Halfway there

Yay for colorwork

1. My favorite food seasoning is fresh garlic. I think I could eat the stuff alone by the clove. It must be the Korean in me.

2. The soft cry of newborn pups is music to my ears.

3. Lucky is what I seem to be sometimes. Drives my brother crazy.

4. Opposition to animal rights is something I take very seriously. I write a lot of letters to senators and businesses!

5. Many people don't realize that knitting is for all people, regardless of age, sex, etc.

6. Allergy medicine was the last thing I bought at the store.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching 1941 with Shawn, tomorrow my plans include doing some mountain driving with Shawn (well, he'll be driving. I'll be riding), and, Sunday, I want to spin and knit!

This is my progress on the mitten... it's coming along so quickly! Ok, it's not perfect. I do have some tension issues along the sides, but I corrected it after realizing it. This is so fun. I'm eyeing some of those samplers from Knit Picks... I think I'll be adding them to my Christmas list!

Squishy thought he'd help...

Fly

The colors are richer in real life, but this is my Bird in the Hand mitten. It's my first time knitting mittens and my first time doing real colorwork. I thought that I would hate it, but I'm actually really loving it and am already dreaming up other stranded colorwork projects (I think I'll be designing a pair of mittens for Arty, maybe... The Knit notebook I got from Pheelya will be great for this! I used to design my own cross-stitch patterns, so this can't be too different from that).

These are going really fast. I cast on yesterday afternoon and have been working on them sporadically. I'm using Wullenstudio Superwash Merino Sock in Lipstick on my Collar and Araucania Ranco Solids in 107... I hate when colorways are numbered and not named, so I named it Charcoal. Not very original, but it's better than 107.

Today is 2 years that Shawn and I have known each other... we met when a mutual friend sat with my roommate and me at chow. Shawn was with him and sat across from me. I was immediately drawn to him and kept looking at him (I tried not to, but he was right there in front of me!). He later said that he noticed I kept glancing at him. That was going to be that, but we literally ran into each other almost everyday after that and this is where we are now! We both started coming to NGCSU (our school) fall of 2005 and never met until a year later. I had broken up with my last boyfriend of over a year the day before Shawn and I met (trust me, though, I was over him about 5 months before I got the guts to break it off)... Good timing, huh?

Afghans

Here is the Round Ripple... completed!

The colors aren't as bright/popping in real life. I'll try to get some better pictures with natural light later. I ended up using almost all the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK (all that I could to complete a round) and finished it with 3 rounds of Caron Simply Soft Eco in Chocolate. It's the perfect size for me on the couch or in a chair. I love it! Finally, I made an afghan. I love blankets and am so drawn to making them, but never could seem to actually do it. I'm so glad that this is finished and was so quick! It took me 12 days.

This is the Friendship Afghan. I really like how the crochet seams/edging are working out. It looks a lot neater and more stable this way. So far, I have squares from all over the USA and from Portugal. I was supposed to get some from Australia, but it looks like I have a flaker... I contacted her, so we'll see what happens. If I do get flaked on, I'll just make some for myself. No biggie (though I will put her on the naughty swappers list!).

NaBloPoMo and WIPS

I've decided to participate in nablopomo... I'll be posting every day in November (or attempt to, at least). I'm usually good about posting, but would like to make it a daily or every other day thing. Just hope that I have enough to talk about!


This is my most recent WIP. It's the Eyelet Skirt in Cascade 220. I'm calling it When in doubt, wear red. I love wearing red... it's so bold and looks good on just about anyone, anytime. I'm doing a few mods to the pattern since I'm short (5'2")... I found another Raveler that is my height and I like how hers turned out. I'm shortening it overall, omitting the triple yo row, and doing a different ending than the pattern calls for. Shawn's unsure about the color, wondering what top I would wear with it. He's the typical guy when it comes to color... if it isn't the color of a tree, he is iffy on it.


I've also been working on the Friendship Afghan from swap-bot.com. I have 35% of my squares. I was just stitching them together, but decided to take it apart and single crochet them together and add a single crochet edge to it. I like it so much more. I'll post a picture tomorrow.


