Magic Yarn Ball Swap

I wound up all the goodies into my yarn and am ready to mail it out.  Since no one knows who I am mailing it too, I think it is safe for me to post a picture of the wound ball. 

I was too weak today to make it to the post office.  I went to my work to straighten out my syllabus for Saturday’s class and then to Target and picked up some groceries.  I was suppose to go to the post office and bank and just couldn’t do it.  I am surprised on how weak I feel.

I have some house cleaning plans tonight, which I am sure will thoroughly exhaust me and then will go to bed early.

Quiet or just busy?

Both…I am fighting a sinus infection. My thyroid still isn’t making enough hormone so I just got a higher dosage and hopefully that will help increase my energy. I am up to 150mcg and that seems like a lot considering I still have a thyroid.

I have made a few things, but can’t show them here…because you know, Christmas is around the corner. If you are part of the Fiber Freaks bulletin board I have been posting pictures there. Anyone who is a knitter, crocheter, weaver, or spinner is welcome to join. Our KAL’s and CAL’s are hopping!






I am almost done with Brea Bag. In fact, I am finished with the knitting, just need a button, a leather strap, and fabric for the lining. This bag really doesn’t need lining, but I think I am going to do it because I am getting better at lining and so the bag will last longer.

I used Cascade Sierra (cotton wool blend) double stranded and size 9 needles.  It was hard to get good pictures of the deep navy blue color and the detailed cable and stitching.  However, this yarn is perfect and the bag turned out way better than I had expected.

I didn’t do the reverse sc as the pattern suggested, instead did regular sc.  I tried the crab stitch, but it didn’t look very good, kind of sloppy with this yarn.  The regular sc border looks very neat.

I really enjoyed the pattern.  It took me 3 days to make it.  One day for each side and one day to knit the gusset, which is roughly 34 inches…or more, I don’t know, didn’t measure the final piece.

The socks are knit with Patons SWS in natural earth colorway.   I really liked the socks that AJ made and so decided to make myself a pair.  I used this pattern (warning, pdf) Easy Worsted Weight Socks.  I used size 8 dpn’s.

The socks are a bit big, but I think of them as “slipper socks.”  They will be perfect when I go visit my parents at the coast and need a warm fuzz pair of socks to put on.  They are thick enough where walking around the house with them on will not put holes in them.

I am still trying to finish my Trekking socks, a drop stitched scarf and a few other random projects.

A Ball!

My latest finished project is a Crocheted Ball. It is made with Patons Classic Wool. It will be one of my teaching projects at Michaels in November. I felted the ball (these are pictures Before.) It didn’t felt as much as I had thought it would, but now in retrospect I remember that single crochet doesn’t felt as well as hdc and dc. Just my opinion. It is still a really cute ball. I stuffed it with polyfill. I think it would make for some cute ornaments.

Oh, and Madeleine was eyeing my ball tonight, so I hope I can get an After photo, but if not it is because she took it.  As I was taking the Before photo, she was hovering over the ball, ready to pounce on it.  I tried to take a photo of her, but her batteries died, so they are charging.

Yesterday I made a Garterlac Dishcloth. It was a fun pattern, just don’t work on it when you are tired as it is easy to confuse yourself.

As part of my September challenge to not start new projects , I am pretty much finished with Anouk. I just need to buy buttons and sew them on. I know the ball and dishcloth are new projects, but the dishcloth is part of the KAL at Fiber Freaks. Fiber Freaks, by the way is doing really well. We have almost 90 members, are averaging 100 posts a day, and have active CAL’s and KAL’s. Tomorrow I am going to finish Anouk completely and start on my second Angelica sleeve. It is about time I finished that!

Oh, and I did the wrong decrease throughout Anouk. Atleast I was consistent, though. I was doing a SKP instead of a SSK. I know the difference, and hey…I never said I was perfect. Atleast it is slanting the correct direction. Also, the person who will be getting this won’t know the difference. I will post a picture when I get the buttons sewn on.

