Snap!

Tonight I went to put my needlemaster needles together. I finally found some more yarn to increase the collar of the shrug I made back in October. So I attached two lengths of the cable together and started to attach the needles. They screw on.

You are suppose to get out this little tightening tool and the rubber round thing and then tighten everything down real good. However, I haven’t been able to find the tightening tool or the round thing for awhile. So, I started to tighten the needle just by hand.

Snap!

Now, I know that I am strong for a woman. I have always had this weird, crazy strength and in college would challenge and beat men in arm wrestling. That was college, though.  This is now. It is obvious that my needles had a defect. It is hard to tell in the picture, but the cable end is suppose to have a screw part sticking out. Apparantly, the screw part just snapped off and is inside of my size 8 needle.

Not only do I have to replace the cable, but I need to replace the needle as well.

Honestly, this is the last straw for the Boye Needlemaster and me. Seriously! When I first bought the Needlemaster a few years ago I didn’t notice that some of the cables had gaps were they attached to the screw part. Sometimes my yarn would get caught in there. It took me awhile to realize this was a defect. I contacted the company who really could not tell me much, except that if I mailed them the needles they would look at it to determine what to do.

At the time, the needlemaster was practically all that I used and I couldn’t afford to send them back to Boye. So I put it off….and well, now this.

Long story short, a little fairy sent me one pair of the Knitpicks Options and so I will be ordering those.

I finished one sock and the second sock is going remarkbly fast. I love them. They are a perfect fit for me, no sag in the arch and the toe is perfect. Tony even complimented me and told me I was getting better at them every time.

I still have kidney aches. I don’t know if it is just the beginning of something to come or if my kidney is just recovering from its torturous past. As the old saying goes, only time will tell.

Oh, one last thing, I completed these the other day. They match my crocheted hat.

Blog’versary

Somehow I missed my blog’s 2 year Anniversary again.   It seems pretty crazy that it has been two years.  I have been getting a lot of good news lately.   Lets just say it has something to do with a pattern getting published, and I am pretty sure this is just the beginning of that sort of stuff for me.    I will post more details when I am sure I can.

I put down the sweater I was knitting for myself, to start the sweater for my dad.  He has been wanting a sweater for the longest time.  I decided since he is turning 60 this year, it will be a good time to knit him a sweater.

Here is the back of it.  Is it Patons Classic Merino and is the Patch Man pattern from the Knitscene Spring 07 issue.

Growing a sock

Here is some more progress on my garter ribbed sock.  I think I should have done regular 2×2 ribbing for the first inch to pull/gather the sock at the top.  This garter rib sort of spreads the ribs and while that is a nice design, I have a feeling the socks will be a bit slouchy.  Oh well, I have committed to this, so we will see what I get.  I also feel a cast on of 64 stitches is a bit much and in retrospect, think I could have done fine with maybe 10 less stitches.

Tomorrow I start spring semester.   There is no way I am withdrawing from it.  I am taking two classes and am just going to get through it.  The good news is it is only Wednesday from noonish to almost 3 and then Friday is 8ish to almost 4.  So I will have a long day on Friday, hopefully with some breaks, but it is the only day I have to commit to getting up “early” and I can deal with that, really I can. 

I started to take this class, Anatomy last summer from the same instructor, so I know what to expect.  He teaches directly from the book.  His quizes are worded from the book, but he is very easy to understand and explains things well.  He is a chiropractor and has an interesting perspective on the human body.

I am also taking an online political science class.  Tony is also going to school this semester.  He is taking two business classes, both online.  Yes, we are busy, busy, busy…but it is good for both of us.

One final thing is I am back on trying to become healthy again.  It will be a never ending life process for me.  I am still working on eating healthy but now putting more of my focus on getting on the treadmill every day.  I don’t care if I go mediocre or actually work up a hard sweat.  I am really just trying to be consistent and getting on the darn thing.

I have done pretty well, though as this is the second week of me committing myself to it.    I know it is going to be easy for me to find an excuse not to get on it, but there isn’t going to be anymore excuses.

Should have done this in 2006

Seriously…

First, I received two really nice fiber related presents for Christmas that I never posted about.

Deneen sent me some gorgeous batts of roving. Two were natural and two were in this colorway.

Bron sent me some yummy munchies. I was such a glutton and I ate most all of it, though Tony and I did split the last piece of fudge. She also sent me 6 skeins of my most favorite yarn, the beloved, NEW Cotton-ease. I absolutely love this color. It is a mix between blue and purple.