I'm thinking of starting a pair of mittens using the Wullenstudio sock yarn I got from my SP and some other solid fingering weight yarns. It's A Bird in the Hand. This will be my first attempt at color knitting... I plan on using the variegated Wullenstudio yarn (colorway Lipstick on my Collar) for the background (black in the picture on the pattern) and a solid for the rest. I'll be picking the 2 solid colors from the stash or may be spinning it up, depending on what I find.

Spinning, FO, and a new frame

I've been working on a little of my SAFF spinning today...

This is some of the natural brown roving I bought for my brother's Christmas scarf. I bought just over 5 ounces and this is what I have to show after about 3 hours of spinning (not straight, but on and off). I still have a good bit of spinning to do. It's going to be a 2-ply. I LOVE how this is spinning up... I'm so used to smooth and slick merino, it was a bit of a surprise to work with a fiber that is so textured and sproingy! It's going to be a lovely cushy yarn. I wish I had bought the rest of what the lady had for sale. It's so pretty and would've made a gorgeous pullover. It's actually a little bit darker in real life (flashy picture, as usual!).

A tawashi cloth I made this weekend for a swap partner on swap-bot. It's my first one and I really like it! It's done up in some stash Red Heart acrylic, so that it's really scrubby. I'll be making another one in a different pattern in cotton for the partner also.

Not the best picture, but this is my most recent woodburning project. It's a frame for my Color Swap pal on Ravelry. Pansies with Isaiah 40:8 at the bottom (The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever). I love this and wanted to keep it for myself, but am sending it to my partner that I made it for. I think she'll love it. My package is going out Tuesday morning.

I've edited the SAFF post below with the fiber content/yardages of everything I couldn't remember.

An amazing day...

WOW.

SAFF was amazing. Moma and I arrived at about 0830 and waited in the car until about a quarter til, talking, drinking coffee, and I was crocheting on the Ripple afghan. We went inside and were amazed at all the goodies (and people!). We started at the top and made our way down. I didn't want to buy anything until at least making a first run-through. Of course, that lasted all of 5 minutes... my first purchase was a pair of US 7 32" circs, vintage, for 5.00. That's a steal considering that I spent 18.00 at a LYS a few weeks ago for the same thing!

I was able to pass up all the pretties for a good bit, but then started buying again. It was great fun and we really couldn't believe the number of people that flooded in around noon. The weather was nice (cool and clear) and the people were wonderful. I really enjoyed getting to meet some of the faces on Ravelry... MissBabs, Creative, and others.

Here's what we walked out with:

A book (obviously on natural dyes and dyeing!) and the vintage needles.

A wool/mohair blend, 13 ounces. It's not the cleanest roving ever, but was a good deal and the lady was really nice and excited to make a sale (I think we were the first sale of the day for her... it was my second purchase, about 7 minutes after we walked in the door!). This is going to be a pair of Feminine Gloves (from Spin-Off) and maybe a pair of matching socks or something.

These two huge bags of loose alpaca were 5.00 each. Can you believe that? Washed and picked and will be going through the drum carder this Christmas while I'm on break. They are both about a pound and a half. I bought the fawnish bag very early in the day and bought the brown on our way out the door to go back home.

4 ounces of Jacob roving I got to try out the fiber. It's really cushy and I think it's going to spin up nicely.

A little over 5 ounces each of wool roving (I think Corriedale?) in a natural brown and a really nice red. These are getting spun up to make the Naughty/Nice Scarf for Arthur for Christmas (for those that haven't seen it, the illusion scarf has the image of a pole-dancer on both ends of the scarf when viewed from an angle and is just striped when viewed straight on).

4 ounces of "domestic blend." It was in a bargain bin and there were a few in there. 2 ounce balls at 2.50 each, so I grabbed these two. I like the soft natural color and the fiber is really nice feeling. I think these will go toward a felted purse for Moma for Christmas (she requested one for Christmas and wants darker colors).

