Archive for May, 2006
Hope Elizabeth · 05/31/06 at 8:53 pm · Filed under General
Well, it looks like my goal of finishing my Booga Bag before June 1st is going to be an unmet goal. I’m afraid I just didn’t feel like knitting today. Perhaps it had something to do with the relentless heat we’ve been experiencing in Central NY. I mean I hate to whine, goodness knows I much prefer warm weather to cold, but jeezum, the humidity is kicking my ass. Wiping the sweat off my forehead is probably my biggest accomplishment of the day. Sad, but true.
A new KAL started in the Love 2 Knit Dishcloths Yahoo group today. Rhonda, from Knitting Knonsense, is organizing it so it’s bound to be a lot of fun. Unfortunately I’m going to be a bit behind everyone else since she recommends a solid color cotton for this particular KAL and all I have in my stash is ombres. I need to go to Walmart tomorrow to pick up tights for Hollie’s dance recital, so I’ll get a solid skein then - perhaps a nice lemony yellow or limey green. Yes, those are colors in my little universe. Can’t you picture them?
Since I mentioned dance - or Hollie’s dance recital anyhow - does anyone else agree with me that $27 for dance pictures is absolutely ridiculous? We’re talking three 5×7’s (2 individual, 1 group), one 3×5 and six wallets. That seems like a pretty small package of pictures for a not-so-small price. Oh well. I suppose school pictures, including those of Hollie’s dance class and Timothy’s baseball team, are a chance to capture a moment in time that will be gone way before I’m ready. I should just open my wallet, close my mouth and deal with it.
Tomorrow I’ll cast on my Trek Along With Me socks. Wish me luck!
Hope Elizabeth · 05/29/06 at 2:35 pm · Filed under Knit-Alongs
I got the Trekking XXL sock yarn that I ordered from Carodan Farms in Saturday’s mail and it’s beautiful. It’s all I can do to wait until June 1st to cast on for the Trek Along With Me KAL. I also ordered, and received, the most adorable knitting bag from Jennifer’s Etsy site, Café Crafty. It was shipped very quickly and packaged beautifully. It will be perfect for my Trekking socks.
Now I have to put my wallet away for awhile. Between the new yarn, the new bag and the new Inox circular needles that I ordered - yes, I wanted a second set of circulars - I’m set for awhile. Maybe.
Hope Elizabeth · 05/28/06 at 10:23 pm · Filed under General
I’m still working on my Booga Bag and I’m finding myself enjoying the process more now than I did when I first started knitting my bag. I think it’s because I’m a bit more confident with my knitting than I was many months ago when I first grabbed the Noro and circular needles. When I first started knitting, I watched each and every stitch - terrified I’d drop a stitch or screw something up. Now, however, I’m a little more sure of myself and I can take the time to watch television or chit-chat with someone. Believe me when I say that knitting the sides of this bag, which is nothing more than knitting round after round, is a lot less tedious when you’re able to do more than hold your breath and knit.
I still don’t know if my bag will be done by June 1st, but it’s more of a possibility than it was a few days ago!
Hope Elizabeth · 05/26/06 at 4:15 pm · Filed under Critters
Almost a week ago (May 20th) around 2:00 AM, I was laying in bed reading when I heard all sorts of sounds coming from under my bed. The sounds weren’t unfamiliar sounds, I’d heard them before - mew, mew, mew. That’s when I realized that Tootsie, our grey tiger kitty, was having her babies. Yay Tootsie!
She had three kittens, but only two survived. She had them way under my bed, so other than a couple of quick glimpses of them, we haven’t really been able to see them - until today. I guess Tootsie decided it was time for a change because she moved her babies to a more comfortable spot - a box of beanie babies in the bottom of my daughter’s closet. It does look like a very cozy spot. It’s dark, but not too dark, and I’m sure it’s soft and warm. She’s somewhat boxed in with a closet organizer above her, so I’m guessing she feels safe from the other animals. I was a bit worried that one of the wiggly babies could slip down between the stuffed animals and smother, but I solved that problem by covering the box with a blanket. Luckily Mama didn’t seem to mind the change and seemed content to settle down with her little ones.
Enjoy the picture of our new babies. They’re almost one week old and their eyes are barely open. There’s one grey baby and one orange baby. I know you can’t see their faces, they’re all cuddled up to mommy, but I’ll get some more pictures when Mama is feeling a little less nervous. Precious, aren’t they?
Hope Elizabeth · 05/24/06 at 8:14 am · Filed under General
With my dishcloth done and my Trekking XXL sock yarn in the mail, I’m sorta stuck on what I want to work on next. Have you ever had that problem? There are so many things that I want to do! Maybe I should forget starting a new project right now and instead focus on finishing an old project. Goodness knows my Booga Bag has been waiting on the sidelines for freaking forever. I don’t know why it’s taking me so long to complete, but I feel bad that I haven’t finished it yet. So yeah, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll work on my bag. I think I’ll make it my goal to have it done before June 1st when the Trek Along With Me KAL starts. I don’t know if it’s a goal I can reach, but I’m going to give it my all.
