February FOs

K- Poncho for Lissa; this was knit with two balls of Bernat Baby Bouclé in a self-striping pink and lilac. Was a fast project, and cute too!
K- HBC Booger; this was my KO project and I think it turned out wonderfully! I'm so proud of myself for trying something new, and getting such a large project done in such a short time. Thank you Stephanie for the inspiration that I could do this!

UFO Extinction Project:
Homespun sweatercoat frogged and restarted
HP Scarf #1 frogged
Crocheted purse frogged

Losing our LYSs

I am interrupting your regularly scheduled blog to present to you most of the post I recently sent to my local SnB email group. It has to do with the loss of another LYS in our city, as well as the closing of a craft store {Lewiscraft}. I find it very upsetting that we have lost nearly every local source for fibre, and now both Canadian crafting chain stores, and felt the need to express my opinion on that subject.

As for my opinion on all the store closings… I’m afraid I would have to disagree with Anne for the most part. Stores like Michael’s and Wal-Mart *have* affected these places detrimentally, as well as the internet. When CC {Crafts Canada} closed down, they said it was because they lost their lease, but within a year or so all of the other stores were closed too {strangely enough, they are still listed as a retailer under Bernat for even the new yarns over 5 years later!}.

I have a small independent hardware store at the end of my street. Remember when every neighbourhood had one? It’s like a step into the past walking in there, from the worn hardwood floors, enameled cookware, and a strange wall of crates that contain just about every nut, bolt, and fastener known to man. Their prices tend to be higher than nearly anywhere else we can go, but my DH and I do buy a lot there because we like to support locals when we can, and this store also supports our local community a LOT with local projects. This store is one of the very few hardware stores {maybe the only?} in Winnipeg that has survived first Beaver Lumber and McDiarmid’s, and now the big box outlets, Home Depot and Rona.

Our small independent LYSs are up against a lot. Our LYSs, while providing the service and high quality products that we can’t get anywhere else, still have to compete with the “big guys”. It used to be that in order to learn how to knit or crochet, you found someone you knew, and they took you to an LYS where they would help you with simple projects, forgiving yarn and the like. These days, a lot of people see the “learn how” kits or books at WM, and pick one of those up and a bunch of novelty yarn and go at it. I’m not sure about other places, but I’m much better with providing beginner advice than the dept. manager at my store. Customers simply don’t know of the wonderful world of fibres available to them at a LYS. Many of these people will never set foot into a LYS, or will simply shop online, when and if they want something better than what the “big guys” carry. They don’t know what all a LYS can offer them.

I rediscovered Ram’s recently when a cashier at work mentioned them. She complains that they are too expensive, but I find their prices very reasonable for the most part. I do buy a great deal of my stash at work, but that’s just my basics {acrylic for afghans, and cotton for dishcloths}, and the occasional novelty for something. When I bought my wool for my Skacel sweater, Camille’s was the only place I thought of going. When I wanted wool for my booger, the big wall of Paton’s Classic and Ram’s Selkirk at Ram’s Wools was the only thing on my mind. When my best friend bought a bunch of camo snowboarding clothing for her son, I went to Camille’s and cleaned her out of the last of the camo sock yarn and sent it off to her {she lives an hour away from the Spinrite outlet BTW}. I would go to places like Camille’s and {now} Ram’s before looking at work or at Michael’s for a specific project because I am educated in what I want and what I expect. With Winnipeg’s reputation for always looking for the bargain, and the lost generation of crafters, most/many have lost touch with what these small local businesses mean to us and what we do. The “big guys” offer a small taste of what’s out there for the new to needlecrafts, and often the Internet is the next place people go looking when they want something more.

I wish I had a solution to our problem here in Winnipeg. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to realize my ultimate dream of having a small wool shop /coffee shop. I don’t know what we can do to prevent any more LYS closings… are there even any more in Winnipeg? Wasn’t there a place on Logan Av.? Leona’s I think. I find is so heart breaking that we are losing these small, but so necessary parts of our lives.

[/end soapbox]

Today's Quiz...

You Should Learn Japanese

You're cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture. From Engrish to eating contests, you're born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko!

What Language Should You Learn?

Today's Quiz...

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few. But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky. Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Note from Nicole: Office Space is one of my favourite movies!!!

Today's Quiz...

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Today's Quiz...

