The Dip Lady Knits

Get Along Little Doggie...

2007-02-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

I've moved... sort of!

Well I'm in the process of moving.

I may come back, probably not, but I don't want to rush in to soon, but maybe I should, well here I go!

Please visit me at : http://dipladyknits.wordpress.com

See you soon,

Shanda

Taxes?

2007-01-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

I told my sweet husband that while he was on duty tonight I would work on taxes... BORING! I think they can wait another night or two. It's hard to work all day and then come home and work more on taxes! Yuck!!!

I started a project that I can't wait to finish, not because I don't like knitting it and I want to be done with it, but because I LOVE knitting it and can't wait to see what it will look like completed. Here is a sneak peak close up...

The red socks (now aka the Valentine Socks) are completed and ready for shipping. They originally started out as two socks at one time on one circular needle. Small cables on the sides and then I decided I didn't like them...

ok, I hated them so off the needles they came and now they look like this...

I used the Cable Twist Sock pattern (very nice pattern - simple to follow and they look great) I used an EOP heel and did the pattern on the top only. I did continue with the rib done the front of the sock without the cable twist part. I'll be using this pattern again for sure.

Time to get knitting, before the night is over!

Sunny Weekend

2007-01-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

As we come to the end of January I realize that I'm not finished with my Red Scarf. I've decided to give it to someone for Valentine's Day and that will give me a bit longer to procrastinate working on it! (It's a little over half way done.)

Good news, Friday I finished the red socks that were to be a Christmas present, and now they will be a beautiful Valentine's Day present. I'll post pictures later, I can't get my giant foot in them and they look awesome on, so I will have my little footed friend model them on Monday.

Did I ever show you these little cuties... I made two pairs for my niece Riley this past Christmas. One pair in aqua and these, and her feet barely fit in them. Guess I was a poor judge of 2 year old feet... what do I know, I have 2 dogs! Well she did manage to get them on and run around in them, they should fit for about another week!

Now a new pair of socks... these will be for mom! Here's a little peak...

I love this pattern. The pattern is called Scale Skin Socks I saw them on several other blogs I was reading and decided I must have them, BUT... to get the pattern I must join the Six Sox Knitalong. I have been reading stuff that has been posted by the group, and enjoying the pictures of all the completed socks, they give me so many ideas! I only wish I could knit faster. I said this to someone the other day, and she just smiled and said "Slow down and enjoy the moments you do get to knit". I'll try to keep that in mind.

I must now go and enjoy my iced latte and knitting in the sunshine, yes, that's right I said SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I close my eyes I can pretend it's above 40 degrees F and it's summer.

Here we go again

2007-01-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

(This Blog is dedicated to my poor snowed in mom! - wish you could see what I've been knitting.) OK... like I said "Here we go again"... they (the weatherpeople) are saying we are to get really super cold weather and snow! Yeah!!! I love snow! (sorry mom) When we get snow it doesn't last long, so that's why I love snow. When mom gets snow it lasts until Spring. We don't have to dig out our driveways, so it's pretty and it makes me smile. (much nicer than boring old rain!) We had one of many wind storms last Friday night and lost power for the night. I think we might be due for more super winds too! That's the beauty of knitting... you can knit even when the power is out... candlelight knitting is very relaxing. The only thing that makes it difficult is how many blankets you are wrapped up in to keep warm while knitting. Since I've not posted much lately so I thought I would post a few pictures of things that I've recently finished. Fetching fingerless gloves out of oh-so-soft and warm di.ve' Autunno 100% fine merino wool made in Italy. I made these a little longer in the arm and added one more repeat of the cable on the fingers to make them come down a little longer than the other 2 pairs I made.

Below is my second Calorimetry out of the same yarn as above just a different color. I love this yarn... I love this yarn... I love this yarn! 98 yards of heaven in a ball. I changed the pattern very little with this one. I used size 6 needles instead to make it a little tighter and smaller. I'm not much of a hat wearer, but here at the beach it gets really windy and my ears get so cold. So this is a great alternative to a hat! I think I need to make one more to match the fingerless gloves shown above!

