Thursday, February 24, 2011

Disappointment

I got my Knit Picks delivery yesterday and I must say that the yarn I ordered was a bit of a disappointment. 

I had ordered a super-bulky yarn that was a brushed suri aplaca blend.  On the web site it looked all rich, warm, & halo-ey.  It person looks like drab brown fun-fur.  Dunno what I'm going to do with it now but it certainly won't become a sweater. 

Should have gone with a known yarn, but those are the risks you take with ordering something unknown off the internet: sometimes you get a gem and sometimes you just get a big brown turd.

Oh, the humanities.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Today that is now Yesterday

I already posted an entry named "Today", so I can't do that again, even though today is now today and the today of yesterday is gone.  (Feeling a bit philosophical - I know, it's annoying.) SOOO, the post for today will have to be something else.

Yesterday after posting, I went down to http://www.shelbys-place.com/information.php?info_id=12  (got to love a place named after a beloved dog), and picked up some new yarn:


This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (a superwash merino wool) in the color Calumet.   Knitting up looks like this:


Yummy.  I love how the colors are so rich and dark with brief flashes of light.     Beautiful. 

(OK, I started watching "Battlestar Galectica" season 1 again, so the show is influencing my outlook a bit.  Made it through part of disk 3 - not real sure exactly where I stopped last night before falling asleep in the chair.  Cool show.) 

I love getting a new yarn that I haven't used before and having it work up well.  It's like reading a new book that is so good you just can't put it down so you stay up all night reading until the book is done.   

TODAY (the real today - not the 'today' of yesterday) I plan to knit some more and see if I can't finish season 1. 

I'll also be sealing bathroom tile that I should have done yesterday, but that's another story.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Today

Today is a holiday for me - President's Day.  I don't have to go in to work and the family has gone off for the day, so I have the house completely to myself.  What a treat!

I don't have to listen to video game guns blazing, the TV has gone black and silent, no loud radios on (except by my choice), no kids arguing or husband 'fixing' anything. 

I slept until 11:00, and here I am - it's now noon - and I'm still in my cozy flannel nightgown, sipping coffee and checking my online reading.  I'm almost giddy.

Plans for later: knitting.  Lots and lots of uninterrupted knitting. 

I'm definitely giddy.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

This Weekend

This weekend there are two major fiber shows happening on the West coast - Madrona and Stitches West.

I'm not going to either.

It sucks. 

I was offered free tickets to Stitches and could've carpooled with a choice of several different friends (it's a day trip but a bit of driving from Sac - makes for a fun, but long day - the kind of day where you get home exhausted but deliciously happy). 

But NOOOOooo... DENIED.

I told myself I couldn't go because I'd want to spend money I don't need to spend on things I don't have room for, and my other side is in a bit of a snit over it. 

I'll get over it.  I'm mature enough to realize when I've reached my limits, for budget, space, time, etc. 

Don't mean I have to like it, though.

However, I do sincerely hope that everyone going to one of the shows has a wonderful time.  Wish I was there!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Homer

I did a Homer Simpson:


See the back row?  That's actually the front and what's showing in the foreground on the pink holder yarn is the back.  They're supposed to be the same length.  But I figured, "hey, I can't possibly be done yet - I don't need to measure. Keep knitting!"  D'oh! 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

My hubby knows me well.  Instead of flowers or candy, he made me a drying rack:


It's 36" by 36", the top is high enough the cats can't jump on it from the ground (they're too fat to jump well) and the whole thing folds up to about 4" flat for storage.  I've been wanting a nice flat surface to dry larger items where the cats can't get to and where I don't need to clear off in order to eat dinner. 

How cool is that? 

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Case Study

OK, I currently have not one - but TWO - sweaters on the needles, so what am I doing ordering yarn from KnitPicks?

'Cause I have a pattern that calls for super-bulky yarn and want to do it cheap. 

So I bought 4 balls of  Suri Dream yarn in a rich brown (it looked rich on the web site) called Fedora.  The yarn is described as "... a marvel of construction - brushed soft Suri alpaca is secured with a nylon binder that is wrapped in wool so it is hidden when the yarn is dyed. The rich colors are enhanced by the natural sheen of the Suri. The fuzziness is not tickly, just soft, and very warm. Ideal for any knit item that denotes "snuggly" to you..."   (Note: this is NOT an advertisement for KnitPicks)

Well...that sounds kinda complicated for yarn, but I like "snuggly" and the total cost (pre-tax) is $21.96 - just couldn't pass that up. 

Now, having never used KnitPick yarns I have no idea if it's worth even that much, but I figure worst case it looks like regurgitated dog food with the feel of a Brillo pad.  I'm only out 20 bucks with a lesson learned.

Worth the risk. 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Pictures

Pictorial update of projects:

1. Red sweater.  This is a Plymouth Yarn pattern, Cabled Cardigan, that I've made with Cascade 128 (the pattern called for Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed, but I would have absolutely roasted with that stuff!).  The Cacscade yarn dye ran (and ran and ran and ran).....but I was able to eventually halt the bleeding.  My son, Billy, is modeling. (I'm sure he's going to grow up to have all kinds of issues after being photographed wearing his mom's clothes and the pictures posted all over the Internet.)


2. Next up, the Malibrigo shawlette.  This was an adaption of a pattern in a British knitting magazine, Yarn Forum.  (I really like that magazine - the patterns are fresh and so clearly written.)  This shawlette used just a bit over 1 skein of Malibrgio worsted.


3. I used the remaining Malibrgio to make a hat.  No pattern, just a top down stockinette with a seed stitch brim.  (Yes, that is my dining room table and yes, those are tools in the background.  Hubby.)


4. In progress, a gansey sweater, Flyingdales, from the book, A Fine Fleece.   The yarn is Pattons wool (trying to use my stash up).  Pattern is done in one piece from the bottom up, dividing at the arm holes.  I've got the back just about done, then will do the front panels and do a 3-needle bind off.  The sleeves will be stockinette picked up and worked down in the round. 


5.  Another sweater is also on the needles.  Doing a Doris sweater KAL with some friends.  Doris is a very talented lady who "doesn't need no stinkin' pattern".  She's trying to teach us to use our brains and I, for one, am having a hard time with that idea.  No picture yet, only about an inch into it.

I also did up 2 chemo hats, but don't have any pictures and they've been donated.  (I try to do 1 chemo hat per month - it's fun because I can try all kinds of patterns and it uses up my acrylic yarn.)