Politically Incorrect Fibers One Night Stand in "Atticus." 4 ounces, merino/corriedale blend. I got this after falling in love with the display (cushiness and color, need I say more?). I chose to pick just one as the price was a tad steep for me... I've been admiring this stuff on etsy for a while now and just had to get a bat to try out. I love the crazy and bright colors and can't wait to spin it and make something really special with it!

My big splurge, but totally worth it. This is almost a 1000 yards of laceweight 100% silk. Natural color and absolutely gorgeous. This is really special. It's going to become the scarf that Shawn and I are using in our wedding for the handbinding part. (Yep, we have our ceremony! What's being said, done, etc.) It will end up being a really long Waves of Grain scarf, with gold beads.

This is from Miss Babs. It's 4 ounces of superwash merino in a really pretty peachy-purple colorway. It was a last minute grab as we were making a final round toward the door.

Another Miss Babs. This was in the 50% off bin, not entirely sure why. About 500 yards of fingering weight yarn, perfect as far as I can tell. It may be a mistake color or just a final skein from a discontinued color... not sure and, honestly, I couldn't care less. At 9.50, it was mine. It's an odd color... kind of a greyish-lilac. Pretty, though.

Mmmmm..... This is from the wonderful Creatively Dyed studio! I knew that I wanted to make a stop by the booth and get something. I ended up getting these 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn in the "King" colorway, both are 500+ yards. I love love love her stuff! She's a really nice lady and Moma and I really enjoyed talking to her. This was purchased to be made into Kaleidoscope, a cardi using sock yarn. But, now i find that I misread the pattern... it calls for SPORT weight yarn. However, I think I can make it work and it will end up being some sort of non-sock garment (too pretty to be hidden in shoes!). Such talent here and she sold out at Rhinebeck last weekend.

3 pounds of wool blend roving from Zeilinger Wool Co.. Really pretty colors in this. It will get spun up into a worsted weight yarn to be used for either the Minimalist Funnel Neck pullover or the Tree Jacket.

Ok, that was my stuff. Here's what fibery goodness my mom walked away with:

Both of these are from Miss Babs. My mom found a clearance bin with 3 skeins of a cotton/rayon blend, 300 yards each. She snatched these 2 up and asked if they were a good deal at 5.00 each. Literally a moment after she said that, people turned around and dashed toward the bin. The fastest one snatched up the last skein. It was crazy. My mom just held on tight to these two and knew that she had to get them! They match well (the solid isn't as drab in real life) and she wants to make some sort of lacy cardi with them. I'll be searching Ravelry for a pattern that calls for 600 yards that isn't a shrug or cropped.

A little over an ounce of random fiber locks for needlefelting. My mom became fascinated watching someone needlefelt a tiny wreath Christmas tree ornament and wanted to give it a try. I had a set of needles and gave them to her tonight along with some fiber scraps left over from carding. She's going to try it out and see how it goes.

That's the fiber-related stuff we got today. Non-fibery and not pictured are a handmade pottery soap dish (with a sheep on it!) and handmade oatmeal soap (smells and looks good enough to eat) for Michelle for Christmas, a handmade pottery oil lamp thing (really pretty) that I got for my dad for Christmas, and 2 handmade shampoo bars (one each for Moma and me). I also bought a cute ornament, but it got dropped while we were unloading everything and it broke. It's easily fixed, though, as it was just a clear glass ball ornament with red and white fiber inside. I saved the fiber and will be getting a replacement ball from Michael's or something. Shawn and I have a tradition of getting each other an ornament every Christmas and this was his this year. He saw it when it broke, but that's Ok. We do this so that we will have something to put on our first tree together.

It was a really great time today, but we are glad to be home. It was tiring walking around and taking it all in. I think we made 4 trips to the car to drop stuff off in order to get more!

We ran through the alpaca barn and my mom was wanting one really bad. She had never even seen a picture of one before and was in love when she saw them. She also wanted to get some angora rabbits, but I decided to wait until May to get some... I'll be home then and can do the grooming. I know she doesn't want grooming duty until May! We didn't see the sheep (we looked for them) and only saw one goat. I wish that I had gotten a picture of this little thing... I have been around a lot of goats and have had my fair share of babes born under my care, but I have never seen one so tiny. I swear it was about the size of our 4 lb Yorkie girl, Eunny. So sweet. There isn't a cuter thing that God created than a baby goat.