This is my first pair of Fetching fingerless gloves and my first Calorimetry. It's hard to tell in this picture, but they do match, and they look great with jeans. Taos yarn.

I'll try to post again tomorrow night. Stay warm and pray for snow (for me - not mom)!

New Year Knitting

2007-01-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

2007 is coming in loud and clear here at the beach today! Lots of rain and wind. Yesterday, the last day of the year was pretty nice, and I got a fair amount of knitting done. Going into 2007 I'm Actively working on 3 projects:

I'm working on socks for Larry (my mom's husband). I call them Seahawk Socks, because of the color, and Larry likes the Seattle Seahawks. The yarn is wonderful, it's Fly yarn, Monarch Butterfly 3-ply colorway is called Blue Grass, I think. They feel wonderful and are 100% merino washable wool. The pattern I started out to use I decided I didn't like and I changed to use the leg pattern from the Thuja socks , this pair of socks is from the cuff down. I cast on 64 and I'm using size 1 circular needles. The first picture shows the true color much better than the second picture.

Yes, I have started the second sock and hope to be done with this pair to get them into the mail sometime in the next week.

Project number 2 is my first scarf ever. It's for the Red Scarf Project. I'm using the Cable Embrace Scarf pattern. So far so good, I've only completed 2 pattern repeats and in this picture you can see how it's going so far. I'm not 100% sold on this scarf yet. I may change patterns, who knows. I'm using Lamb's Pride worsted in Red Baron, and size 8 needles. I know it's a hand wash yarn, but I just happen to have this beautiful color of red and wanted to use it because it feels so nice.

Project number 3 is a small project bag. I love my Go Bag in lime green and I've seen a couple of round tote type bags knitted and felted. So I am loosely using the beginning of a pattern I found in my Weekend Knitting book (page 54 Checkers Tote). I'm using up scrapes of yarn from other projects. This is a very low priority project and pictures will follow... someday!

Next on my To Do's:

Mom's sock yarn is begging me to come and get it! I've promised to start on them as soon as Larry's socks are completed they are next. (Poor brown RPM socks almost completed and sitting quietly in my lime green Go Bag.) The yarn for my mom's sock is beautiful and I can't wait to get started. This will be my first pair of adult socks knit on dpn's.

I've been collecting lots of patterns for socks and I'm looking forward to making many this year! I have a couple of sweater patterns, and I just might even finish up that Bobble Bag! Oh, and Cassie (my Jack Russell) wants a new sweater too!

So I guess I better getting knitting!

HAPPY KNITTING NEW YEAR!!!

I'm Back!

2006-11-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth! I, like most everyone else, have been very busy. Yes, there has been some knitting too! I will post pictures later this week. My sweetie and I went to Oregon to the Spirit Mountain Casino, not far from Lincoln City. It was actually for a workshop for my job, but we called it a faux honeymoon! We were there for 4 days - it seemed like forever!!! It's in the middle of nothing and I'm not big into the Casino scene. That was the first week of October. We did do a little shopping in Lincoln City, but the yarn store I wanted to visit was closed by the time we got there. Guess we will have to go again someday. Mr. Sweetie started a new job the week after we got back from Oregon, and I'm happy to say he loves his new job. I'm very happy for him, and for me - because when he is happy and busy, I am happy too! (now I just have to figure out what the heck he is talking about when he talks about work, and all this computer, IT stuff - some of it I just smile and nod and act like I understand, and keep on knitting.) They sent him to New Jersey for a week of training his second week on the job. And WOW... did I get to knit a lot!!! (Maybe they could send him somewhere again after the holiday's!!) Tis the season for dips! And I've had to divide my time between knitting and dip production. I've scaled back on the number of dips that I am making to sell this season. And I'm doing special requests for friends and family only. I haven't even looked at my Blue Zephyr Dip web site. Shame on me, but my heart isn't in it this year. I did spend all weekend getting organized for the Christmas Bazaar, and it helped to get me back in the swing of things... but I want to KNIT!!! Enough said! I'll post pictures of my new projects and give more details later.

