Nice and Cozy

I have been working on my Cozy for quite some time. I started it back in April but really had a hard time with it. I found the knit 2 through the back to be really difficult and I just couldn't find the right rythm. So I put it down for a long time and just recently picked it back up again. I switched from bamboo needles to addi turbos which definitely helped. It makes the yarn slide a lot better for the difficult stitches. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill 50/50 silk and merino in the Birches colorway. The yarn is nice and soft and I really like the colors. They are a subtle grey, white, pink and green. The pattern used a 100% silk yarn which I would think would be the same weight or maybe even thinner than what I'm using and I even cast on more stitches, but mine still looks narrower than the pattern. I'm hoping it will be wide enough once finished and blocked. It's really slow going but hopefully I'm on a roll.

Welcome Little One

Meet Saphira - the newest member of our household. Isn't she cute? Can't you see her discerning eye for quality yarn (this is Noro she is standing on)? Miss K's green anole lizard died awhile ago and she has been wanting to get a new one ever since. She decided she really wanted to get a lizard that you could play with and would be more like a pet. The pet store recommended a bearded dragon so here she is. Given their love of the book Eragon, the girls named her Saphira after the dragon in that book. Now the only problem? They say she'll grow up to 18 inches long!!! Right now she's a big as a finger - how can she get to 18 inches? I have a theory that if we know her and come to love her as a baby we'll be less squimish when she is bigger. I sure hope it works! Maybe we can give her coffee to drink to stunt her growth . . . .

Redeeming my Yarn Purchases

Thanks to all for your feedback on what to do with the Uruguian yarn (did I spell that right?) I think it's an amazing coincidence that Lynae bought some from the same seller! I originally bought the green colorway thinking of my middle daughter who is obsessed with green. Picture a girl with green pants, a green top, a green sweater, a green headband and even green eyes to go with it! Well I was watching Knitty Gritty the other night (I'm so excited that we finally get it) and they were making the most adorable little shrug. It probably helped that it was green! Anyway, she really liked it so I am giving it a shot. Here it is so far. The pattern stitch is easy but looks really neat - you knit one row and then you k1,p1,k1,p1, etc. on the next row. It's sort of a faux rib that doesn't get as springy. I've never made anything that needs to fit someone before except for some hats so I'm really hoping this fits her. Also it will be edged in crochet which I don't know how to do but it looked easy enough on the show! I'll keep you posted! Also some folks wanted to know how to find this seller on eBay and since I'd love company of others getting sucked in to this here goes it is called Pure Wool or something like that. Let me know if you buy anything!

I'm Blaming Bonnie

My latest yarn purchase arrived in the mail this week. I realize my New Year's Knitting Resolution was to not buy new yarn but I actually bought this stuff back in December so I'm still OK on the resolution front. It arrived all the way from Uruguay in the smallest box imaginable. I don't know how they managed to shove it all in that one box. I bought this stuff on eBay after my good friend Bonnie had sent me a link to this seller's store. It seems that since Bonnie broke her wrist and couldn't knit for awhile she spent way more time surfing the knitting blogs and that is how she got me in to trouble. She kept sending me links of cool yarn and I'm clearly way to impressionable. She didn't seem to end up buying any but I did! First I bought three skeins of hand dyed yarn from Scout and then I bought these. This is 9 - yes NINE skeins of wool from Uruguay! What was I thinking??? Each skein is over 200 yards so now I have about 650 yards each in three different colorways of Uruguaian wool. What should I make with this stuff? I will say that t is very soft and the colors are quite pretty. It was a good buy too - really it was. Bad Bonnie, Bad Bonnie. I think that's why her initials are BAD!

Red Scarf Project 2007

I finished one of my scarves for the Red Scarf Project 2007. These scarves are given to boys and girls (or since they are 18 I guess Men and Women) who have aged out of the foster care program. They are given for Valentine's Day so that's why they are red. This one is actually red, grey and black. I figured it would be good for a guy. It is the yarn harlot's really easy scarf pattern - cast on in a multiple of 4 plus 2 stitches then knit 2, k1 through the back, purl one and repeat until the last 2 stitches then k2. It's really easy but creates a very pretty scarf. I was also making a more femine red one with a sea foam pattern but alas that has taken much longer so it will not be done in time. I guess I'll be forced to keep it!