Shawn was glad that I had a good time with my Christmas gift and I had fun showing everything off to him. I love that he's so supportive of my hobbies/loves and that he does his best to be interested.

FO

1. Right now, I'm feeling a little tired and really excited about SAFF!

2. A year from now is where I want to be.

3. How does one ensure that their future will go as planned?

4. Shawn keeps me on track.

5. Please don't make any bad grades this semester or next! I plan on graduating in MAY.

6. Fiber, friends, and animals fill me with joy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with Shawn and Moma, tomorrow my plans include lots of fiber purchases, and, Sunday, I want to go wedding place looking with Shawn and roll around in all my new yarn/fiber/etc!

Ok, here are the Knotty or Knice Socks, finally:

Pictures with the flash on and flash off. The color is somewhere in between. Shiny and a gorgeous color and the cabling shows off really well. These will wear really well.

I ended up doing 2 full pattern repeats on the legs and ended with rows 1-7 and 3 rounds of 2x2 ribbing (no twisted stitches). This created infinity cables all around the leg. Really pretty. I knew I'd have to cut them short (the pattern calls for 5 repeats on the legs) since I was about 100 yards too short on the yarn and I thought this was a good way to do it. I could have easily finished up that repeat all the way through, but my left hand was literally numb from all the knitting I was doing on them tonight! I wanted to finish up before going to bed and I knitted on them for about 4 hours straight. The tiny gauge killed my hand, but they are completed!

I've got all my stuff ready for SAFF! A list of things to remember to bring, directions, important numbers, all my stuff laid out. I am beyond excited about it. I'll be posting either Saturday or Sunday will all my loot, so be sure to check then!

Mail!

I had a good mail day today...

Here are more squares for my Friendship Afghan. Aren't they beautiful? She really put a lot of time into these and sent some beautiful handmade stitchmarkers as well.

My final SP 12 package! My swap partner, Pheelya, was wonderful. She sent me some really nice stuff:

-A cute classic Batman card. I love Batman and this was just too cute.
-A Knit Journal that is amazing... it has so many features and even includes a guide for yardage required for different items depending on yarn weight, garment size, etc. This is so wonderful!!! I really love this. It's so nice!
-4 dpn tubes. I definitely needed these. Remember how Shawn sat on my size 2 KP dpns and broke one?
-The Shop on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber. Yay! I had this on my Amazon wishlist. I love knit novels. Can't wait to get started on it.
-A pack of needle holders that have antique shamrock charms. I haven't seen these before. I know they'll get lots of use!
-A pack of Easter grass. This will get incorporated into some of my handspun.
-Frog Tree merino. I've long-lusted for Frog Tree yarn! It's sooo soft.
-Wullenstudio superwash sock yarn in the Lipstick on my Collar colorway. Gorgeous yarn... soft, beautiful color, and I love the name of the colorway!
-A Hello! Ravelry button. Much wanted and great timing since I'll be going to SAFF this Saturday!
-The cutest dinosaur tape measure. Adorable! I love dinosaurs and this is really great since I recently misplaced my old measure!
-2 packs of sticky notes, one pack is T-shaped (for Timiae!) and the other is a set of three with marine life. I love stationary and use post-its all the time. These are just too cute!
-A set of KP metal dpns, size 4. Thanks so much for these! I'm forever lacking the right sized dpns and it's nice to be able to add to the collection (in a size that I don't have!).

Still trucking

I'm still working on the ripple afghan and it's coming along nicely. I needed a good tv/mindless project and this is definitely it. Not too boring, but definitely easy. I love how quick crocheting is... I keep thinking about how long it would have taken to do a knitting project of the same size! It's about 30 inches in diameter right now. I have about 400 yards of yarn left and I'm hoping that I can get another 30 inches or so out of it. If it ends up being smaller than I want, I'll find some matching solid in another yarn to add more size.

