pathetic

-my blogging commitment-the sweater that I re-did for dave-my ability to complete projects that I start-the amount of time I have to knit-going to the yarnlady bag sale when I have more yarn than I'll ever be able to knit up in this lifetime if I continue working full time and consider going back to school at the beginning of the year

should be called knitting for dave blog

I finished his scarf and even blocked ithe said, I must be a very special person, you never block anythingand then said, so now you'll start on the fingerless gloves?...so making good progress with the cotton angora side to sidewhen he pulls THE sweater out of the closetthis sweater is practically exactly one year oldand it's been sitting in the closet patientlyafter the "finisher" had her way with itI couldn't stand it any longerthe beautiful pathetic sweater that was not being wornat 10:30m am I began ripping it apartat 1:30 I was almost finishedwhen I say ripping, I mean, just to the armholesthis sweater was seamed before I knew what I was doingand that's why it went to the "finisher"dave helped rip apart a sleeve todayand I'm almost done with re-working the frontit will be like a weight off my shouldersand then I will finally delete the message from the "finisher" from my answering machine - saving her phone number all this time - thinking I might actually call her up one day and tell her what a horrible job she did and the sweater doesn't fit

slowly but better

I have had no time to knit
the only drawback about working againI am making huge strides on the front of the swooped eyelet pulloverbecause I'm not having to rip out every two rows that I knitthis makes me happydave's cashmere scarf is a slow work in progress as wellherringbone pattern, size 2 needlesI believe that I failed to mention that I bought the cotton angora in the color forest.I'm going to make this sweater from the DB CA book















and instead of working on my paper or knitting yesterday, I found this sweater that I really want to do

doesn't he listen

I told my husband not to let me buy anymore yarnbut there he sat complacentlyas I punched in my credit card number at herschnerr's faster than he could say cotton angora













speaking of angorafluffer just ploppedwhen he eats so much that it's nap timehe plops on his sideit's very cuteso back to the yarnit was $3.47/skeinit's flying off the H shelves

ripped a skirt

I tried to knit a skirtand then found out how unflattering it is on me
so I ripped it outI've spent the last few hours (not working on school work like I was supposed to) researching patterns and installing my knitware software on my laptop to design something new







it will be like this sweater but a cardigan, not a pullover{crossing my fingers that I have enough yarn}I also ordered the software updateit's supposed to have yarn estimation improvementsthat would be niceok I'm really going to work on my midterm reflection paper now

95?! Geesh!

how am I supposed to wear my new acrylic sweater when it's going to be 95 degrees tomorrowdid someone forget to tell the weather that it will be october in 3 days?awww manthat's all kinds of suckyor sweaty

target sweater done

I worked all friday nightand most of saturdayknittingfinishingadding boucle to the edgesit's so darn cuteand too darn hot to wearthat acrylic, man, sure can make me sweatI want to show it off on wednesday at knitting, though, so I'll probably wear it anyway...seeseesee what target yarn can make?!!I finished the back of the orange swooping eyeletand started the frontand am slowly working on dave's cashmere scarfyesterday I was reading this blog:pamie.comand I felt possessed to knit my own cashmere hoodieI will resist the urgeof buying more yarn from richard...at least for now

finished? nope.

I finished the target sweateror so I thoughtwhen I tried it on and the sizing was HORRIBLE under the armsthe pattern was suppsed to be a fitted waistbut somehow in knitting this got translated to fitted waist with extra room for someone with DD cup sizethis is not an experience one wants to have to endure with a boucle yarnlast night involvedsighingrippingcuttingtearing (that would be forced pulling, not water in the eyes)pickinguntil only about three inches remained front and backwhich is where the nightmare of increasing beganand this morning involvedwinding the front and back back into ballsso that they could be re-knitthis time I'm doing a straight shot up to the armholewish me luckotherwise this $8 sweater will become trash can filler

getting sick of yarn?

I never thought I'd say it, but it feels like when I've eaten too much, past the time where I say to myself, "I should really stop eating now," and I've gorged myself to feeling physically uncomfortable.I feel overwhelmed by the number of projects that I want to be working on RIGHT THIS MINUTE.The front and back of the target yarn sweater each took 5 hours. I'm about halfway through the 3/4 sleeves.I created my very own pattern for dave's cashmere scarf.and I cannot for the life of me get through more than four rows of the the diagonal orange yarn over sweater. it's seeming rather hopeless. I spend more time undoing stitches than actually knitting stitches.

target yarn!

my husband had to tell me to calm down when I walked into the dollar section at target and saw target yarnthey had soft eyelashscratchy acrylicand interesting ladder/railroad novelty yarnand this:




