garter madness

finished the BSJ, here'a a terrible flash photo of it. i ended up reknitting the button band and bottom because i didn't like the way the other yarn. this is more what i had envisioned when i started knitting with the midnight garden and ran out of that and needed another yarn to finish.

and i love the owl buttons. jack keeps saying "owl, hoo hoo" everytime he sees it.

pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman

yarn: Skeintilly Clad DK in midnight garden, 2 skeins 120yds each
Jaeger Matchmaker DK 3/4 skein

needles: US5

start date: january 2007

finish date: february 8, 2008

comments: this was such an enjoyable project. at first i was a abit intimidated by the way the pattern was written, but when i stopped thinking about it and just started knitting it all made sense. a really quick knit too. aside from the fact that i reknit the border, it only took 3 days (or 4 depending on how you look at it) to knit. then i had to find the perfect buttons. the only down side to the owls... their price, $2.70 each x 5, plus tax.

in other news, a belly update. i feel like it realy exploded as of late and i'm way bigger than i was with jack. i know i started 10lbs heavier, but come on. it's not sooooo bad, but i'm definately looking preggo.

23 weeks

I'm still working on the baby blanket. it's 1/2 done and i just joined the 3rd skein of yarn. i'm having to order another skein, because i know i'll be a few yards short for the main color. I bought some contrasting yarn for the i-cord edging. i still need to find a good tutorial for that. maybe ill brave the weather tomorrow to take some photos. it's supposed to be freezing but sunny. plus mark has the camera today.

next in the garter/baby line-up: saartje's booties, sweet baby cap, and a modular totem for jack. the totem willbe for this spring so i better get crackin'.

cutest f@&^ing buttons on earth!!!!

okay, i just went to windsor button to get some buttons for the BSJ and some yarn to finish the baby blanket and lookey what i brought home

are these the cutest things or what??!!!

more later, must feed the monkey

bookbinding

the amis and baby blanket took a back seat today to something i've been wanting to learn for ages.

bookbinding!

You see, i've been working on getting jack's photo album going. i got all the photos form sutterfly, they're all sorted/dated, but the book i had origianlly bought...yuck. well not yuck really cause it's a nice album, but not for this. the paper is black and it's 12x12 format which isn't the look that i want for jack's baby album. so i started looking around at ready made ones and was going to get a kolo album. so, i'm at the paper source (i've always loved going in there to admire the papers and fantasize about what i could make) and i'm looking at their different albums--the kolo line, the paper source books (which are really lovely, but the cover paper was too feminine). the prices were a bit high for me $60-$85. ouch!!

so the nice girl (sorry i didn't get your name) whose helping me wade through all this says if i know someone who knows bookbinding, they have a kit and i can choose my own cover paper, binding cloth and inside paper color(black or cream for the insides). i'm like how hard can this be? so she runs it down to me, sets me up with all the stuff i need, i pick out my cover paper and bookcloth... (this is so exciting) and she gives me a cheat sheet of instuctions on how to put it together. the instructions are given to people who pay for their bookbinding workshop, but this girl was hooking me up. thank you thank you thank you.

i couldn't wait to get home.

i get home and an hour and a half later...tada!! a fucking beautiful photo album, deserving of monkeylove's photos. ilove it!!!!!!!!!! and it cost me $57 including tax for the guts and tools i needed instead of $86 for one album. next time i'll only have to spend about $30 for the guts.

bookboard with bookcloth attached

the 2 covers with the bookcloth joining them

cover papers, before being attached

cover papers attached and looking mighty fine

finished book

isn't it loverly?!!

the only thing they didn't have was self-adhesive photo corners, so i'll get those at michael's tomorrow and start putting this bad boy together.

this was a great project. can't wait to make "nut muffin's" baby book. i think i might make some smaller journal with stuff i have around the house (i.e. all that scrapbooking paper that never gets any use!!) i'm also making some small things to start selling on etsy. i want to get a few different things together and then set up a store.

ami craze

i get a bit carried away when i learn something new, and crocheting amigurumi is no different. i'm already on my 4th. i love it and knitting on the baby blanket has taken a back seat. my newest ami is a lion. the idea is pieced together from a couple of the humanoid animals in beth doherty's book. "face of a cat + hair of a bear = leo the lion" . My friends' son turns 1 in march and his name is Leo. not too original, but he's pretty damn cute. here's a not so wonderful WIP photo of him.




here are the other 2 little guys i made. they've already gone to their new homes.

FOOK!

that's right, my potty mouth has gotten me into trouble. sort of. luckily my craft may have saved the day. "FOOK!" is jack's new word this morning, but when he says it he's referring to this...