Happy New Year!

I realize I'm a little late but we spent New Year's in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. We had a wonderful time but unfortunately I could not get an internet connection to post to my blog. I'll have to check in to that before I book my next vacation spot! In lieu of blogging we enjoyed the beach and the mexican markets. The kids took surfing lessons and went horse back riding. I even had some great knitting time to work on my Hyphen Boy bag and my Cozy wrap. Photos of those will follow in future posts. My folks were with us on the trip so for today's viewing pleasure here is a photo of the wonderful scarf my Mom was working on. She is using Cherry Tree Hill silk/merino blend in the worsted weight. I believe this colorway is blueberry something. This is the second scarf she has made with this pattern and they feel and look wonderful. It definitely struck me as a scarf that needed to be photographed at the ocean! While we were there I thought about New Year's knitting resolutions so here goes: 1. I am going to try to purchase less yarn this year and actually knit from my stash (sorry Hollis!); 2. I'm going to try to get some of my UFO's finished; and 3. I'm going to try to attend some of the knit nights at my LYS. So what are your New Year's knitting resolutions? I wish all of you a wonderful, wool-filled 2007!

Holiday Hangover

Christmas is over, the presents are all gifted, the guests are gone and I'm left with the clean up. The holiday traditions of taking down the tree, putting away the stockings and storing all the decorations once more. I think I'll get it done - - - - tomorrow! Here are the fingerless mitts I made for Horsey Girl for Christmas. Her new favorite color is turqouise so she was quite pleased with them. Notice the fancy manicure purchased with a gift certificate she got for Christmas. These were a really quick knit - cast on 30 stitches, then I did a rib of 3 rows stockinette and 2 rows of garter stitch. Then you sew them up - leave a space for the thumb and viola! Many thanks to my wonderful SP8 pal Brooke for the idea. I hope all of you had wonderful holidays and are surviving the holiday hangovers!

I've Been Tagged - but Really - I'm not weird!

"THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

Here are 6 weird things about me:

1. I have an obsession with pens. I'm looking at my desk right now and there must be over 100 pens ranging from the cheapo $2 ones to expensive nice pens.
2. If I drink too much I get a southern accent (I think because I learned to talk when I lived in Texas)
3. My Mom says it's weird that I always know where things are - even in her house!
4. I once turned my hair orange by using fresh Henna I purchased in Egypt.
5. I'm born and raised in California but I despise avocados.
6. I can fall asleep just about anywhere including in Star Wars movies or at Bruce Springsteen concerts.

OK thanks Monica and Janice for tagging me, now who to tag??? Judy, Jennifer, Lynae, Brooke , Sherri and Amber hope you don't mind and of course you don't have to play if you don't want too. That darn Bonnie beat me to the punch and tagged lots of folks already. I tried not to repeat but may have botched that! It is hard to think of 6 things that are weird, because to me they aren't weird. I had input from my parents. I was too afraid to ask my husband for input as I'm not really sure I want to know the answer from him and I DEFINITELY don't want to know the answer from my kids!

Memories of Christmas Past

Given my trip to Chicago and the hectic nature of the holidays, I don't have any new photos to post of my knitting projects. I have been knitting but nothing is at an interesting enough point to post photos. So here is a photo of the Lady Elanor shawl I made for my Mom last Christmas. Since I didn't have a blog at that time I never posted a photo so I thought I would share it with you this holiday. It is made out of Karoke soy silk and it was very fun to knit but it took me 2 months. This year nothing quite so ambitious for holiday knitting. Sorry Mom!

There's No Place Like Home

Greetings from the Windy City where I am this week on a business trip. Actually it's more like the very cold, wet, grey city this week. I tell you it's a shock to the system for this California girl. Nothing like going somewhere else to make you appreciate how nice things are at home. I'm dreaming of sunny California which actually is a bit silly since it's been pouring rain there this week! To brighten my day (and hopefully yours) here is a photo of yarn for - you guessed it - ANOTHER ballband bag.
On Sunday we held my son's 4th birthday party at The Jungle in Saratoga and I can tell you there's no better place to let a pack of wild 4 year olds run off energy. Think hamster tubes for children . . . And it just so happens to be a mere 4 miles away from Knitting Arts - a yarn store I had heard about but never visited. So after the party Mom and I took a field trip. Poor Dad got dragged along but they have thought of everything - outside the store is a pleasant bench with a basket of magazines include Sports Illustrated and other such faire for the typical visitor to that bench! Well Mom found the Daiko yarn that Monica uses in the original ballband! I was so excited - I've not been able to find it so far so of course I was forced to pick some up. I think this will be more of a spring ballband given the colors but I'll post photos soon! And not to fear - I have three knitting projects with me for the trip even though I've only had about 3 hours total to knit while I've been here! Hope you are all staying warm and dry.