Okay…some non-crafty stuff…

Tony and I gave blood today. The lady poked me real hard and it hurt real bad the whole time. Squeezing the ball was difficult to do. I couldn’t straighten my arm afterwards and 12 hours later that still hurts. I have never experienced this much pain associated with a blood draw. I wonder if she somehow hit a nerve or something. I am sure tomorrow I will be better. All I know is don’t mess with a knitter’s/crocheter’s arm! Tony warned me I should have had them do my left arm. It was all for a good cause, though. They called twice this morning and really were in need of blood.

We also didn’t eat too healthy the past two days and I am telling you we both can “feel” it. Tony was craving a hamburger and bought us In and Out and after eating it we just about died. We felt so run down and gross and ick. Tonight the kids drank apple juice and it made them bounce off the walls and get really upset, etc. They aren’t use to all of the sugar. I am looking forward to buying some fruit and veggies tomorrow and planning out next week’s meals.

Spam me a recipe if you have one that is mostly veggie related!

Thanks everyone who posted a commented about me dropping that class. You are all right. I need to give myself a break. It is okay to admit that I can enjoy being just a mom and don’t need to rush into going back to school. If it isn’t going to work and makes me unhealthy or causes me to miss crucial parts of my kids young lives, then it isn’t worth it. These times are precious and this is such a developmental time for Madeleine that I really need to take my time with her and enjoy her before she is “grown up” like Sierra (or so she thinks.) I am still taking an online class and so will remain in the school’s system. We will see what happens this Spring.

A tale of 3 Booties (and a sock)

I knitted up a newborn hat and booties for a friend who is having a baby in a few weeks.  I posted pictures of it and the pattern for the newborn hatat the Fiber Freaks forum.  I hope you check it out!  (I know, that was shameless…) 

The booties were suppose to be newborn socks.  However, something happened and the sock was too small, think doll size.

I decided to forget the socks and go for the Booties.  I used the pattern at Bev’s Country Cottage.   It is a pattern I highly recommend.  You can knit up a pair of booties, quick!

This would also make an excellent beginners pattern as it is really just knitting and purling with some binding off and decreasing.

So, I knit up one bootie with some Blue Sky Alpaca that I won in a blog contest last year.  I doubled up on the yarn as it called for worsted weight and the alpaca seemed much thinner.  The first bootie was great.  I knit the second one up pretty quick but this morning had problems seeming it.

That alpaca is some pretty strong yarn and as I was seaming the bootie (doesn’t that sound x-rated?) the yarn bounded up.  So I pulled it kind of hard, thinking it would pull free, when instead it broke.  Blah!  Fearless (when I should have been afraid,) I got out my scissors and attempted to cut the yarn I was seaming with.  When, lo and behold….yep, I did it.  I cut the wrong yarn.  It sucked.  But you know what, these knit up so fast, I just shrugged it off and whipped up another one.

It looks sickening, doesn’t it?  I think I am going to try and frog it and knit this into the second sock of the “doll socks” and give them to Madeleine for her dolls.  She would absolutely love it and hey, why waste some good yarn?

Fiber Freak – Are you one?

http://p067.ezboard.com/bfiberfreaks

If you build it they will come…and I say, let them! Calling all fiber freaks, bring your yarn and let’s get busy. Come join the bulletin board I created just for us

There are a lot of fiber artists out there that knit and crochet, here is a place where you can talk about both. You don’t have to be able to do both, but if you like the idea of being able to see all talents with yarn, this is the place for you.

…um…how is that for a sales pitch

edited to add:  I tossed around the idea…should the bulletin board be public to all or private to those who are only fiber enthusiasts who want to be there?  There was a request to make it private.  So I decided to make it private for a short period of time while people get use to the new setting and start posting, like a security blanket.  Then as the group grows I will put up a poll to find out if we want the bulletin board to be more open.

When you go to the site you will have to submit an approval to join the group.  I don’t have a problem approving you if you are someone I know or if you  have a blog or flickr account (something) to show you are into the fiber arts.   This is just a way to keep out spammers and people who are only there to cause trouble.