...and not the expletive i tend to still use in his presence. this is fine when we're at home because i know what he's talking about, but on the street.... hopefully he won't see too many crochet hooks walking around town.

i've been working on some more crocheted animals. both of which have found other homes. owlet went to nicole and i'm working on a bunny for little adrien's birthday today. pictures for both will be posted later.

belly update

on the non knitting front, there are new belly pictures. I didn't start as early this time as i did with jack. hopefully the babe won't mind.

18 weeks, 5 days

the morning sickness is finally over, so i've started gaining a couple of pounds. nothing major. i have an ultrasound on friday and we're going to find out the sex this time. i think it's a girl and mark thinks it's a boy. as long as there are 10 fingers and toes.

there was a lot of knitting going in between august and now, i just never got around to posting about any of it. always felt like i could be using the time to knit instead of type. but i do like documenting it all and having a record of the things i've done. so in the next week or so, i'll try to get some better photos of the all the FO's and post up small blurbs about each.

i finished ene's scarf, but need to have my aunt send me a good photo of it. here are some crapola photos.

the top photo's color is more accurate, but you can't see much of the detail. hopefully better photos will be coming soon.

New Year

for my new years resolution i'm going to post to my blogs at least once a week. so here is the first installment.



I just finished an amigurimi doll for some one's birthday. it was one of the hardest things to give away, i liked it so much. jack didn't want to let it go either.

he's from beth doherty's book "AMIGURUMI". i used cotton yarn i had in my stash instead of buying th acrylic recommended in the book. i like how he feels in cotton.

i went back and forth witht the color choices, but really like how the burgundy and green look together with the pale bunny. I want to make one for jack now, and nicole wants one for william, but i think i'll make him a lion for his birthday(he's a leo).

i really enjoyed making this and would love to start making original designs. i love doherty's proportions, how the firgure ends up cute but not cutsey. and the hinged arms... love em.

not sure what i'll use next time for yarn. acrylic or cotton. probably acrylic. i do like the shine of the 'satin' yarns they have out. and the colors are great.

i made alittle owl last night. going to photog him now in the falling snow.

Hot socks

First up are Sockapalooza4 socks--sent and received. I tend to be conservative in the socks i like, so for my pal i chose a conservative pattern as well. Toe-up 2x2 rib socks, by Anne Budd, from the summer issue of IK. This was my first toe-up, short row heel sock and i really love it. I used wildfoote yarn in blue-blood red(SY26) and ragtime (SY300).

the color in the photo is fairly accurate, though blurry. I also sent her one of the s4 bags . I really love these and when they came ( yes i got one for me too) i had a hard time parting with the one I'd bought for joanne. You can check out her blog and received package here.

Then of course, there are the wonderful socks i got from my pal. I love the pattern, Anastasia socks. (sorry about the quality of the photo, my camera is on it's last legs). You can see the pattern of the socks more clearly on the link photo. Julie knit them in lorna's laces bucks' bar colorway.

I really enjoyed my first sockapalooza and can't wait for the next one. It started me on my current quasi-obsession. ...

SWAP-BOT. I just can't get enough. The plain yarn exchanges are easier but i really enjoy the challenge ones. Like the one that i knit these for. First let me say that i do NOT want to send these off, but luckily for my partner i ran to the post office this AM before i could change my mind and knit her something else. They are a set of potholders, backed with a fabric i love. I originally bought it for a dress, which i have yet to sew together, even though all the pieces are cut and ready to go. I used some scraps because it matches perfectly with the teal colored yarn. I'm really pleased with how these turned out. The lace pattern is Twin Leaf Lace Cloth and i just followed some instruction from easy-going potholders to put them together.

There are a couple more projects in the works right now, which I'll get to posting about in the next few days.

up and running

I'm ashamed of how lame i've been with keeping up with this blog. there's been lots of knitting going on, but not a lot of posting. honestly i just haven't been in the mood or really had much time for it. the summer days draw me out to go to the park with J. , sometimes even twice in one day!! so there's really not much time to get lost in journaling land. i really need to let my mind wander to write, soooooo.............

but i seriously want to start up again, even if only to give a weekly summary. i'm trying to do the same with J.'s blog, and that brings me back to what i was thinking before about combining these two blogs into one.

there have been socks, devil pants, heart sachets and LOTS of sweater recycling (which has yielded some AMAZING yarn, at an even more amazing price.