Second Posting - Sock Homework -Class #2

2006-09-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did get my homework done before we took our little trip! Here we have the heel flap completed and I can't wait for the next class!!! I really like the way the Eye of Partridge looks. (These socks are on size 1 needles) And because I love socks so much now, and I'm not happy unless I have at least 5 or 6 projects going... I've started the RPM socks. (These socks are on size 0 needles)

New purchases from the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival Saturday. Yes, I picked up a T-Shirt, my supply is low!

Blue Moon - Colorway: Nodding Violet - 100% Superwash Merino - Lightweight
Blue Moon - Colorway: Lucy - 100% Superwash Merino - Lightweight
Sleeping Dragon Yarns - Hand Painted 100% Merino wool - Colorway: Mallard (400 yards!!)
FLY - Lace Wing Sock 100% Machine washable Merino Wool - Colorway: Old Country
FLY - Lace Wing Sock 100% Machine washable Merino Wool - Colorway: Chocolate
Katia - mississippi 3 print - Made in Spain - 60% cotton & 40% acrylic (very soft faded blue and purple color no. 201) This yarn was on sale and I wanted to see what I could do with it! (you can hardly see it in the picture behind the Chocolate yarn).
oh and 2 Trekking XXL for the Girlfriend Shrug - Purple, green, yellow, white and blue. (not pictured above)

I'm off now!

Field Trip

2006-09-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

Early Saturday morning 6:00am (early for me!) I jump in my red Honda Element and I'm off for the first stop on my journey to the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival in Canby, OR.

First stop, pick up Julie, then we are off to Patty 's house, change car's (so Julie and I can knit on our way there - 3 hours!) None of us have ever been to anything like this and we are very excited. All we can think about is sock yarn, and more yarn. (Little do we know what awaits us!) One quick stop at Starbucks somewhere along I-5 in the fog. (we almost get lost trying to get out of there - we were in search of McDonald's for Julie's breakfast, but Burger King will have to do - remember I said it was very foggy!) Back on the road and the fog is lifting and the sun is shining bright!!! Here it is the middle of September and it feels like summer! We are all still Happy Campers! Time for one or two quick pictures before we run in! Directions for the Clackamas County Fairgrounds are excellent and we arrive just before 10:00am. It opened at 9:00am and Julie is a little worried all the yarn might be gone! We quickly park and rush to get across the street to see all the yarn that awaits us! But wait... what is this... Llama's greet us on the way in. Now we see the yarn... but we don't want to buy anything to soon... we may find more yummy yarn, so on we go. Now we are noticing that we are not seeing much yarn... lots of fleeces, and spinning stuff... WE DON'T SPIN!!!! (yet!!)

We investigated every booth and saw lots of cool stuff (I didn't know what a lot of it was, but it looked very cool). We did find Blue Moon Fiber Arts (a very crowded area and I think I should have stayed in there longer and picked up a sock pattern I had my eye on!) Loved the cute little top knitted with shades of blue Bamboo yarn! Loved everything actually. One skein left of Lucy in Lightweight!!! It's mine now! I also picked up Nodding Violet, Lightweight. These were very difficult decisions to make, I loved another colorway: Olive Garden - I think, Julie picked it up and a couple of other very yummy sock yarns.

Lines were long in a few vendor booths, and even longer at the bathrooms, but they were very, very long for the food! I skipped it, and opted for more browsing.

We meet a few very nice people that told us about Magic Loop - knitting two socks at the same time on one very long circular needle. Of course I just walk up and start asking questions, how else will I learn the secrets of all this knitting stuff! I have soooo much to learn and I love to ask people questions. I'll have to google this technique some day soon.

Just before 2:00pm we have spent our limits and looked at most everything twice! Happy with our purchases we head for the car and off to get ice cream! Well, we were in search of Coconut Bliss Non-Dairy Ice Cream - I got this awesome coffee flavor. The ice cream is only available in Oregon and if you can get your hands on it - do so! (Yes, I ate the whole pint - remember I said it was a 3 hour drive!)