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Another gold medal winner in Winnipeg!

Well I may not have a handful of medals like Cindy Klassen, but I've earned my gold in the KO... here's the proof: I'm so thrilled with how it turned out. I squealed with delight as I pulled it out of the washer! It's a *lot* smaller than I thought it would be. With how large it was pre-felting, I was expecting a tote along the same size as my Payless Shoes tote. This one here is about the size of a magazine, and about 5 inches deep. I'm still sitting here grinning like the Cheshire Cat... I GOT FELT!!! YAY!!!

Sprint for the finish line.

Well the timer is red, and my booger is in the wash! I dragged my butt the last few days since I was so tired from work. I picked up an extra shift, since I needed the money, but I didn't seem to get enough sleep. I spent last night finishing up the last strap and sewing up most of my ends. Tonight after I woke up, I sewed in the last two ends, and then sewed on the straps. I ran a basting "thread" through the handles so that they would felt flat. I'm now waiting for the timer to go off so that I can restart the washer in about another 3 minutes. The bag itself is huge, but I'm hoping that it will felt down quite a bit. Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Today's Quiz...

Your Job Dissatisfaction Level is 68%

Your job is a total bummer, and probably the worst job you've ever had. Your co-workers stink. Your boss is a jerk. And your company is probably in trouble. Think about finding a new job quickly, even if it's just a not-so-great transition job. You've got to get out of there as quickly as you can!

Should You Quit Your Job?

Today's Quiz...

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

It's decision time.

Well I finished the bag itself and did up the round of edging while I was at my SnB last night. I started on an I-cord type strap for it, but I'm not sure if that's what I want. If I do the knitted strap, I won't be able to felt it today I think. If I crochet one, I *know* I'll get it done today. I will have a few days drying time regardless, but I just can't make up my mind.

Today's Quiz...

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

EEP!!! It changed again!!!

Sheesh... it seems like just yesterday that I had posted about it changing to yellow... now it's ORANGE!!! Oh well, I'm now working on the second side, and will be finishing this all up sometime tomorrow. I want to have it felted and started drying before I have to go to work. Did I mention how much I hate my job? I can't wait until the day when I'm rich and famous off of all this stuff I'm doing now, and I can tell my bosses where they can shove the power jack -- preferably done by someone that
*isn't* licenced!!!

And now for the second intermission...

Well I took a small intermission yesterday! I was nearly done the first side of the bag, and I decided that I needed a little diversion. I want to learn how to draw, mainly so that I can sketch out my designs and such. I bought a paint-by-numbers kit that will hopefully help me get more in touch with the artist that {might!} be in there. I spent most of the morning and afternoon getting a few sections done. It's definitely going to be a big time committment, and the painting is only 16x20! I did up my first sketch last night, a rendition of the booger, and it was all that Lyz could do to avoid getting coffee splattered all over her monitor!
While at the dentist's with the kids yesterday I got quite a bit of quality time knitting in. He was a lot more behind than usual, and the kids had no problems that I had to check out. I just finished casting off the first side, and will be picking up the stitches from the provisional cast on as soon as I'm done this post. My SnB is tonight, so I'm hoping to be knitting the strap. I want to sew it on tonight or tomorrow morning and then felt it tomorrow afternoon. I am working Wednesday night, so I really want this to be done by then.

Today's Quiz...

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

Today's Quiz...

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Today's Quiz...

Gummy Bears

You may be smooshie and taste unnatural, but you're so darn cute.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

Still stitchin' and snoozin'

Well I didn't make it to the felting show 'n tell at Ram's yesterday. I was just *way* too tired. I slept most of the day, and still didn't feel like I had slept enough! I finished off a ball of cream wool yesterday, and started the second. Right now the length is about double the striped band. I want to go until the striped band is about one third of the width, and then work the sides. My guess is that when I get to McNally's, that I'll be working on the sides. Since I won't be able to think while I'm knitting there, I'll probably bring Alex's sweater along too! I'm working Wednesday night, so that's one night less of knitting for me, but if everything works out correctly, I should be felting it on Thursday or Friday {if not sooner}. I made two cute Team Canada inspired stitch markers. I'm going to make a full set of either four or five, and put them up on the site too.

EEP!!! The timer changed!