<cheerleading>Go me!</cheerleading>
Hope Elizabeth · 05/23/06 at 12:04 pm · Filed under Dishcloths
One of the Yahoo groups that I’m in, Monthly Dishcloths, periodically does a dishcloth exchange. While I don’t participate in all of them, I thought it would be fun to get involved with the most recent one. Well, I finished my dishcloth today and it is on its way to my partner in South Dakota. Wow! Does it ever feel good to get a project done - no matter how big or small that project may be. Anyhow, I followed a pattern that I found at Knitting Knonsense called The DW Cloth. I used Clover Bamboo needles (size 7) and Lily’s Sugar n Cream cotton yarn (Twilight Ombre). I think it came out nice and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she likes it!
Hope Elizabeth · 05/22/06 at 10:46 pm · Filed under Patterns
Today I discovered that packratting can pay off. While digging through some old Woman’s Day magazines, in the hopes of finding pictures for my son’s French homework, I found a couple of nice knitting and crochet patterns that I’d never noticed before. I probably never noticed them because, at the time the magazine was published, I didn’t know how to knit. Anyhow, the article was entitled “Knit or Crochet Fall’s Smartest Looks” and the thumbnails above will show you what it was all about. Aren’t they cute?
I found the above in the September 16, 2003 issue of the magazine. I just checked the Woman’s Day website to see if it was possible to order back issues of the magazine, but it only offers issues published within the last two years. Because of that, I’ve e-mailed the magazine in the hopes of finding out how others can get copies of the patterns. You never know - maybe they’ll let me post the patterns in this weblog. Let’s hope I hear from them soon. I’d love to be able to share them with you! Until then, check your local library and see if they carry older copies of Woman’s Day. You may luck out and find not only these patterns, but more!
Update 05/23/06: Wow! What awesome customer support from Woman’s Day! I received a reply from them already on whether or not I could share the patterns from the above mentioned article. According to customer support, it’s not a problem for me to make a few copies to share with a few friends. Yay! So if you’re interested in receiving a copy of one of the above patterns - Picot-Edged Scarf, Simply Sleeves, Pullover or Shoulder Bag - please email me and let me know. Please keep in mind, however, that I’m only sending out a few copies of each, as specified by Woman’s Day, so get em while they’re hot.
Hope Elizabeth · 05/22/06 at 12:48 am · Filed under Quizzes
You are merino wool. You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so soft-hearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes. Take this quiz.
I’m not too sure if I agree that I’m merino-woolish. I mean I do love to be all cozy and snuggled up, but I don’t think the people who are closest to me would consider me soft-hearted. Actually, truth be told, I can be a bit of a hardass when it comes to the people I care about the most. I think it’s because I can’t stand it when I can’t fix things. It makes me all antsy and impatient. Hell, who am I kidding? It pisses me off. So much for easygoing and sweet, eh? Maybe I should be burlap - itchy, bitchy and totally rubs people the wrong way. Ha!
Hope Elizabeth · 05/21/06 at 12:01 am · Filed under Knit-Alongs
I thought it would be fun to sign-up for the Trek Along With Me KAL that will be starting on June 1st, so tonight I ordered some Trekking XXL sock yarn. Since my son loves reds and oranges, I ordered color #122. The socks I knit will be my very first pair of socks, so I’m super psyched. I’ll be knitting my socks on two circulars and I’ll be using the book Sensational Knitted Socks to help me along. I’m pretty sure the Cybersocks 2-On-2 Tutorial will come in handy as well, so you can bet my printer will be busy. Super duper busy even!
And hey, since I’m not much of a hiker, I thought I would include pictures from around our home with my updates. How does that sound to you? I’ll take you to see the chickens and the ducks. We’ll visit the creek and the cornfield. Perhaps we’ll even visit some spots around our farm that I’ve never visited. This should be fun!
Hope Elizabeth · 05/20/06 at 1:44 pm · Filed under Quizzes
Quizzes. I just love quizzes. Some may consider them a waste of time, but I just can’t help myself. I need to find out what color hair I should have or what ice cream flavor I am. It’s important to me! And when I found a couple of knitting quizzes out there in web-land, I knew that I had to try them out. I also knew that I had to start a weblog so everyone could see my results. So let’s begin, shall we? What kind of needles am I?
You are pink aluminum. Retro, straightforward and fun, you love classic things. If they’re 99 cents at Goodwill all the better! You are moved by striking colors and tasty morsels, and you like a stitch-n-bitch session in the sun. Just remember, while you’re being kitschy cool, don’t get too cold. Ice cubes are best kept in your cocktails, baby! Take this quiz.
