Archive for June, 2006
Hope Elizabeth · 06/29/06 at 8:24 pm · Filed under General
I bought myself a little present. It’s an “I Love Knitting” charm for my Italian charm bracelet. I thought it was about time I added some knifty knitty sorta doohickey. I’ve already added a charm dedicated to my computer (an emoticon), one dedicated to reading (”I Love to Read”) and numerous charms for my family and pets. Actually, I’ve added so many charms to my bracelet over the last year that I now have two bracelets. Crazy, I know, but they’re addictive! I tried to take a couple pictures of my bracelets, so I could share them with you, but no such luck. I’m so not a photographer and the pictures looked like hell - too much flash and not enough details. Oh well.
Hey, for those of you who have charm bracelets, stop by the eBay store Dream Charms. They have custom laser and photo charms at an incredibly reasonable price. I’ve ordered a few charms from them, for both me and my sister-in-law, and I’ve received excellent service. I think they’re definitely worth checking out. Enjoy!
Hope Elizabeth · 06/27/06 at 7:53 pm · Filed under Dishcloths
Well, I finally finished the KAL that I mentioned on June 16, 2006. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I don’t know how much I really like it, the shape seems a bit impractical to me, but it was cool to see it take form. In the picture I’m sharing, I’m blocking the dishcloth on my bulletin board. I’m not too worried about it being a perfect star, but I would like it to lay flat. It should be interesting. If nothing else, it feels good to finish a project, especially when you’re a procrastinating knitter - a procrastiknitter - like me!
Hope Elizabeth · 06/24/06 at 11:42 pm · Filed under Opinion
My mother is down this weekend and she brought me a fabulous new book from Leisure Arts called Spa & Bath Sets to Knit. It’s from Rhonda White, creator of the wonderful Knitting Knonsense website and I think it’s definitely a book worth checking out.
This book contains 16 projects and they’re all double pretty - as in pretty to look at and pretty easy to do. The patterns are perfect for those semi-new knitters who are looking to do a bit more than knit a straight scarf, but they’re also exciting enough for those more advanced knitters who want to complete a lovely gift basket for someone in just a couple of days. Each spa set includes a facecloth, a soap sack, and a bath mitt. There’s also a pattern for a great little headband that you could match to each set. Add a bar of handmade soap to whatever you create and you’ll have yourself one heckuva awesome holiday gift.
I’m not sure which of the 5 patterns is my favorite, Sunrays or Paradise, but it’s okay - I plan on knitting both of them! I have no doubt that, should you purchase this book, you’ll find yourself wanting to knit a few sets as well.
Hope Elizabeth · 06/21/06 at 9:05 pm · Filed under Critters
Big boys need lotsa love and attention too.
A nice belly scratch now and then can’t hurt either.
Nacho and Timothy
Hope Elizabeth · 06/20/06 at 10:21 pm · Filed under Weight Loss
I’ve decided it’s time to try again to lose some of weight. Tomorrow I’ll officially step on the bathroom scale to get my starting weight and then, from that moment on, I’ll be watching what I eat. I’m not sure if this new personal endeavor will have an effect on my knitting or not. It may get me knitting a bit more, a bit faster, since I’ll want something to do other than watching the boob tube and feeding my face. Then again, sitting around the house makes me want to eat, so perhaps I’ll find myself trying to keep busy outside so I don’t think about food. Who knows.
Oh, and in case you’re interested, I’m going to be following Weight Watchers. I’m not going to meetings, although I have been to them before and I enjoyed them a great deal, but I will be counting points. I may attend WW meetings in the autumn when the kids go back to school, but that will depend on where my head is at and how well I’m following the program on my own.
Are you a knitter, or non-knitter, following Weight Watchers or any other eating plan? How are you doing? Does your love of crafting play into your weight loss in any way? Does it keep you out of the kitchen or do you use it as a reward of sorts? Just curious.
Hope Elizabeth · 06/19/06 at 10:14 pm · Filed under Knit-Alongs
I’m a little embarrassed to show you how little I’ve gotten done on my Trek Along With Me socks, but oh well. I really should prove that I’ve done some knitting, even if it’s not very much. Besides, this is a great chance to take you on a trek around our farm. Today my sock and I decided to stay pretty close to home. We visited the chickens and ducks.
First I’ll give you a glance of our chicken coop from the outside. Didn’t my husband do a nice job of building our birds a little home? When I asked for window boxes and a planter, he didn’t say a word - not out loud anyhow. You know though, even he admits that they add a nice little homey touch to the yard and to the coop.
Notice my sock, or the ribbing of a future sock, sitting in the window box. I thought it would look nice with the begonias. You can also see the knitting bag that I bought from Café Crafty. Too cute!
Want to see some of our chickens? In the first picture you’ll see some of our baby chicks in their pen. Actually, they’re about three weeks old and more like preschool chicks at this point - they’re losing their fuzz and gaining their feathers. The other chickens are a bit older, about nine weeks old. It amazes me to see what a huge difference just a few weeks can make.
This is as close to the chickens as my sock is getting. Try as I might, the chickens just wouldn’t stand still long enough to actually wear the sock. It’s okay, I guess. I didn’t feel like picking straw out of my yarn anyhow.
You can’t visit our coop without meeting the ducks. Billy and The Girls, meet the public. Public, meet Billy and The Girls. The Girls have stripes around their eyes and they’re all a bit smaller than Billy. Billy, on the other hand, has a solid brown head and quite the macho attitude. You should see him tell off the chickens. It really is quite comical to see him strut his stuff. Like the chickens, these guys are also about 9 weeks old.