Well I just noticed now after waking up from my afternoon nap. My timer has turned to yellow!!! Well as long as I am ready to felt by the time it changes colour again, I should be okay. I think it's really cool actually. Thank you to anny purls for sharing the code with us all, and her hubby for writing it! I didn't get any knitting done today yet, other than the couple of rows at work. When I got home from work I quickly filled out my taxzes since I got my T4 last night. Then I had an errand to run for Derek. By the time I got back home, it was nearly noon, so I just went and lied down on the couch. I got a good solid 4 hour nap, which will be enough if I can squeeze in another hour or two at least before work. I got the last two jerseys for my collection last night. I just need to get the stand, and decide if I'm getting replacements for any of the ones I opened. I also got two of the car window flags this morning. I'll take a pic of one tomorrow and probably post it... it's just way too cool!!! That and Canada got 3 more medals today -- YAY!!! We're now ahead of the US, and tied for 3rd place in medals. I am still in shock that the women's hockey finals *ISN'T* Canada vs. US... WTG Sweden! {You *do* know that you're gonna have to settle for silver in this one don't you???}

Today's Quiz...

You appear to be a Knitting Goddess.
You are constantly giving and are unconcerned with

reward, you simply want others to love

knitting as much as you do. If someone wants

to knit miles of novelty yarns, you are there

for them. If someone wants to learn short row

shaping, you can help. There are no taboos in

knitting, only opportunities to grow.

Everyone should have friend like you around

if they want to learn to knit, and there's a

good chance that your passion has rubbed off

on a few others.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Booger the 2nd revealed!

Here's a pic I just took of Booger the 2nd. I think I'm moving right along for having just cast this on late yesterday morning! I have to work tonight, so I won't be doing any marathon knitting this evening. With the way this is going, I can easily take this with me to work, so hopefully I'll get a row or three done on my breaks and at lunch. I'm so much happier with this version than the last... I hope that happiness continues when it comes time to work the sides. Oh! and I still need to figure out what kind of straps I'm going to put on the tote, and how to attach them!

Booger Boogie

Well Booger the 2nd is coming along very nicely. I'm into the green stripe as I write this. Once I've got some cream done to border the last stripe, I'll take a pic and post it here of my progress. This bag is coming along *very* quickly now that I changed the way I'm doing it. I just hope that the way I have in my mind of doing the ends goes as smoothly as the rest of this is. Granted, it *is* all stockinette, but since I'm doing it flat, I'm impressed with how fast I'm travelling.
Derek just about died last night when he got home and saw that I was restarting. I had barely finished the first coloured stripe at that point because I got sidetracked on the KH forum! He said, "you didn't frog *all* that work did you?", to which I replied, "not yet, but I will be!". I showed him the stripes on the first booger, but he still didn't quite get it as to why I was so displeased with it. What was even funnier is that he didn't know why I was calling this a booger! I explained at dinner, and he just shook his head at me... probably wondering what he ever did in a previous life to deserve someone as insane as I!!! After dinner I sat down on the couch for an evening of CSI and Inked and some serious knitting. I got 5 "stripes" done, with only one colour change left until the "sea of cream". Derek wouldn't watch the Olympics, so we missed the hockey last night, but I'm getting caught up with it all this morning.

Today's Quiz...

You are "turbo" charged.
Fast moving and classy, you get things done with

power and grace. Your expensive tastes can

be deceiving, since what you really value is

quality and efficiency. As you're careening

around those corners in life, finishing a

dozen knitted objects each month, stop and

smell the roses. Don't miss the beauty of

process!


What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Alex's Pullover

Here's Alex's pullover so far... along with a few props! I put the tape measure in there so that you could see that I'm around the 6" mark with it. Iginla's jersey has become my good luck charm for the KO. I bought it Friday morning when getting my usual double cheeseburger at my 3 am lunch break. What makes it special is that I actually know who Iginla is, and the number on the jersey is "12"... which is the number that Derek always takes when playing hockey. The pretty roses were my Valentine's present from Derek. You can't see it very well, but there's a pretty metal angel attached to the vase.

Knitter down...