Finally, I finished Baroque from the Happy Hooker. I should have finished it in 2006, but it got sort of hectic around the holidays and so I put it down. What was going to be a Christmas present, will more than likely be my mother’s birthday present. I will post a picture of her wearing it when I give it to her in a month or so.

I blocked it, and there were some sections that were really off kilter. The yarn I used is Noro Lily. It is a soft and yet springy yarn. Against Deneen’s advice, I hit it with the iron as I needed steam to shrink up some areas that were a bit stretched. Well…one small section got a bit too much and I burned the silk.

Tony and I looked at it and it really looks just a little “dirty” in a small section on the outer edge and isn’t noticeable unless you really look at it, though it is “rougher” in that area. I decided if it bugs my mom I will pull out the trim and redo that part.

Okay…and what really belongs in 2007? How about a sock…

I started this garter ribbed sock. This is the Socks that Rocks (remember the one that had all of those knots?) I love this colorway. It was one of the last colorways that they had last year at Stitches West. I think it is gorgeous and really does suit me well. These socks are for me.

Not a baby…

Madeleine has verbally made it clear to me that she is no longer a baby.  She has been telling me this for the past few months, our conversation will go like this:

Me:  Come here, baby and let me snuggle you.

Maddie:  I am not a baby.

Me:  What are you?

Maddie:  I am a kid.

She knows she isn’t quite a big girl and instead of me accepting her being a toddler or a preschooler, I keep holding on that she is still my baby.  After all, she has that baby/angelic face with those curls.

Today, however, I went to teach my class and when I came home I noticed that Madeleine seemed taller to me.  It is weird that leaving the house and kids gives me this new, fresh viewpoint.  After examining her I noticed that her baby belly is gone, her legs are longer, and really she is a little girl and isn’t really my “baby” anymore.

A tear came to my eyes when I thought…hmmmm…I need a baby.

Well, since then, I have come to my senses, ha ha and no I will not be having a baby any time soon, knock on wood.

I almost finished the Baroque jacket from the Happy Hooker.  I am just working on the border, so should have it done later tonight, though I probably won’t take a picture until tomorrow.

Aiming for mindless…

I have found knitting to be great for trying to forget pain. Seriously. I just keep knitting and I don’t move from the couch. I knit, knit, knit. The focus helps me rid my brain of the “urgency” and the pain associated with it. Sometimes I doze off for 20 minutes and then go back to knitting. I told Tony that I was lucky to be so into an activity that can take my mind away for hours at a time.

The doctor said what I am going through is normal for some people. Then it occured to me I have smaller than normal plumbing and they probably put normal sized tubes in there and it is no wonder I am hurting. I still have yet to actually talk to my doctor. I will not ever use him as a doctor again. I am going to get through this and never go back to that office. I see him on the 28th and am already starting to prepare words for him.

I did pass a few pieces of “beach sand.” I swear that is what it looks like and how small it is. Well enough of that…

Here is a hat I made for Sierra.

While my camera is better (thank you Tony for my early Christmas gift,) I took this at night and not with a great flash, so the picture isn’t as good as it could be.

This is my latest project that I am working on for myself.  It is the Shaped Ribbed Sweater in Cash Iroha in a really pretty Turquoise blue color that had been discontinued.  I have knit over 13 inches of the back, so have about 10 or so inches to go.

I swear…..

I have been doing stuff. I should be blogging more. I made a something-or-other, but won’t share it here as it is a gift. Then, I made another something-or-other (different other) and it is also a gift. (so sorry…no picture.) Oh, and I am designing a pattern for a book with tricksy yarn doing tricksy stitch maneuvering (cabling) and other color type things, and since I haven’t submitted it yet (by Nov. 3) I am trying to keep this a secret. (so…again, no picture.)

However, have you ever wondered what it would look like if you were in Sleeve Hell Island forever?
Yes, it takes up most of the couch. It is the Simple Shrug, which is a free pattern from Caron. It is a mindless, simple boring pattern. If you need a project to practice your knitting and purling, this is the pattern for you. In fact, I learned how to combination knit because I was bored experimenting with new ideas.

I wish I could show it to you as a finished project, but I ran out of yarn. Yes, I am notorious for doing that. My Michaels has tons of yarn in stock, yet for 2 weeks that haven’t had anymore skeins of this yarn (or this colorway.) I am hoping that when I go there tomorrow they will have some. I have been carrying around a strand of the yarn in case they do, to match up colors.