Sorry. There’s no socks in these pictures either. Why? Because ducks don’t wear socks, silly goose! I think it may have to do with that whole webbed feet thing. <shakes head> A duck in socks - that quacks me up!
I hope you liked your little visit to our chicken coop and I’m glad you had time to drop in and see how my sock is coming along. I know there’s not much done yet, but the school year is almost over. Once the kids are settled-in for the summer with a regular routine, my days should feel normal again. The next time I show off my sock progress, I’m sure you’ll see quite a difference.
Hope Elizabeth · 06/17/06 at 10:31 pm · Filed under Critters
Well, it looks like Tootsie decided to move again. As I’d mentioned before, she’d originally had her kittens under my bed, but eventually moved them to my daughter’s closet. I guess she got tired of her too-cramped surroundings, or perhaps she felt too vulnerable on the floor, because after a few days she moved them to our bathroom linen closet. Not only did she move them to the linen closet, but she moved them to the second shelf of the closet. I guess she felt they deserved a penthouse apartment - a dark, crowded penthouse apartment, but the penthouse nevertheless.
<singing>Movin’ on up… to a de-luxe apartment in the sky…</singing>
Anyhow, after one kitten took a tumble off of the shelf, I felt it was time for me to move them. I gathered them up, along with their favorite bedsheet, and I moved them into the back room. I put up a gate so the dog couldn’t bother them and the kids and I happily watched them waddle around the room, investigating their surroundings. Tootsie checked on them a few times, to make sure all was well, and seemed okay with their new home.
Keyword: seemed
Tootsie wasn’t content for long. Timothy found her checking out his dresser drawer and we immediately knew what she was thinking. He calmly emptied the drawer out and waited. Sure enough, she wandered in that evening, kitten in mouth, and plopped it down in the dresser. Once she went to get the second one, we knew that she wasn’t ready to give them any sort of freedom yet, so we helped her out a bit - gathering up her bedsheet and using it to line the drawer while she got the babies settled.
So there you have it, their new home. The kittens aren’t very happy, they pop their little heads out of the drawer to meow and complain about their quarters, but like any good mama, Tootsie just puts them back in their place. She knows they had a brief taste of independence, and they enjoyed it, but she’s just not ready for them to leave the nest yet - so to speak anyhow. Maybe next week she let them explore a little more. We’ll have to wait and see.
Want some more pictures until then? 1 2 3 4 Enjoy!
Oh, by the way, we’ve named the babies. Tootsie and Nacho are the proud parents of <drumroll> Squid and Kissie. Squid received his name when we realized he has 6 toes on each foot. Kissie’s name is sort of a play on her mom’s name since she looks so much like her - you know, Tootsie Roll and Candy Kiss. Cute names, don’t you think?
Hope Elizabeth · 06/16/06 at 10:57 am · Filed under Dishcloths
I seem to do a whole lot more talking than knitting lately. That’s about to change, however, with the new mid-month dishcloth KAL from the Monthly Dishcloths group. It looks like Andi has a mighty big surprise in store for her group members. Her latest KAL starts on size 6 circular needles and we have to cast-on 195 stitches. Can you imagine? All I can say is this should be very interesting and I’m sorta scared.
It may take me a few extra days to complete this KAL. I have a feeling deep down in my gut that it’s going to be a doozie. I promise though, as soon as I finish this surprise dishcloth, I’ll post a picture. Please, wish me luck!
P.S. The KAL I mentioned on May 31, 2006 - I never got around to doing it. I did go to Walmart in the hopes of finding some nice cotton yarn (solid colors) to work with, but unfortunately they had zilch. Actually, they look as if they’ve gotten rid of quite a bit of their yarns, which is really too bad. Anyhow, I’ve since been to AC Moore to pick up some yarn, so I’m set for today’s KAL. Thank goodness!
Hope Elizabeth · 06/13/06 at 11:36 am · Filed under General
You know, I started a fanlisting for yarn lovers a few months back, but I’ve had very few people sign-up. I know part of it is because people don’t know about it, I haven’t advertised my fanlisting or this webpage, but it still makes me feel sorta sad. I love yarn and I love my stash. So c’mon, do you love yarn? Do you have enough yarn stashed that you could open your own shop? Does the mere thought of losing that stash give you chills and nightmares? If you answered yes to any one of those questions, join Stash and let everyone know! Yay! Lovers of colorful, fuzzy balls unite!
Hope Elizabeth · 06/12/06 at 3:38 pm · Filed under Dyeing
I’ve been fascinated with the idea of dyeing my own yarn since the very first time I read a webpage describing how to dye yarn with Kool-Aid. It looked like so much fun to me, I had to give it a shot. I didn’t use Kool-Aid, I used neon food coloring, and while my first try didn’t turn out too horrendous, I discovered dyeing isn’t as easy as you would think. It was, however, just as much fun as I’d imagined. There’s something very exciting about seeing the colors mix and blend. It’s almost mesmerizing.
Now here I am, many months later, and I’m still excited about the idea of dyeing yarn. Everywhere I turn I see Dye-O-Rama links and they’ve done nothing to help my fascination. Actually the beautiful dyed yarns that have come about thanks to the swap have probably helped to turn my desire to dye yarn into an obsession. Yeah, that’s it. I need to dye yarn. If I don’t dye yarn soon, well, I don’t know what will happen.
<Insert evil laugh here>
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but trust me when I say that dyeing is on my mind. I keep reading page after page after page about yarn dyeing and I do believe I’m going to have to try it again for myself. Now I just need to come up with a good plan for saving a few bucks so I can order some dyes. My brain is just flooded with color ideas, so I better save fast - another good reason to lay off the shopping for awhile!
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