Borrowing {yet another} phrase from Stephanie {the Yarn Harlot} . My booger is not turning out at all like I had hoped. It's not just the newbie sloppiness of the colour changes... it's the overall effect that the stranding at the back is having on the front. While I was working it flat, it wasn't too bad, but with working it in the round, the stripes were going really wonky. The gaps and holes in between the stripes were just too horrid. While I haven't frogged it {yet!}, I've started another one. I will give this a day or two and see how it progresses. I know that this may mean that I won't get my gold medal since I've now lost about 5 or 6 days working time... but I want to be pleased with the final result... not just finish it to get a medal. To be honest, I wouldn't really feel like I deserve a medal for it if I just let it go as is. You can't see in this picture what the "problem" with the colour changes is, but I'll post a close-up of it before I frog. For now, I'm just going to content myself with starting over. *sigh*

On a lighter note...

Here's Lissa helping me knit on it last night... she's really good at pointing out my mistakes! She was being silly and so was Derek... Alex was trying to get into the picture too, but I had to crop him out. He was running around in his usual garb, his gotchies, so I couldn't have that up on the web... child pornography and all that garbage ya know.

Today's Quiz...

You are Mercerized Cotton.
You are always very crisp and neat. You are very

playful and are happiest while outdoors in

the sunshine. You are sometimes accused of

splitting hairs, but in the end people find

you pretty easy to live with.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Today's Quiz...

You are a masterful knitter! I don't know how you

got this result, but what the hell... Enjoy

your title, and try selling some of your

"unvented" patterns- you may make

enough for that bundle of qiviut you've been

drooling over...


Are you a knitter?
brought to you by Quizilla

And we're off!

Well the weekend certainly got away from me quickly! I didn't get as much sleep as I really needed, but it was {barely} enough for me to survive my shifts at work. I'm now working on the sides of my booger. Lyz talked me into using bobbins for the colour changes, and I'm hoping that will go smoother for me. When I got home from work yesterday morning I was exhausted. I helped Lyz for a bit with her buttons on her blog, then promptly passed out on the couch. After I got up and did a bit of tidying up {before Derek got home}, I only had a few minutes left before Derek showed up {early!}. I'm trying to stay away from the pooter at night now, so who knows how much I'll be able to get done here online during the day.

Booger news

Overall, I'm quite pleased with my bag so far. The colour changes are sloppier than I'd like, but this *is* my first real colour change project, so I can't expect perfection... well I *can* expect it, but I can't realistically have it in my first attempt. I'm hoping that the felting process will hide a lot of those imperfections that my eyes can't seem to remove themselves from. Doing the base was a fairly simple process, but doing the sides in the round is proving to have a few more problems than I had originally anticipated. I'm thinking that I will need to knit up to about the 18" mark to get the bag as deep as I'd like. I still need to come up with exactly how I'm going to do the straps of the bag. I have, however, decided what I'm going to do with some of my leftovers from the project. I am going to do the original Booga, but with horizontal HBC stripes. I'm going to use it as a sock tote for taking my socks back and forth to work.

Other news

I've gotten quite a bit done on Alex's sweater at work. It's turning out to be a great "get away from it" project to do alongside the booger. It's sitting at about 6" right now, and looking really good. I've decided to do another one of these for Lissa in the vari pinks I have in my stash. It's Eaton's sayelle, and I got it {with tons more!} at a garage sale two years ago. I think the two of them will look really cute together.

YAY!!! Team Manitoba!

All hail the polar bear for Team Manitoba!!! Thanks so much Janice for pointing me in this direction! I'm too brainless right now to make the changes to my sidebar, but I've got a bunch of updates to do in the morning after I get home from work... toodles till then!

BTW: I decided that taking a pic of my bag before I frogged it wasn't within the spirit of the pledge... because I don't want to dwell on my misfortunes, but my accomplishments.

Stumbling through the starting blocks.

Well I've cast on and gotten a couple rows done of my bag... unfortunately, it's not turning out as nicely as I'd hoped. I'm going to frog it and restart. I will make the stripes slightly more narrow, and make the bag a little smaller proportionally. I just did a few rows of Alex's sweater to restablish my bearings, and will take a pic of what I did so far before I frog it all. In the spirit of the Knitter's Pledge that Stephanie posted today, I will continue on, and not get discouraged.