I'm also still working on the SAFF Knotty or Knice Socks. I haven't been going at them in one sitting, but am doing a few rounds here and there. I hope to get some real sock time in the week so I can have them all finished up by Friday, ready to wear Saturday morning to SAFF!

Speaking of which, I am sooo excited! Shawn and I are going Wednesday to draw the money out. I have the to-buy-for pattern list almost ready to go (just need to get all the info on a single sheet of paper!)...

-Rusted Root: fiber to spin, though may go with yarn if I find the right stuff
-Tree Jacket: fiber to spin
-Kaleidoscope: yarn, hopefully from Creatively Dyed
-Minimalist Funnel Neck: fiber, possibly yarn (though probably not)
-Naughty/Nice Scarf: fiber or yarn, depends on what I find (this is a Christmas gift for Arty)
-Coupling: fiber to spin
-BFF Socks: yarn
-Treads: fiber to spin (these are going to be a surprise for Shawn, to wear at our wedding!)
-Northern Dreams Pullover: yarn, most likely

Those are the patterns. Some of them I'm definitely buying for, others are if I find what I'm looking for and have the money. I do plan on getting things without projects in mind also and really hope to find some good circs/dpns. I can't wait to get there and see everything! Moma said that I can get a sheep or a goat or something, so maybe there will be something affordable...

This weekend was Gold Rush, Dahlonega's yearly giganto craft show. Half the town gets shut down and there's a sea of people. Literally. There are people that come from other states and even out of country to hit this thing. I've been every year since 2004 and it's never any different as far as attendance. There is always neat stuff, but I never really buy anything. The past 2 years a lady comes with her crocheted hats and they fly off the shelves. I think they're priced at about 12.00 each and they are all fun fur or some other novelty yarn. People can't get enough of them. I'm really wanting to knit/crochet a few things and hit a few craft shows to see how they do. Baby items, pet items, hats, scarves, etc. I saw a booth with a bunch of simple crocheted baby blankets and cloth blankets with crocheted borders that was doing very well. One person bought 6 of them for his grandchildren. Not sure how they were priced, though. People don't want to pay what something is worth and it's sad. They want everything for nothing and I just don't work like that.

I can't help it

I cast on for another project and this time is a big one. I've started a crocheted blanket, the Round Ripple Afghan (pattern link). I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK in variegated earth tones. It has short color runs, so is making an interesting pattern. I won the yarn in a blog contest a while back. I have just over 1000 yards and plan on going until I run out of yarn.

The pattern is really easy, though I did have some trouble in the beginning. The pattern doesn't specify which stitch to crochet into at some points and it took some figuring out by looking at pictures on Ravelry and going from there. Also, round 3 is wrong and it took looking at pictures to get it right. This will be a couch blanket for Shawn and me oneday.

It's really quick and good for tv knitting. The pattern just repeats itself over and over and over until you want to quit.

Here's my progress on the SAFF socks (Knotty or Knice socks):

I am almost to the heel on the second sock. This picture is really flashy and the colors are much darker in real life. The cables are gorgeous! I really love this pattern and it's so quick. I'm going sans cable needle, as usual. Much less fiddley. I have the first sock on waste yarn for fear of running out of yarn, but it looks like I'll have enough to make the legs longer, which I really prefer on handknit socks. The pattern doesn't call for a traditional cuff (the pattern is ribbed anyway), but I'll be adding a cuff, maintain the twisted/regular rib pattern up for at least 10-15 rows. Without the cuff, it looks like the sock was either cut off or the knitter just lost interest and ended it where it was. I think it will look more finished with a cuff.