P.S. I have heard from several of you who live in and around Chicago (and also every morning on the local news) that it was unseasonably warm when I was there. I do believe that and I appreciate the fact the days were in the 40's and not the 10's. After the first two days the sun did show itself. Since I was stuck in a windowless conference room all day I did appreciate the few times I got to take a break and walk around outside. Even though unseasonably warm, I can tell you after 10 minutes walking outside without a coat you were awake! Very refreshing. Sorry no visit with Lynae or trips to yarn stores as I had to work the whole time. Hope it stays warm there!

Sophie Bag

I finished the Sophie Bag for my sister for Christmas. It knits up VERY quickly and I think it turned out really cute. The Moda Dea yarn felted fairly well and was a little fuzzy. I was going to shave it but then I decided I liked the soft look it gave. I might try doubling the yarn in the future to make a somewhat thicker, sturdier bag but hopefully my sister will like this one.

Ballband Tree

I've taken the ballband craze to another level - I made a ballband Christmas tree bag! I was looking at the holiday bag I made and suddenly saw the outline of a tree in the bands. So I sketched out a pattern and viola! The ballband tree holiday bag. I added a little star button and actually used a drapery tie as a handle (can't believe I found one that matched). Happy Holidays to all!

Sophie's Choice

In my copious free time I decided to knit a bag for my sister for Christmas. I've been wanting to try the Sophie bag so that is what I am making for her. I've seen the bag on many a blog and it always looks so cute. I'm using Modea Dea Cartwheel in Bronzeberry and it is very soft, I've never used this yarn before so I'm crossing my fingers that it felts well. The sophie bag knits up really quickly so hopefully I'll have no trouble getting this done before the holidays. Of course when I finish it I can make another ballband bag!

Red Scarf Project Part Deux

Just so you don't think I spend all my days working on ballband bags - here is another scarf I am knitting for the Red Scarf Project 2007. I love the stitch pattern - it's sort of a wavy dropped stitch that I found in a stitch a day calendar. I may have a hard time parting with this one! More ballband bags soon, don' t worry.

Ballband Bag Bonaza

I've been working on the November project for the Bag Me Along KAL. It's the Ballband Bag created by Monica. It is a great, fun pattern that knits up really quickly. The color combinations are endless and it's really quite addicting! I first made one with Brown as the main color and dark blue, light blue, tan and off white as the contrasting colors. I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. It was nice to work with and it's very inexpensive so it's no problem to buy lots of colors. However I'm not that thrilled with how it felted. I had to run it through the machine several times to get it as felted as it is. I do like how it turned out though and I found this really cute button to go on it. Since I'm now addicted I immediately had to make my next ballband bag. I decided to make on in Christmas colors. I'm just having a hard time figuring out a handle for this one. I did find a really cute button for this one as well at a new yarn store in San Mateo called Nine Rubies. It's run by an absolutely delightful woman who is ver helpful. I'm not on to my third bag, I've got an idea for this one that should be really neat if it works. I'll show you as soon as I'm done. Then Monica did one that is brown and pink that is oh so cute, I may have to do that one next, and then, and then, and then!