Here is the pledge, borrowed {without permission!} from Yarn Harlot's site:

The Knitting Olympics Athletes Pledge
I, a knitter of able hands and quick wits, to hereby swear that over the course of these Olympics I will uphold the highest standard of knitterly excellence.
I will be deft of hand and sure of pattern, I will overcome troubles of yarn overs and misplaced decreases. I will use the gifts of intelligence and persistence (as well as caffeine and chocolate) and I will execute my art to the highest form, carrying with me the hope for excellence known to every knitter.
I strive to win. To do my best, and to approach the needles with my own best effort in mind, without comparing myself to my fellow knitters, for they have challenges unique to them.
While I engage in this pursuit of excellence and my own personal, individual best, I also swear that I will continue to engage with my family in conversation, care for my pets, speak kindly with those who would ask me to do something other than knit, and above all, above every stitch thrown or picked, above every cable, every heel stitch, every change of colour, I swear this:
That I will remember that this is not the real Olympics, that I'm supposed to be having fun and that my happiness and self-worth ride not on my success....
but on my trying.

Getting down to the wire here.

Well I just finished binding off the last knit stitches on my Skacel pinwheel sweater... YAY!!! I still have most of the seaming and ends to do, and I want to finish off the bottom edge better... but technically, it's basically done! This thing weighs a ton, and I couldn't wait to finish off the neck. It was a PITA of the worst degree to turn it around as I worked on the cowl!

Final decision on the HBC Booger won't be made until I consult with my guru tomorrow, but I'm leaning more and more towards actually going ahead with it all.

Getting ready to call in the farm team...

Well as I write this, I'm waiting for the swatches to come upstairs. They've been through the washer four times now, and if it's not felted by now, I'm afraid it won't felt at all. I may have to change events at the last minute. I've been wracking my brain since last night to try and figure out what I have here that would qualify as an event. There's the silk waves scarf... but I don't think that even that pattern would be *that* much of a challenge for 16 days. Everything else I have on hand is already started. I had my heart set on the HBC Booger, and I *will* make it... I just don't have the $50+ for different wool until at least the 21st. I'm heartbroken. Earlier today it hit me, I can do Lissa's cabled poncho as a replacement event. It's working with a difficult yarn {I'm assuming}. It's quite a bit of knitting for me for 16 days. It's got cables which I haven't done yet.

and the verdict is...

hung jury. I'll take a pic right away, but I still wouldn't declare it felted. It *is* beginning to start the felting process, so I have a few rays of hope here. There are so many variables involved, and I think that those were going against me today. The loads of laundry I had them in were regular sized loads, so between that, and the small size of the swatches, they may not have gotten the agitation they needed. Even though our hot water tank is very hot, I could add a few kettlefuls of boiling water to make it that much hotter. A little less soap, and a lot less clothes {a couple of towels tops}, and I just may have felt with a bigger amount going into the pillowcover. After this washing, the two swatches are close to the same size now. Not the big difference they had after washing #1 and washing #2. Even the cream Patons is beginning to felt, and it *has* to be bleached with how light it is.

Shrunk, but no felt yet.

The photo on the left is the one I took before the first cycle. The one on the right is the one I took after. You can see that they have shrunk a bit, but there's no felting in sight yet... still nervous here.

A-swatching I will go!

Dangit... blogger won't let me upload photos right now, but I got the swatches done as soon as I woke up this morning. They are in the washer, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to type with my fingers crossed! They are about 3x3 each, and I'm really hoping they will felt. I will post the before and after photos later on today. I did some searching at Ram's, and the only logical replacement for all this would be their Selkirk Wool. Since I'd need about 8 skiens, I'm looking at over $50 to do this... with no guarantees about felting either, since the natural white looks like it may have been bleached as well. I'm just heartbroken. I do have a back-up project, Lissa's cabled poncho, that I can do... but I've got my heart set on the Booger, so anything else just won't be as satisfying.

Countdown to Friday morning

Well I got some done on my pinwheel sweater today. I'm now less than 7 rounds of neckline away from being done the knitting. I still have the seams to do, and I think I'm going to add a round of slip stitch or single crochet around the bottom to neaten up the sloppy {IMO} way the designer had the shaping. This sweater is going to be gorgeous, but personally I'd never make another. There's so many things that could have been done slightly different to make this project more professional looking... such as not having such a sloppy bottom edge. Of course that's just my 2¢ CAD, and we all know that's worth next to nothing with the world exchange rates. Overall, I guess I'd have to say I'm disappointed in it because after investing so much time and money into this sweater, it's not pleasing me as much as the picture in the ad had enticed me.

