Bring on the Spring!

Ah the search for the perfect bag. It's a woman's life long endeavor. Partially because of the thrill of the hunt and partially because life is ever changing. This is a very modified version of the Belt Bag from One Yard Wonders. When I first set out to make this bag I didn't realize that Belt Bag meant Fanny Pack. I don't know what I was thinking. It really wasn't obvious from the picture. I thought it just used a belt for the strap or something. Nope Fanny Pack. Now call it what you will but a Fanny Pack is never ok. Really just isn't. I know lets stick a bulging thing on where we already bulge the most. So I got rid of the belt straps and stuck on a shoulder strap. OK so maybe it's not very modified but it's importantly modified. Anti-Fanny Packed if you will.
Cute little inside shot. Isn't the fabric fun! Found the peace sign stuff at a store locally and the polka dot stuff online. I only had half a yarn of each. But together that's a full yard. I can do math! Now let's see if my mother calls me a nerd like the last time I did math on the blog.



The simple straps are also the perfect place for all of my pins. I like my pins. I sometimes wonder if people read them. It would explain some of the weird looks I get....

A Scrappy Little Blanket

Yes it is finished. This crazy blanket comprised of 150 4x4 inch squares knit over the course of three years.
With a snazzy i-cord border.
Looking at this blanket you'll begin to notice I like Blue.
But I'll also go for almost anything else.
Even, at times, a little bit of fun fur.

Freakishness

When there is freakish weather like this outside.
It's nice to have this inside.

So like I was saying.....

I was trying to get a decent picture when the Sock Madness pattern came out. Don't ask my why I couldn't/can't get a good picture of these placemats. I don't know why. I can't even tell you why they don't look right, which is probably part of the problem. Anyway. Placemats. Springy Placemats.

Four of Springy Placemats. I started these a year ago. They got put aside by priority and fear of machine quilting. I know I stink at sewing straight, and cutting straight and drawing straight and so on. The quilting in a ditch and keeping in the ditch made me nervous. Also the cutting four rectangles for the middle and for the backs that were the same and squared made me nervous. I have since embraced the imperfections...or at least embraced the idea of embracing the imperfections.

The Madness Round 2

So I was getting ready for a post on Monday trying to get a good picture and having a tough time and then WAM we got the pattern for round 2 of Sock Madness. Well everything went out the window after that. Then two and a half days later at 9:30 last night I finished. I will be going on to round 3 with time to spare. Woo!
The picture taken last night. So hard to get a good picture at such an hour.
The picture today. Cloudy and unspring like temperatures not making for a much better picture.
The funky bottom of the sock. Up close of the leg.
The pattern is called Nornir and is designed to prevent pooling in yarns that want to pool. Now I don't think this yarn would have pooled and I really don't mind pooling. I like to get all Rourschak about the blobs. But that's just me. It did make for a neat stitch pattern and texture. It also makes for a dense fabric and it also takes two rounds to really get a round done with all the slipping of stitches.
Woo I met my personal goal of getting into the third round. Wow. Now what? Do I adjust my goal? Or do I just ride the wave?
I'm not very good at riding waves.

Math

If two balls of yarn are knit at the same speed and one is started first how crazy am I for figuring out how many stitches can come out of a ball?
All in order to figure out if the sweater is supposed to contain more stitches than there is yarn. It looks like...if I'm right...and I think I am....I should have enough by around 1000 stitches. Which is really only 5 rows....

Damson

Damson has actually been done for a while. It had to block....and well you know...stuff.
It's quite cute and a perfect length! I'm very happy with it. I used one and a tad skeins of MacKintosh Yarns bought at Stitches MidWest. I could totally make a pair of socks with what is left.
Someday I probably will. In the mean time Sock Madness Round 2 should be starting up this weekend or just after....they like to keep us on our toes.

St. Patty's Day

Our Plowman's Platter from this month's Vegetarian Times. On the platter you see Mustard, apples, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, margarine, homemade pickles (first time doing that and I'll be doing it again!), and Sourdough bread (The Bug says it looks like a mountain). There was also a green salad. Way better than corned beef if you ask me.

Ideas

It's all well and good to say you are in the mood for lace. It's something else all together to then try to knit this beautiful lace while playing with and reading to a kid.
I had to cast on for something a bit more day time friendly. The tragedies.
The lace is Percy and the black bit is Goodale.

Daisy!

This month The Bug pulled Daisy out of the magical Monthly Dishcloth bag. A white dishcloth? It's a daisy what was I supposed to do? Daisies happen to be my favorite flower. Daisy was also the name of my cat growing up.

Six

Can you believe this kid is six years old? I don't know if I can. I thought five was hard but six.....that is so.....kid. Actual child no longer preschool or nearly preschool or even kindergartner. Six.
Was this really six years ago?

Waiting

For the next week and some I'll be waiting for round two of Sock Madness. Now I can't just not knit in that time. No, that would be crazy! But I can't think about a bunch of different projects. I just can't. I am a finisher after all. At the moment this is the only thing on the needles. Damson my first Ysolda pattern. I've been eyeing her stuff for quite some time. So cute! I've really been in a lace mood as of late. Maybe it's the approaching spring.

Iced

Iced was finished before the beginning of Sock Madness but we are just getting around to pictures. Or I should say I'm finally giving up on Mr. Gnome having a chance to take a picture and letting The Bug have a go at the photo shoot.
Again this is Iced using this yarn that I dyed just for me. The yarn is very kettle dyed/almost varigated. I did not however knit two rows with one ball then switch mostly because that is such a pain in the bumm. So I just hoped for the best. I think only if you know how this kind of yarn can work can you tell where the balls begin and end and not even all of the time. The buttons are random buttons from a pound of buttons bought off etsy. I know silly but fun. As far as pattern modifications I didn't do the collar shaping too old lady's robe for me. I also did garter on the bottom of the sweater and sleeves to prevent curling and I also made the sleeves full length. Actually I made the sleeves a little over full length I need to cuff them. I'm so used to having to cuff sleeves it always seems odd when I don't need to so I guess that's ok.

The Madness

This year I have joined Sock Madness! I just finished, moments ago, Round 1's socks.
The first sock came out midday Friday. Here we are early Monday and I'm done.
I was initially hoping to finish before The Bug's birthday party this Friday. Really I was hoping to be done before I had to make the cake Thursday. I'd never challenged myself with the knitting like this and I also rarely knit on one thing. The red yarn was the Lorna's Laces left over from Mr. Gnome's Giver socks and the polka dot stuff is from the DAL for polka dot yarn. The socks remind me of an 80's sitcom sweater.....
I knit while reading to the kid, I knit a lot more than I generally do throughout a day. I found it hard to knit while playing Life. The second round comes out in less than two weeks. The first is supposed to be the easiest and we are given the longest to finish. I'm excited and terrified of what is to come.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.

Popping of Green Things

The Daffodils, the Garlic, the Chives and now these socks are all popping out; or for the socks off the needles.

The first pattern in the first shipment for the first Cookie A. Sock Club. Wow.
The yarn is String Theory Caper Socks a yummy Merino, Cashmere, Nylon blend. Squishy in the hank, squishy on the needles and heavenly on the feet. The pattern was a lot of fun and very fast. When I first got the patterns, before I'd seen and held the yarn, I thought I wanted to do the second sock in the packet. Then the yarn came and told me it wanted to be the first. Mr. Gnome said the yarn should be for him; green and brown are his colors. But alas both the patterns in the packet were just too lacy for a man. The tragedy.....I will just have to wear these socks and think of him.