**ETA:  I drove the next town over and found the yarn I needed to finish this.  YAY!

Anouk and New Techniques

I finally was able to set some time aside to learn some new techniques. A few weeks ago I tried a provisional cast on like was demonstrated at http://knittinghelp.com. It just didn’t seem right and wasn’t very easy to do. My intarsia at that time failed miserably so I frogged the whole thing and vowed that I would try again.

My husband and I finally bought the DIY channel. He is getting into woodworking and we both decided there is just too many programs we want to watch on that channel to not have it. So, I have been watching episodes of the Knitty Gritty every day and am learning a lot!

I learned provisional cast on by crocheting a chain and then picking up stitches in the spiney nubs of the chain.

I did some reading on intarsia, went to knittinghelp.com and studied the videos on intarsia, and watched the Knitty Gritty episode on intarsia. However, it was this website http://vickidesigns.homestead.com/Intarsia.html that really helped me get it. She has videos and something about her videos really helped and I was able to knit up two pockets in intarsia (with a small bit of stranding.) There were a few areas where there were 4 stitches and I stranded the yarn in the back just because I was too lazy to add in another color. So, it is a mix, but you know what? I don’t care. I like it, there aren’t any holes, so I am happy.

I was suppose to make 2 pockets that were mirror images to each other, but…oops, didn’t read that part until the 2nd pocket was made.

If I get time to knit on Anouk tomorrow I will be finished with it.

edited to fix the links.

Scarf Closeup and Sock Progress

        (clickable)I have been working along on the second sock.  I am almost up to the heel.  I also ripped out the toe of 2 others socks I already finished to make them shorter.  The yarn bloomed and they were too big.  I have one done and will finish the other one tomorrow so I can mail them to my friend.

I finally have the details of the classes I am teaching in October.  They will be beginning knit and beginning crochet.  I staggered them so one beginning class builds off the next.  However, I think they are basic enough that even someone who doesn’t know anything could take any of the classes I am teaching.  They are pretty basic.

Eventually I would like to have one beginner class for knit and one for crochet each month and then one advanced class for knit and crochet.

For November I am going to focus on knitting and crocheting in the round and simple decreasing.  For both of these classes we will be making basic hats.

In December I have plans to crochet snowflakes and then will teach how to block them.   For a knit project, I may consider a stocking.  I haven’t knitted one before, but I think it would be a fun project.   Don’t worry, I will make all of my projects before I ever put them on my project sheet.

I have a feeling January will be hand items and sometime in the spring I will teach basic sock knitting.

I posted closeup pictures of the scarf I knitted.   I didn’t get any comments about it.  Usually lack of comments means people are trying to be polite and so are refraining from saying what they really want to say.  This could be true, but I was thinking I would try to get some closeup shots.  It really is a nice scarf.  Think cables…but they aren’t.  Scarves always look better in person and especially when they are tied around the neck (not in the summer.)

Tricksy yarn, progress, and a frog

First, I offered to test a scarf pattern for Ev. Hopefully she is okay with me showing pics of my progress. She is using dk cashmere (yum.) I am using Cascade Quatro, which is a WW 100% wool on size 6 needles. I like how it is turning out.

The color tricks you. For the last 6 months, I have thought this was blue, with some green. I asked Tony what color the yarn was and he glanced over at it and said blue. Guess what. It is not blue. Then as I was knitting away, it hit me that it was purple and green. The purple goes from dark to light, as does the green. The green does have a bluish tone to is, but it is not blue. The yarn is purple and green, not blue…man, that is weird. Look at it, what do you think? Fools the eye, huh?

I was going to make this scarf for my dad, but now am wondering what he will think of purple and green…or maybe he will always think it is blue?

I am making progress on the sock. I am almost ready to do the heel, less than 2 inches to go. Not that I am constantly measuring

I wanted to be able to show you progress on Anouk or even finish it, but I have to be honest. I tried a provisional cast on and started to work on the pocket in intarsia and had to frog it all. Let’s just say it was a sick mess. It won’t defeat me though. I decided I will try again tonight. I need to finish something.

Maybe I will pick up the sleeve of the Angelica Tunic and start knitting on that? My goal this weekend is to be able to post some finished projects. I only have a short time before I start school back up and then it is study all the time. Sad but true. In fact, if I was a good student I would start memorizing bones and muscles right now and get a head start, but then that is just silly…