OH, did I mention that Shawn and I picked our wedding date?!? It's November 13, 2009. It's Friday the 13th, but that's Ok. We planned it for that date because it's the Friday before Thanksgiving... Shawn will still be in school then and doesn't want to miss too much class for the honeymoon. This way he'll only miss 2 days since he has off for Thanksgiving break anyway. We'll just do our first Thanksgiving as a married couple alone, on our honeymoon. We are starting to plan a little, but don't know yet where we want to have the wedding/reception (other than we know we want them at the same place). Until we decide that we really can't get too much of the real planning done, but are thinking about cakes, my dress (Moma is making it), food, music, etc. The colors are white (of course), dark red (like garnet), and gold. I want an outdoor ceremony, but that's not 100% yet. Just depends on where we want to have it (hopefully around Dahlonega somewhere...). I have the yarn for my wedding Clapotis (wrap-sized) already and will be casting on for that probably around Christmas. I plan on adding pearls and gold beads to the dropped stitch spaces.

Long post... the fill-in, pets, and a FO!

1. Follow the feelings in your heart, but always consult your brain first!

2. A camera, cash, knitting, and a good book are some things I always take with me on vacation.

3. To achieve your goals, you must work hard and persevere.

4. I have an irrational fear of cyclops and just writing the word is enough to give me chills is something I'd like you to know about me.

5. I have a lot of animals and really could not survive without a bunch of pets to keep me company. I really do enjoy and value animal companionship over humans in most cases, though I hate animal rights.

6. I love root beer floats.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting some spinning done, tomorrow my plans include doing the Gold Rush thing (a huge craft show in Dahlonega), and, Sunday, I want to sleep in, do a project for Modern World Revolutions class, and relax!

Today was a good day. My Korean class was cancelled and I skipped War & Society in America. Shawn came over early to study Korean (before we found out it was cancelled) and we both memorized our dialogue assignment. After getting the call from Charlie, the teacher (Korean name Yunchur), Shawn played Wii and I did a little more on the woodburning project I'm doing for my color swap pal. Then we went out to Auto Zone (he had to get a part for his car) and then to Cumming. We ate at Cici's and went to Home Depot to get a Dremel tool and to Target for a shirt for Shawn. There's a style that he got there a few weeks ago that looks amazing on him, so we went to pick up another in a different color. Back to campus to charge the Dremel and work on his car. We had to replace his starter and there was a piece that was protruding, preventing it from fitting in properly. That's where the Dremel came in. I love those things... so versatile. I think every home should have at least one! Oh, and by "we," I mean Shawn fixed it and I held the flashlight.

We had a nice drive around after that to make sure the car was fixed (it is) and then a stop by Mickey D's for some food.

In animal news, my triops hatched this week! Shawn bought me a Smithsonian kit for hatching your own triops (kind of like offbrand sea monkeys). I didn't have high hopes for them as the kit was bought at Ross and was missing about half the stuff. I tried them out this week and they hatched! They are so neat... and they grow so fast! They were barely visible Monday and today they are montrous in comparison! There are still a few tiny ones, but 2 have really taken off and most are in between. Here are some pictures of a giant one and a mid-sized one (they are so hard to photograph!):

They are so neat. Arty bought me sea monkeys for Christmas this year (he told me already). They are Spongebob themed and it's called A Lot of Plankton. Isn't that cute? I love things like ant farms, sea monkeys, tadpole kits, etc.

Here's my most recent FO:

It's the Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat (pattern link), but isn't very slouchy. I didn't have the right sized hook and it's a bit smaller than it's supposed to be. It was going to be for Michelle for Christmas, but I think I'm going to give it to Arty and Michelle and let them figure out who gets it (it's not as slouchy as Michelle likes and it would fit a guy like a beanie, which Arty likes). It's Malabrigo Worsted that has been in my stash since the beginning of June. My first time using it and it is what they say it is... so soft and works up beautifully! I have half of the brown left and 2 skeins of the pollen colorway and one of a semisold green.

Flower Necklace

So cute! Really easy pattern that I think is just too clever (pattern link).Next time, though, I will make the chains a bit longer; I think they are too close together on my neck. I used Peaches & Cream cotton that I handdyed earlier in the year. Buttons are from my favorite little scrapbook store in Barnesville.

Here are some stitch markers I made for my Color Swap pal:

The picture is kind of dark, but they are made from Swarovski crystal and pearls. The crystals are a really pretty shade of pink and the pearls are silver-gray.