Back to Washington - this is a quick shot as you cross I-5 back into Washington, Mt. Hood in the distance. Did I mention the really nice thing about yarn shopping in Oregon is NO TAXES!!!

I picked up a new little project that I think will knit up very quickly and I couldn't wait to get started on it. Here I am just getting started on my Girlfriend Shrug. It's going to be a Christmas present, so I'm not going to say anymore about this for now. (You can check out more of Wendy's cool stuff on her blog... knit and tonic.)

We made one other quick stop at a yarn store in Vancouver, WA and I can't remember the name. Very nice store and very nice people. No purchases for me, I'm staying on my budget... and I have some wonderful yarn coming in from The Yarn Corner later!!!

It was a wonderful day, good yarn, good friends, good weather (85 + degrees) and I was good and tired when I got home just before 8:00pm!

So now I say Good Night, and I'll have more pictures later!

A little humor!

2006-09-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Show and tell will come later this week. Sock class is Thursday and Sharry and Julie and I are soooo excited to get going! We all agreed that we wish we had more needles so we could start our second sock and at least get it up to where we are now on our first. Did that make sense? A must share... The Last Knit I got this little jewel from Lauri's Blog, and I've seen it on a couple of other blogs too. Enjoy your week... Knit on!

Green Gable in Brown, and other weekend stuff

2006-09-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well it's very difficult to get a decent picture of the progress on my Green Gable sweater. I'm not yet to the point were the sleeves go off on to scrap yarn and I can try it on. About another 20 rounds to go. I've been reading the Green Gable knit along blog and it's been very interesting to see and read all the different things people did to change the pattern. It's very helpful to see how other sweaters have turned out.

I also started a little green sweater for a charity a couple of weeks ago. It's a Lacy Check Cardigan from Classic Elite Yarns. It's supposed to be knit in two colors and have a checked trim, but I decided to simplify and make it all one color... don't you just love this green! It needs to be completed before Christmas! I'm pacing myself on this one.

The big news for the weekend... NO the garage didn't get cleaned... we have shelves in our office now! We made the big trip in to town and didn't find anything at WalMart, so on to Home Depot (let me say every time we go to this place we spend too much money... I don't like this place!) Anyway, we found the shelving stuff and Rick made a wall of shelves in our office. I love it because now I can get all the junk out of the closet. Well, I'll have to be careful not to get it all out at once, Rick would freak if he saw how much junk we have in our closet. He's a bit of a neat freak when it comes to his desk. He works from home and uses his lap top and the desk computer, so I'm sure he will be very happy with all the room now. I'm going to try to organize the stuff this week, slowly putting out more stuff on the shelves.

Just one little complaint for the weekend, I just have to get it off of my chest... Can you see the round ball on a stick next to the monitor? Well that's one of Rick's newest toys... he tried to sell me on what a great thing it is because now I can see and talk to mom at the same time... well, hello... my mom doesn't have one! So a fat lot of good that will do me. Maybe it will be a Christmas present for her, then I can show her what I'm knitting and talk at the same time. Boys and their toys, I swear! Oh, he also got a little one that can be clipped onto our lap tops too! Ok, I've stopped laughing now, because I just remembered how much he paid for all this. So if anyone out there has one of these eyeball camera things and wants to chat let me know. I'm all set up on Yahoo's Messenger thingy. Well I'm off to make dips for work tomorrow (big clearance sale on dips - I always sell off everything from last season and then get started on the current season - I can't believe I'm thinking about Christmas already!) Maybe I'll have time to get a little more knitting done on my GG.

1st Sock

2006-09-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday night was SOCK CLASS!

Yes, I am now making my first pair of socks! I'm so excited. I got home just before 9:00 pm, (in time to tune in Greys Anatomy) and knit for a little bit. The yarn for these yummy socks is Fly Dyed - Hand Dyed Yarns - Monarch - Shades of Teal, Fly Super Sport, 3-ply, Machine washable Merino Wool (I love all things Machine washable). I love this yarn!

The color doesn't show true in this picture. This was the first night after sock class and a little knitting when I got home. (Yes Rick, that's as far as I got!)