Knitting Olympics Update

There was a comment today on my post to Team Canada about Peer Gynt behaving more like a superwash wool. Since I'm doing tons of laundry to try and keep up {pitifully} with Derek's cleaning efforts this week, I'll bite the bullet and knit up a small swatch of the yellow wool and try to felt it in one of the loads of laundry tomorrow. If it doesn't felt at all, then I'll have to hit Ram's on Friday morning. If they have no substitute at all, then I'll just use a smaller needle for a thicker fabric and try to felt the cream wool a bit to make it less stretchy. Wish me luck... this is not what I needed to hear less than 48 hours before cast on!

Busy, busy, busy!

Well it's official now, I'm a "sanctioned" member of Team Canada. I even got my best friend, Lyz, talked into joining up! I've been extremely busy the last few days getting things ready for the 16 day marathon. On Sunday, I got the girls to help me divide the last two balls of the Peer Gynt, so all that's left to do to prepare for the KO opening ceremonies is assemble my needles and the scrap yarn for the cast-on. I'll take a pic of it all on Friday morning after work before I cast on. I would use the cool yellow wicker basket I bought on Saturday for its WIPtainer, but this has to go with me everywhere for 2 weeks, so into the Payless tote it goes. Unless I find the spike tote in time... it would be nice to use a tote a made myself! Can you tell that I can't wait for Friday morning?

Some finished, or nearly so...

On Saturday morning I finished the poncho I had been working on for Lissa, which she proudly proclaimed as being "cutie"! I'll have to take a picture of it and let you all decide what is more adorable, the poncho or the sweetie in it. Today, I got the ends woven in on quite a few FOs that I had lying around, including the dreaded Eye Lash kerchief. I *still* haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with it! I'm pretty sure it's going to Lissa, but not sure if it will be for her or a "Bah-bee". I did discover that bouclé is nastier to weave in ends on than it is to knit or even crochet with! Derek helped me to frog the HP scarf on Sunday, so that's another UFO on the extinct list. I've decided that the frogged balls of yarn are going to become hats and scarves for the Parent Centre at the school. The pinwheel sweater is getting closer and closer to being done in time too. I'm now starting the top and bottom shaping for the back, which leaves the seaming and the cowl neck to do next. I really want to have that for my SnB on the 21st, and maybe even the "Felting Show & Tell" at Ram's on the 18th. Once the sweater is done, then I need to count rows on Derek's socks so that I can note that on the pattern itself and get working on the heel for sock #2. I might even get adventurous and frog the Kroy sock... YA RIGHT!!! I might as well say that I'm going to get the Eye Lash cowl done before too!

Some started, or nearly so...

Of course I had to start some projects too... if for no other reason than to test out the new Denise's... which are totally fab BTW!!! I frogged Alex's scrunchable scarf and cast on a small HP for him. On Saturday I discovered that there was a shorter cable that I could have used for it, so I will probably frog it and restart again. As it is right now, it will be close to six inches wide, and that's still a little too wide for what I want. I've only knit about 5 or 6 rows, so it's nothing to frog it.

and Alex's pullover ...

Lately Alex has been asking me whenever I start something new, if it's for him. The look of disappointment on his face when I say, "no, it's for _____" is heart breaking! All he replies is, "oh", and he looks so sad and forlorn! It's obvious the kid wants me to make him something. I decided that I would make him a sweater or a pullover. I knew I'd be finishing Lissa's poncho early on Saturday, so Friday night I looked through a small pile of magazines I had handy to try and find him something before I went to sleep. I found 2 patterns that I kindasorta liked, and made a mental note that I'd need about 600-650 yards of either worsted or bulky/chunky yarn. I decided on a cool shade of RH Kids, and took a chance that 3 balls of it would cover the yardage... why in the hell don't these companies put the yardage as well as the weight on those danged labels??? When I got home I popped on to their website, and actually found what I was looking for {ya, I know... hard to believe on the C&C site!}. It works out that I've got about 750 yards of the yarn, so that's plenty. The pattern for the WW pullover is from the January issue of Creative Knitting. The pattern called for doing the back and fronts separate, but I decided to go ahead and do it in once piece... less seaming later = better chance of becoming an actual FO. I had to frog it twice since I needed to adjust the rib pattern at the side seams a bit, but it's looking good at about 2-3 inches completed. I'll have to take a pic of that too!