I







normally abhore boucle, but a sweater for $8 - WHO CAN RESIST THAT?there's no gauge on their packagesso I knit up this swatch for my knitware software patternon the recommended US8 I gotapx 14 st x 20 R

more yarn

I think it was last week, I said to my husband, I'm beginning to get sick of myself and all this yarn I'm accumulating. Please don't let me buy any more yarn.So I've been resisting the urge to buy this yarn for $2.97 a skein.No, you're right, I don't need anymore yarn. Nope. But I do need to buy yarn that cheap. That is the overwhelming urge I feel.Plus what am I going to mix the yarn that pirijio and illka brought back from finland(in bright pink) with?







and the cashmere yarn from the UK (which arrived here quicker than the book from NY, which still has not arrived) is GORGEOUSGORGEOUS I tell youon their flyer they had a quote from some one who said that the yarn was SOFTER after washing!!!HOW COULD THAT BE?AND Richard gave me a free skein! because he said the shipping that he charged was too highUh, Richard, do you want a friend for life?Right now I should be writing my paper for class.But I'd much rather peruse scarf patterns for my new cashmere yarn.

don't do carmen

I was going to title this WHERE'S MY BOOK?

but wanted to warn anyone who would listen about this yarn:Patons Carmen

my friend adrienne came over friday"I can't get this scarf to go straight."well, that would be because THE STITCHES ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP TRACK OF nevermind the fact that the yarn is SO FREAKIN' SLIPPERYthe redeeming quality of this yarn is that is so soft and furry that any mistakes are completely covered by lots of furoh, and I had to use THREE stitch markers on a CO12 scarfthat was the only way I could finish the scarf for herbecause yes, I am a knitting martyr

and WHERE IS MY BOOK?

beginning to think there's no help

for people like meit's a sicknessand I'm not talking about the sickness that is the cold I had all weekI'm talking about this sickness:insanity is my middle name or my husband won't know whether to kill me or kiss meluckily I am working for the next monthand earning extra cashoh, that cash was supposed to pay for the new engine for my car which isn't under warrantywhich honda of america may or may not pay for oh wellI'll have lots more time to knit soonI'm supposed to be reading for school right nowI promised myself - no knitting - so what do I do?surf the web on knitting related thingsI'm really going to knit, I mean read now.
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coming home with more yarn than I left with

we were out of town this weekendvisiting family and friendssunday my aunt gave me the two skeins of recycled silk that she ordered forever agoshe is having hand surgery soon, so I'm going to make her a scarf to go with her amazing orange gap down coatthen wendy's local knitting store was having a 50%, yes, let me repeat FIFTY PERCENT OFF saleoh lordI thought my brain was going to pour out of earsthey had the most amazing selection of yarnsthey had the southwest trading company phoenix - but not enough of any one color to buy for a garment, DAMN!I stumbled upon the tables in the back where I found MY LINEN YARN it's mostly viscose with some linen. but it's perfect. the color is a little lighter, but I think it will work perfectly. I bought a bag of 10 balls for $40 (175 yds ea)and before I left they were asking me to come up and teach a classI was like huh-WHA?

definitely original

I went to the mall for the first time since I first saw the cocoon vest at bebe.my version is very different.almost an upside-down, easier versionthis is frustrating mealso their fiber content is 90 acrylic/10 woolthere's is so soft and gushydid I mention that I am now the proud owner of three yarntainers?ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Newton's Yarn Arrived

most of it is thinbut I am going to knit either the brown and black or the grey double for the 1650 yd ruana

free yarn

prototype comments

I tried the protoype on for everyone at the store last night. They were ooohing and aaahing - they said it looked perfect, not too short, not too narrow.Kat said that she'd like a sample for the store.Lori said I should sell the pattern.I re-counted my skeins this morning that I had remaining and I think the count is more like I used 5-6. At first I felt badly using so many skeins of the Debbie Bliss Superchunky, but now that I've looked more closely - 6 skeins would probably work. The yardage on the DB is a little less than the LB.I want to have my car back - I had to ask Melissa for a ride to work today... - plus I NEED TO GO TO TALL MOUSE AND GET A YARNTAINER













I can hardly contain ***myself*** and the overwhelming need to put my yarnin this perfect yarn container.

nighttime thought

I realized in the middle of the night that I had failed to include the information regarding the 6-stitch hem of the cocoon vest.So I have added that information to the tutorial.I am puzzled as to why the tripod ad is insistent about showing up attached to the the assembly picture, I've tried to alter the document, but so far nothing is working.Here is a separate document with only the Assembly Picture.

