clogs to show off my knitting prowess (ahem) while still having dry feet, and, of course, comfort. I gained eight pounds last month (new readers: not quite as bad as it sounds - am in 6th month of pregnancy) and hefting this girth around in my usual high heel boots isn't going to happen this winter.

So right now I'm working on some knee socks for my work friend P, a workaholic who has about 2% bodyfat and always looks like she is about to freeze solid in winter. She's only a couple of inches taller than me (who isn't) but I will probably double her body weight by xmas (and yes, am only carrying one baby. I get all-over-body pregnancy, where my legs arms and ass gain weight in sympathy with my belly) and I think a pair of woolly socks might just keep her around through another winter. Last year she got these:

and this year, hopefully, a completed pair of these:very plain vanilla pattern - toe up with short row heel...the heels are a little untidy and the toes don't match, because I cast on the first sock in June and decided at the time (I guess) that I could commit the method to memory. Hah! These are knit from the flat feet pre-dyed sock blank, round and round and round in stockinette...Colour is great though. They don't look too great in that picture but they haven't been blocked yet...

Already looking forward to the next thing, here's a lovely pattern I bought off Ravelry today: Grandiflora socks, which should hopefully work with ultra-patterned sock yarn. Yay!

Look at what I found online today, tucked amongst regular boots on sale:

Knitted boots, but with outdoor soles...

And also: it's breast cancer awareness month. My dear friend Flibbertygibbet has made quite a commitment, and I am very proud of her.

On and off the needles

Cast on for Talia, a Knitty pattern, with yarn from the Colorado trip - this is a fun pattern, on big needles, going pretty fast.

Finally finished the red scarf, yay!

And am back into the flat feet socks - I am over the novelty of knitting from an unravelling piece of pre-knit sock blank, but I suppose it's a cute idea. I decided not to do anything more than a basic toe-up sock pattern, because using such variegated yarn will overwhelm a pattern. But just makes it a zzz to knit. Good commuting project though.

And... here's a picture of me and a guy I met in Wyoming

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...

Ta dah!

A momentous day.
The purple cardi is done! And the birthday Jaywalkers are ready too (top right).
Blocking away on the dining room table (I won't need it again till Thanksgiving so no rush)
Of course, I am still adding to the stash. I was in Bryan, Texas this week, at The Hook and Needle ( lovely wee store) and got some "Flat Feet." Basically a piece of knitted fabric that you knit from, without ever rolling into a ball. Colours are great, and I'm planning to go to Goodwill to pick up an old knitted wool sweater next time I need some sock yarn ;)

Jaywalkers and Tuvstarr

I am so pleased my my new commuting arrangement: having a dedicated train project makes me feel much better about the hours I spend there...

Here are K's Jaywalkers - still on track to have them done for her birthday. Took a pic of them laying on my clapotis/blanket, and no matter how I adjust the colours either the blanket or the socks look madly psychedelic...
Other things I have done on the train to amuse myself include:
- talking to people (hah!)
- reading work related materials (awoke snuggled up to grim-faced fed muttering about how she was getting too old for this shit)
- reading books from my stash (had to draw the line when the 7lb Happy Potters were released)
- reading the free papers (Metro/Examiner/Onion/City Paper)
- audiobooks/podcasts
- crosswords (I <3 Timothy E. Parker)
- Kakuro (haven't yet managed to finish a Sudoko...)
- people watching

Now there's a new distraction Bit o lit - the premier issue came out May 5th and included an excerpt of the book Sold by Patricia McCormick, the story of a young Asian girl sold into sex slavery. It's an overused word - but I found it riveting.

In other knitting news: my Tuvstarr vest is nearly done:
The Bling-Bling yarn leaves you all a-shimmer, but I think it'll be very cute when finished. I don't want to put buttons on (to avoid that grandpa look) and instead am going to just have an i-cord string to tie. I'll need to add a single crochet edging - look at the messy way I've knit the edges:
The bumpy side shows where I carried the silver and gold flecked yarns to alternate rows. Ah well.