I finished Roza's Socks for my friend Jinn a while back, before i went to san diego. she loved them. i'll post what photos i have, but i didn't do a proper photo shoot. i've also finished my sockapalooza pals socks. now there was a project!! how do you decide what to knit for a total stranger??!!! especially when the only she really said was how big (small really) her feet are and the she doesn't care for green. that left me with way too many options. if you know me at all, it takes me forever to decide on something and even after deliberating for ever, i'm still not sure if i made the right choice. i ended up knitting some fairly simple 2x2 rib toe-up socks. I'd never done toe-up/short row socks before, so for me it was a bit of a challenge. i do like how they turned out even though they're not super fancy.

i'm starting to knit some devil pants for a friend's baby's birthday and depending on how those goi'll knit some for J

FFO

Finally, finished object(s)! (there's really only 1, so it doesn't really deserve an s, but anyway...)

Pattern: BFF socks by Cookie A
Yarn: Koigu PPPM in forgotten colourway
Needles: US1


I'd forgotten to take photos, so the recipient, nicole, took some for me. what a wonderful job she did. william even helped. and his modeling of them makes me wonder if i should be making baby leg warmers instead. oh so very cute!!!!
















In other news....it's pretty sad but i'm still working on someones christmas present. i had originaly started something with colinette prism, but didn't like how that was turning out, so i started on something new. nothing fancy but at this point i just want to get the job done.










The yarn is Moda Dea Eclipse in mauve and the pattern is Twist Shoulder Wrap from the same company. It's my first lacy work and let me tell you it's been a bitch!!! Heaven forbid I should miss a stitch somewhere, because now i can't seem to get back on track and have had to frog quite a bit of it, even stuff that i know was alright. ARGGGHH!!!!!

So i gave it a break for a little bit and cast on for Roza's Socks in Lorna's laces Firefly. I'm really liking how the yarn looks with this pattern.

I have completed more than this photo shows and LOVE the brioche/ rib pattern. it flows really well while knitting, even though i'm not too fond of purling.

sockapalooza is on and i'm pretty excited about it. it's the first time i've knit anything for a swap. and that i'm going to be receiving some handknit socks. can't wait.

i'm almost done with the BFF socks, no new photos to show of those, though. i have been doing other things as well, like making j. some t-shirts. i totally love how they look. it's so fun looking for images to funk up an otherwise plain onesie.

the rack....

the ball and chain has now turned into the rack. slowly tearing me apart as i fight to line the back. let me just say upfront, if anyone has any advice please send it my way.



so i finally finished knitting this thing and am happy with the results, of the front any way. the back not so much so i've decided to line it. it's taking a bit more tugging and pulling than i expected to get it perfectly squared. but that's not the thing that's giving me the most problem. what i'm really wondering about is how toquilt the whole thing what kind of design i should use. should i just follow the lines created by the log cabin pattern? should i tie it in a few strategic places and not quilt the whole back. or should i just leave the whole thing unstiched, which i think is going to give a more billowy effect than i am looking for.

i also finnaly blocked j's big bad baby blanket the other day. i'm ashamed to say that i finished knitting it 10 months ago. in my head i was saying oh blocking won't make that much of a difference. but it really did, it practically changed to entire feeling of the yarn. it's much softer now. i like it even better. these photos are terrible and don't show the color very well.


Actually the top photo (closeup) although blurred, is a more accurate representation of the color. it's koigu in god only knows what colourway. i lost the band months ago.

defying Rx's orders

this is the lorna's laces i posted about a while back, but never got around to photographing. the firefly colourway is growing on me, especially since i cast on roza's socks with it the other day. (more about that soon).






And then there's the Manzanita Shepherd Sport for Grumperina's Periwinkle Beret.

But what i've really been working on are some socks for Nicole's birthday. they're BFF socks Cookie A. I had some koigu that's been laying around since i knit j's big bad baby blanket and i was on a koigu kick ( and i had $$$ to afford such a luxury). It's a really bright colourway, a bit too busy maybe for the cables of the socks, but i'm liking how they're turning out. my first cables to speak of, and i'm totally enjoying them.

oh, my wrist? it's better. not 100% but i just can't help myself. it is getting better though.

hollywood... (a blurb)

there's been much going on here, behind the scenes of this blog. however, i haven't had time to post or take pictures or anything. my fingers have been busy with a variety of tasks, not all of them knitting related. but now is not the time to discuss these things. tomorrow. now is time for bed.
bonne nuit.

out of comission

my wrist has been sore for a couple of weeks, so i went to have it looked at the other day and came home with this...

somewhere along the way, i sprained it. the doctor said no knitting. so i guess i'll post about other things.

one of my favourite sweaters got munched last summer

i don't know what got me more upset, that it got munched or that i didn't do anything to prevent it. luckily it wasn't a handknit. now, to salvage it i think i'm going to recycle the yarn. it's fingering weight merino in a burnt orange colour that i really love. not sure what it will be reincarnated as, but i'll start researching.