Cocoon Vest Tutorial

You can find the first draft of this vest




















HERE. I will post a picture of mine soon.I'm actually going to redo it, and I think if this second prototype turns out nicely, I'll splurge and purchase some Debbie Bliss Superchunky.I'm considering making one for the store and making my pattern available, too.Please let me know any questions/suggestions you may have. As I mentioned previously, I've never created my own pattern before, and the one I've posted is a draft - by no means a final version.Because the pattern is simple (two pieces which form a 'T,' you should be able to start, see how your gauge fits your size and adjust to your size accordingly (until I finish figuring it out for myself).Also, regrettably, I believe Kool Wool is discontinued. I stumbled across it in the clearance section of my favorite JoAnn store ($3/skein)!Happy Knitting and I look forward to your comments!Thanks!

the silent knitter

the vest is coming along now that I've picked Leah's photographic memory brain she sketched a picture of what the back looked like and it all made sense I will be finished sooner than later now that I've switched from my 14" aluminum needles to these





















it was a must if I wanted to knit in bed dave complained that the metal needles made too much noise and as much as I liked knitting with them they were too long and unmanageable

Floor to Ceiling

I received the picture of the yarn store in Egypt.















It looks like a lot of crochet thread - perhaps that was what the 3 number was all about.Oh well, I'll find a use for it somehow, some way...

vest attempt

I've been working on this since last Thursdayand gave up last night, but JUST found a great thread on this pattern at craftster
Here's what I have now: attempt at bebe vest




















I'll post the completed project soon.And someone would like my pattern, I couldn't be more flattered!In updating news:I finshed the green golf vest, and light blue ribbed cardigan.Never again: men's vest size 42, US4, wool/acrylic blend. It looks really nice though.Oh and before I finished the vest, I HAD to make the FCEK Sp/Su05 shrug out of Knit One, Crochet Too, color Istanbul, for my birthday. My friend had done one in Rowan Summer Tweed (a multi-flecked light purple, it was FANTASTIC). I whipped that up in about 4 days - I CONSTANTLY get compliments on it - even from strangers in Carmel. :-)I've got multiple projects started now:morning surf scarf, wild stripes baby blanket, and the bebe vest.AND my neighbor called from Egypt this morning, she was yarn shopping for me, what colors did I want? I picked Egyptian cotton (total of) 1000 yds each in 3mm color: vanilla, and 2.5mm light brown.I can't wait to see it next week, she'll be home on Tuesday. It was $1 for EACH skein! The vanilla came in 50g (138yds) and the brown came in 100g (550yds). I asked her to take a picture of the yarn store, she said the yarn was stacked floor to ceiling. I'll post that when I get it.

ripped too soon

Ruffle-less top: Yesterday with both sides sewn up, both sleeves done, and one sew in already, I attempted to put in the second sleeve. It was too short. The neck hole was MUCH smaller than what the picture showed. I resigned myself to a re-do and ripped out all the stockinette (8inches worth). Today, I went to borders to get the new Indigo Girls CD and browsed the knitting magazine before I left. Knitting Knitting (from England): inside was picture of one of their patterns that showed how cap sleeves are attached to the front and backs of an item almost like the ruffle-less top. What I discovered was wrong with project were only two things: the completion of the bind off for the front and how I set-in the sleeves. Other than that, I ripped way too much and too soon. Oh well, live and learn. The stockinette knitting went quickly anyway.

really, I have been knitting

and now I have all the pictures to prove itI kept remembering more and more things to add to my completed listso I'd jump up and take another pictureI'm looking forward to seeing how the vogue ruffle-less trim top looksso far the lace detail combined with the stockinette is really prettylast night dave helped me create an excel spreadsheet




















where I can COVERT MY GAUGE INFORMATIONthis is big big bigI have such a hard time with the mathand have always been bothering him to help meexample #1 the surplice jacketI ripped that thing out so many times trying to use a different yarn than the berocco pattern called for.perfect opportunity:this vogue top I'm working onthey say - "hey, one size fits all, because we used a stretchy yarn!"I say, "I don't want ruffles, and I do not want to buy any more yarn. I want to use up the black cotton (US6) that I used for my MIL's bday shawl (6.5 skeins left)."I do some fuzzy math with melissa at LPK last week and start knittingthen when it comes time to BO for armhole shaping - my brain turns to mushI kept scratching down calculations. multiplying this and that. I had NO IDEA what I was doing.he is so smart.he whipped it right up.and then I made it pretty.if you think you might be interested in using our teamwork, post a comment, I'll email it to you.