Round Ripple Babyghan #2

No, I am not making another one of these for Daryl... the fire already taught me that that blanket was not meant for him. I would know when the time was right to make another one, since I really liked this pattern. Well Sunday morning I got my excuse. My friend and fellow geekette, Sandi, told me she was preggers. Congrats Sandi!!! even though it only took me 20 minutes to figure out what you were saying... what do you expect from me right after work? Anyhoo, I get to make {and probably design too!} all kinds of cool schtuff for her baby-to-be. Before that I have to make a cheap-crap/love-it-to-death acrylic babyghan for her. I'll let her pick the colours out of my stash, and I'll crochet away on it happily... knowing that I get to replace those huge balls of RH Comfort with something smaller, more expensive, and more yarn snobby! More than anything else, it's going to be nice to have a crochet hook in my hands again... I know they'll be very happy to have a different kind of stress on them.

Denise's in da house!!!

Well I got my set of Denise's today finally! I haven't set them up yet, BION. I'm going to frog Alex's scrunchable scarf and cast on a mini-HP for him. He's been asking me so nicely to make him something, that I'll make one of my first projects with this set, something for him! I'm also going to try it out for my HBC Booger. A frogging I will go...

A better finish for a bad week.

Well when I woke up this morning, my back was feeling quite a bit better... not *all* better, but better enough that I will be able to work tonight.

Once my hands decided to cooperate, I got going on the sleeve again. I just finished it about an hour ago, and the difference between sleeves is now less than an inch. I'm leaving it as is, and will wash the remainder of the yarn a little later on, since I intend on using that strand for the neckline. I am now working on the back pinwheel. I found a small spot of coffee, but I'll blot that off later on when I'm done knitting on it for the day. I got it off the dpns and on to the circ, so that's really good progress. I'm in really good shape to finish the knitting on this sometime over the weekend. That will give me *my* weekend to do the finishing on it before the KO start on Friday.

I am supposed to be getting my Denise's today, and I can't wait! Depending on how short the shortest cord is, I may get started on Alex's mini-HP. I'm not that enthused about his scrunchable scarf, so I'm gonna go back to my {2nd!} original plan of the HP. If the cord is too long, I'll either use two circs, or I'll go pick up an Addi, and not let the clerk talk me out of it this time.

My first SnB!

I nearly forgot! I went to my first knitting "meeting" last night at our local Chapter's. It was great getting together with other locals that knit {and some crochet too!}. We took over about a third of the Starbuck's coffee shop and were definitely a sight! I was thrilled to finally get together with them all after being a member of our local board for about six months. Every other time there's been a get together, I've either had to work that night, or the weather was crappy. One of the best things was that I finally got to meet one of my list-mates from CANcrochet/we_crochet. We've known for at least 3 years that we lived in the same city, but hadn't ever met. Our next get-together is on the 21st I think... I'm hoping to finish the Skacel sweater before the KO so that I can wear it there!

A frogging I will go...

I finally bit the bullet and started frogging the sleeve for the Skacel sweater. I *had* started working the second pinwheel this morning, but that had to be set aside after coffee got dumped on it, and it was subsequently washed. Hopefully it will be dry by the time I finish the sleeve... which one end of the yarn has perogy cheese mashed potato gunk on it. That's another story, which explains why I decided to try and frog the shorter sleeve backwards. Since I didn't cut the end of the wool off, and I will need more wool to reknit with than the sleeve currently has in it, I figgered what the heck, I'll just unknit it from the beginning, and then wash the rest of the wool later. MUCH easier said than done. I slipped the first stitch of each row... which creates a knot of sorts when unravelling backwards. Then each increase and decrease was a new lesson in four letter words which I won't repeat here! I can't believe how difficult it was to do! I got about half-way through reknitting the sleeve, and I decided to frog everything left on the first sleeve. Now I have a pile of yarn beside me, that I can't touch or else it will end up into a hopeless knotted mess. I don't think I'm going to work tonight since I threw my back out on Tuesday morning, and it's still not better. I'll see how much I can knit before I have to go *try* to lie down without freaking in pain from the necessary position adjustments needed when getting comfortable in bed! I need to stay up at least another hour before I call in, so I should be at least up to the armhole decreases by then.