I'm still collecting my guilty pleasure songs - which Bon Jovi song to pick? Which Air Supply? Decisions, decisions...

small progress

This new job is all well and good but is seriously cutting into blogging time. However, because I can't work from home (but rarely) anymore, I get some good knitting done on the Metro:

These socks are for my friend K for her birthday (around Memorial Day). Knit solely on the Metro. Kind of gives me a sense of achievement...hey you take it where you can get it right...

A few weeks back I went into All About Yarn (car just swung that way as I drove down Rt 108 - funny that) and bought something or other - and was told I had just earned my second $25 bonus. Which means I have now spent $500 there. And it's not like that's the only place I buy yarn or anything. Most friends would steer me to an intervention after such a confession. But I know you all are nodding along (right?)

So here's what I bought with my $25 (and the rest): An Elsebeth Lavold pattern book, and some Berroco Bling Bling yarn, to make this waistcoat/vest thingy. The yarn was on sale, but still expensive, and there wasn't enough of a single colour for the pattern so I mixed the gold and the silver. I've completed the back and one half of one front. This'll be a gift for Mum for when we visit in June (yay another Ireland trip!). I sent off the Mother's Day gifts to Mum and my MIL two weeks ago (they both waited maybe half an hour before opening, apparently).

And yes, am still plugging away on purple cardi.

Got the summer Interweave Knits in the mail last night yay. A lot of mad colourdey stuff I'd probably never have the patience to make. pretty though. Love my pattern pr0n ;)

Had to miss Sip n Knit this week, DH and I have seen each other for 5 min all week what with him traveling and me traveling, so someone had to watch the little guy. So I haven't made any arrangements to meet up for the Sheep & Wool, but will probably locate them by the squeals/catfights (heh).

Till tomorrow!

Denise xxx

Desktop nightmare!

Here's a scary sight, from my desk yesterday:Not only is that the nastiest soup in the world, there's a (gasp) empty plastic water bottle in the background! Been a lot of discussion on plastic bottles lately. From The Onion, to knitting bloggers and NPR. Forgive me for being a little fatalistic, but before I go throwing the baby out with the bath water (and also the blue plastic bath, I guess), I'd like to hear a few facts. That's why I was so annoyed with the quality of the interview given by Dr. Michael Shelby, head of the research study that led to this scare, to All Things Considered April 16th last. So much so, that I even sent in a listener comment:

Date : 4/17/2008 1:58:13 PM

I was disappointed in the interview with Dr. Shelby on the safety of Bisphenol A.

The news that everyday items like plastic bottle and baby food containers could be a cause of cancer, early puberty etc. is a headline grabber, but this piece only increased my confusion.

Dr. Shelby may have been the brains behind the study, but needs to learn the importance of risk communication. He provided no useful information on the applicability of the findings from the study, and seemed to be unsure even as to their significance to the average consumer. The obvious question "should I throw away my baby formula?" seemed to stump him - what did he imagine National Public Radio listeners (i.e. members of the *public*) would want to know?

All I learned from this study was that I now have one more thing to worry about. Maybe...

They didn't play it the next day, but they played others in the same vein. Then yesterday I got this response from Kate at NPR:

Dear Denise,

Thank you for contacting NPR's All Things Considered. We regret if our programming has not met your expectations. We strive to offer the highest quality of news and information available. Listener feedback helps us to accomplish this goal. We welcome praise, as well as criticism, and your thoughts will be taken into consideration.

Thank you for listening to All Things Considered, and for your continued support of public broadcasting. For the latest news and information, visit NPR.org. Sincerely, etc.

I realize it's a form letter - but I certainly didn't mean to imply that it was their programming that didn't meet my expectations - And I'm still unsure what to do about all the plastic in my life...

Let's go smell the roses. And pansies.

Grumperina socks coming along slowly but surely. Great colours aren't they? Finally a sock pattern that is interesting to do and let's a pattern show thru a variegated colourway - yay!