alive and knitting

really, I'm still herestill knittingjust have been working two part-time jobs and back in school againhere is one of the cute things I've finished since then rebecca top



















more pictures to come soon(as more yarn is coming soon, from elann!)I will be making this sweater at some point:cabled zipped jacket in cavalier greycan't sleep at night thinking about all the new knitting projects I'll be doing soonwith more free timeone temp job ends today or very soon!

more knit, less blog

I have been completing projects.I finished the yellow/ribbon sweater - I wore it to strands and stitches and got many compliments, and one obvious statement - "the sleeves are little short" so the rest of the day I wore it, I kept pulling on the sleeves. when I wash and block it, I'll be a-stretchin'.I re-did for the THRID time the surplice jacket - it's done!I eucalaned both this sweater and the estivo cardigan - the blue wool was super smelly!while I'm waiting for yarn for several different projects to arrive, I ripped out the orange tank top I did last year. it's getting a new look: tan on one side, orange on the other. fitted waist and more substantial shoulder pieces, identical scoop neck front and back - so it can be worn either way.I've been thinking about how I can "spice" it up - I dreamt about beads last night, and then there's always - creative stitchery to seam it - using the two yarns together or opposite colors.I also completed a kippah for my father, it was nicer than the previous one I did, I used thinner crochet yarn, but the daleds looked like reshes. So his Hebrew name can now be RVR or ROR depending on you look at it. I was in a hurry to send it out, so I didn't get a picture.I should be getting today or tomorrow my sock yarn(shades of grey) for my fingerless gloves, the rayon chenille(shale) to join with my multi-colored mohair for the colinette pattern, and I have no estimated arrival date for the crystal palace mikado(flame mix) I ordered for my rebecca tank top(third picture from left, middle).

ottawa, baby

Brian is going to ottawa on sundayhe will be ONE POINT SEVEN MILES away fromYarn ForwardHe said, "Uh, how much space do I need to allow in my suitcase for this visit?"I said, "I have a suitcase you can borrow!"I've already started picking out what I want:These are nice in Cherry and Blue/White.and could this be any cheaper (in Tangerine)?I want to have my orange cotton tank top - but don't want to rip and re-do the crappy one I made last year.and there are some CUTE patterns in Rebecca - mottled blue jacket - would look nice with the blue/white or the cherry.Leah is coming over tomorrow - she said she'd help me pick out yarns from knitpicks.I continiued knitting the sleeves for the tre mouline - I've decided that I will sew it up and disregard the extra width on the one sleeve side - and I even contemplated using a sewing machine - so much faster - and then if I was very brave I could serge the edge and cut off the extra.*crossing fingers*

the blues

I ripped, recalculated, and reseamedand the surplice jacket still isn't workingI've been so depressed about this project that I don't even feel like working on anything elsebut I would love to buy more yarn!dave said that if I cleaned up the office and filed all the papers away (a job he detests) that I could buy $20 of yarnthat office was spic and span and organized the very next day!now I'm contemplating which yarns to get from the new knitpicks collectionmy difficulty in projects seem to be choosing patterns and different yarns to go togetherand not swatchingand not being good at mathand being impatientI need a knitting boot camp:8am - pick pattern8:30am - swatch different yarns9:30am - break10am - math lesson12pm - lunch1pm - calculate pattern with swatch gauge2pm - begin knitting pattern3pm - break3:30pm - continue knitting4:30pm - Q&A5:30pm - dinner

baby shower tomorrow

we're wrapping up the













tonightso I took pictures before it goes to the new babypixie and I went to encinitas to the north coast knitting guildwe saw vivian hoxbro do a presentation about her life/careershe was very sweetwe met the president of the laguna hills knitting guildand saw a woman who knits at LPK on wednesday nightsafterward we went to common threads and the black sheepat the black sheep they had the new rebecca magazine and blocking pins!life is good!

what? no mention of the kitty bed?!

here is shelby














enjoying her new felted kitty bedwe've been taking lots of pictures of her when she's in there - mostly because we can't believe she actually uses it!AND the baby blanket, booties, and hat are complete - picture to be posted soon!

where you been?

oh knitting here and thereI was working on the blue bulky cardiganbut messed up the mathneeded more yarnso I got some more from the yarn ladyand put it away for another dayI finished the baby blanket and whipped up some botties!














now I'm finishing up the body of my v-neck sweater - the yellow mixed with multi-colored ribbonit's been a good challenge and looks really cool! the "lace" work on the bottom is so pretty AND my scarf style and patons grace yarn









arrived and my spiral ruffles scarf is coming along!you can't really tell from the picture, but the beige-y color is really has more of a greenish hueI have some crazy idea in my head that I can finish the yellow sweater before wednesday nightlet a girl dream and get back to knittingciao for now!