a bit of a distractiON>

the blanket was getting to me and i needed a bit of a distraction. something fun, quick and... for j. i haven't knit much for him, so i thought a stuffed animal would be the perfect thing. after looking at various bear designs, i came across this by ysolda. a bunny. i loved it immediaely and ran down to my lys to my to find some suitable yarn.

pattern: stuffies by ysolda

yarn: berroco ultra alpaca, colour 6225

needles: us 8 (5.0mm) clover bamboo

the pattern calls for felting the features with a felting needle, which unfortunately i do not own. so.... i embroidered the eyes (photo not shown), but i'm not pleased with the results so i may use buttons instead.

now back to the old ball and chain...

computer literacy

my first comment! how exciting!!! funny because i was just reading the entry in cara's blog about leaving comments and blogging and whatnot and now my first comment. and knowing that someone is reading what i've written. pretty cool. cause one of the reasons i started this blog was to be part of the greater knitting community and get feedback from people. with the munchkin now i can't get out to stitch n' bitch sessions any more so it's great to have a connection with other knitters.

i have been considering joining my two blogsbecause i'm having a hard time keeping them both up to date. of course i'm not sure knitters want so much info on j. and my family so much info on knitting and my crafting life. so i'm still mulling it over. this may just remain my knitting blog with j. mentioned for the knitting projects he inspires me to knit for him. however few they may be.

which brings to why i haven't knit that much for him up to now. kids just grow to fast. it will probably take me more time to knit him the arrr baby set than time he will be able to wear it. i thought about dressing up one of his bears in it either before and/or after he fits in it. at least someone will get to take advantage of this fine fashion.

on the knitting front, i've resumed work on the baby blanket. i ran out of one of the colours and i'm not sure if i'm going to get another ball or just end it a square short. i'll se what it looks like after this section and decide.

p.s. blogging is also making me computer literate. considering m. bought me my first computer 4 years ago, i think i've come a long way (for me).

people drink this stuff??

I just got done dying some yarn using koolaid c. very kool. the scary thing is that people drink this stuff and it dyes yarn in like a minute. after i was done and washing the dishes i was acting like it was rit c, making sure not to get it on porous dish surfaces i.e. the babies bottles and stuff. the grocery store that i bought the ka at did not have much of a selection, but i did get all the varieties they had, 7 in all. then i get home only to discover that the new thing is INVISIBLE KOOLAID. wow. how did they manage that? oh yeah they just omitted the food colouring. one less scruptious ingredient for your consumption pleasure. anywho. that's the vital part i needed so i only ended up with 5 colour choices, and no greens or oranges. three shades of red, one blue and a yellow. there's another store nearby that i'll try next time. overall i'm pleased with the results. the method is super easy and it's pretty fast. when i get more colours i want to experiment with mixing them as well. i also read somewhere about using regular food colouring. wilton's i believe.

on the fo front, i finally finished m's socks. i'm pretty pleased with them and so is he. they're already in the dirty laundry.

theresa had her baby on wednesday. 8lbs 9 oz, 22in long and a full head of dark curly hair, just like his dad. the blanket is nowhere closer to completion, but i will remedy that this weekend

spring is in the air

it was so beautiful today, not as sunny as yesterday, but warmer and it has revived me. winter always gets to me, and this winter was a bit harder because i was indoors with the babe so much. but days like today, look out. my fingers were flying on the needles and mark's sock is coming along. since i'm not working i feel like i need to give myself some deadlines on all these knitting projects i have lined up. I haven't even started on the felted bag for diana which was promised as a christmas gift. hello, it's almost the end of march!!!!! So deadlines... mark's socks by this weekend, baby blanket by the end of next week, then diana's bag. all this before i can even look at the new yarn that i bought.....
lorna's laces sport in manzanita and ll shepherd sock in firefly. the firefle was a bit disappointing. I was expecting it to be more vibrant, more lime green, but the name is very appropriate, it looks exactly like the glow from a firefly. duh.

wound too tight

I must be wound too tight, because I cast on for Jack's sweater and the pattern calls for size 3 needles with sport weight yarn, to get a gauge of 26sts/4". yeah right. I had to move up to a size 5. Is that normal?? Is that okay? Anyway, it's knitting up to gauge now. I had to go out yesterday to build up my needle arsenal. I did not have size 5 needles.

So now I've got three different projects going: baby blanket, socks and Arrr! baby set from the winter knit1.

It is so utterly cute. It's the reason I bought the mag in the first place. The broken heart sweater would be great in my size and if I ever finish with all i have on my plate now, i may size it up.