Fools Rush In

As they say, "Fools Rush in where Angels Fear to Tread." I started the Hypehn Boy Bag and so far I'm on the fourth tier. It really is not hard, it just takes some time. Getting started is probably the toughest part! Don't be intimidated by the lengthy directions - most of it deals with color combinations. However since I took the easy route and am using two main colors(rather than 8!) and one contrasting striping yarn I don't have to worry about any of the color directions. The tear drops as I call them basically are one pattern that's simple to memorize. I'm not sure how long it will take me to finish it but I'm happy with how it is turning out. I got a wonderful surprise this week from Bonnie. I originally met Bonnie in the ISE and then she and I became two of the hostesses of the International Tote Exchange. It has been really great getting to know Bonnie and I feel like we have known one another for years. Out of the blue I received a gorgeous birthday mailing envelope. In it were some wonderful gifts from Bonnie including some amazingly soft alpaca yarn
that she got while away for the weekend at a B&B that was also an alpaca farm. I've been admiring the yarn on her blog and never thought it would find its way to me. I just love it and now have to figure out something really special to make out of it. Thank you so much Bonnie - you are too good to me! Then if that wasn't enough I got a second package in the mail. This one was from my downstream pal from the Tote Exchange - Jennifer. She made me an absolutely gorgeous needle case. It has beautiful purple fabric on the outside with a pretty gold button. But then when you open it the real beauty jumps out. Insider there is some absolutely incredible batik fabric with dragonflies on it. I love purple and I love dragonflies. This needle case couldn't be more perfect for me. Thank you so much Jennifer - I love it! I feel like the luckiest knitter on earth!!

Yes I need another Felted Bag

I have begun yet another felted bag. Why is it that these bags are so addicting? When I first started knitting I actually thought that felted bags were ugly. They were rough and scratchy and why would anyone in their right mind spend a bunch of time knitting just to shrink all that effort? That is still a question I have no answer for but I have been sucked in to the world of felting. I am now trying the Hyphen Boy Modular Backpack based on Judy's amazing results. I think it's absolutely gorgeous and it is definitely a challenge from the usual felted bag. I have chosen the easy route of using just 3 colors rather than the 16 called for in the pattern! Instead of having 8 different combinations I'm going with alternating rows of blue and pink with a multicolored Noro Kureyon as the contrasting stripes. The funny thing is that I chose the exact same color of Noro as Judy did! Next posting will be some progress pictures!

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Knitters

Well after I made that nice list of all the projects I was taking on my trip the mailman threw a wrench in my plans. When I got home from work late Thursday night there was a package. To my surprise it was my order from Moorehouse Farms. It arrived really quickly so of course since that was the newest item I had acquired I was forced by the knitting gods to drop all else and start that. So I'm making a Gekko scarf and it is turning out so cute! I must say though that the head is HUGE!! I'm not sure what child they think wants a scarf with a head as big as their chest but I will continue because I think he'll just snuggle with it anyway rather than wear it as a scarf. I did knit on my red scarf project on the way down while Mom drove - Thanks Mom!! I also got started on the Hyphen Boy but only got 5 of the first 8 triangles done. Oh well - there's always tomorrow.

Life is Uncertain - Eat Dessert First!

I have always liked that saying - I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a chocaholic! But I think it is an important reminder that we should be sure to focus on the fun and good things in life and not always put them off because we have to do the other, more responsible things. Take for instance a trip. I am going away this weekend with my daughter and her friends in celebration of her 13th birthday. Mom is coming with me and we plan to do a lot of relaxing and knitting. I have been extremely busy at work and haven't had any time to think about what I should pack let alone start packing. I HAVE however, spent a great deal of time thinking about what knitting items I should take with me. I will be taking this scarf I am making for Red Scarf Project 2007, another scarf I am making for said project, the yarn and pattern to start a hat for the soldiers for the Ships Project and based on Judy's terrible influence - the yarn and pattern to start the Hyphen Boy Modular backpack. Now mind you we will be at our destination for a grand total of about 42 hours but I plan to do a lot of knitting and heaven forbid I should run out of projects! Priorities folks, PRIORITIES!

My Tote is Off

I finally finished my bag for the International Tote Exchange. I decided to make a backpack so my pal could get a lot of use out of it. It doesn't look so great in the photo but in real life I think it looks pretty good. Hopefully my pal will think so too! I found some wonderful, soft Malabrigo and knit and knit and knit. You can see the cool stitch pattern here. Also there are some neat diamonds at the top. This is what it looked like before felting. The alligator is there as apoint of reference. After felting the bag is the same size as the gator. I'm very happy with how this turned out with the one exception that the felting all but obliterated the stitch definition. I really loved the stitch and the inset diamonds and it's a shame they sort of went away with felting. Then when you look inside you get a surpise - a deep blue interior (sorry for the blurry photo). So now it is winging its way around the country to a hopefully happy recipient! Enjoy.