This is the second night - Friday. You can see the true color much better here. What a difference a little natural light makes.

Just after this picture I finished my homework (knit to the length I wanted and be ready for the heel), so until next Thursday night (my next sock class) I'm back to my Chocolate Cardigan.

My Cardigan is coming along. I now have the back done and the Left front side. I'm working on the Right side now and should have it completed next week, if all goes well. (Meaning I don't start knitting on some other project!)

I started the Green Gable (in a dark Pine Cone Brown - Cotton Fleece) and I'm just 2 rounds away from finishing the top lacy part. I'm bouncing back and forth because one is easier to tote with me for quick knitting moments. Pictures will follow sometime this weekend - AFTER, we get the garage cleaned up. The garage sale stuff has still not found all new homes, and we must complete this task. Rick is going nuts not having "his" garage clean. And I must admit, I want to start parking in the garage if at all possible.

Knit on!

Here comes the bride...

2006-09-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is my big day! August 19, 2006 - Roosevelt Beach (just south of Pacific Beach and just 5 miles north of Copalis Beach... One of my very most favorite beaches!) The first couple of pictures are before anyone arrived. I can't thank my brother enough for all he did... I think he must have raked half the beach! He raked inside and around the tents and my aisle way. This is just before the wedding while everyone was getting there. Even the horseback riders were wondering what we were doing!

The happy wedding party! Isn't this the most beautiful day!

The kids had a great time!The happy couple toasts with iced tea!Let them eat cake!!!

It was a good day!

I'm MARRIED! So let's get back to knitting!

2006-09-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in my life... I got a year older on the 18th of August, and I got married on the 19th!!

During my stressful moments I took a little time to just do some simple knitting. I started the bag in the Debbie Bliss "Home" book. I didn't realize it was a round bottom bag. Very cool how it worked up. I did change it just a little. The bottom is knitting flat and then you are to knit the whole rest of the bag that way and then sew it all up. I choose to knit it in the round and then sew up just the bottom of the bag. Thus making it a great simple knit in times of stress!!! Just knit, knit, knit, knit - you can't go wrong with this pattern, and I love the way it felted up. Next time I will make the handles just a touch thicker I think. I did purl one extra row before binding off, because it just seemed to thin to be sturdy handles.

These pictures were taken with a tall cone of yarn in the bag to show you how round and tall it is. You can tell by the books that the height is "just right". This is going to be my "Sock Knitting Bag". Yes, I am at last going to learn how to make socks!! I can't wait. Look out Bunni here I come! So now I'm back to working on my chocolate cardigan. I almost finished the back this weekend, while I sitting outside with our boring garage sale. I did meet some very nice people and got lots of strange comments. One man thought I was crocheting a dog!!! Tourists! I swear! The weather is cooler today and I'm getting excited to wear my cardigan so I better get back to knitting. I'll post more pictures later.

Bag... or Blanket?

2006-08-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

And so the bag begins... with the approval of Cassie, of coarse! and then the bag grows... and grows more, and starts to look like a blanket if you ask me. Stay tuned for more of the growing blanket bag! I stopped measuring it in inches and now I am measuring it in FEET!! It's almost double the size of the last picture here! The inside pocket is 15 inches (I skipped ahead and knitted it up quickly). And that's the magic word here "Quickly" this bag is coming along super fast. It's double strand Cascade 220, knit on size 15 needles. I stopped in at The Yarn Corner today (I can't stay away for very long because she might get something new in, or I might miss something fun that is going on). Anyway, Sherri has some super, super yummy new yarns. I wish I could knit faster and had more money. High on my list will be the chunky new Cascade yarn, and the Taos yarn still wants me to buy it too! I picked up some fun yarn that looks like colored paper ribbon (I'm too lazy to get up and go look in the other room to see what it's called). I'm going to make a super cute little pouch with it. I think it will make a great project to work on while on breaks at work. You guys really need to get in there and check out the cool projects in a tube too. You are going to love the socks, and the hats! Ok, get in your cars now and go there!!! (Except you Julie, I'm afraid you might buy the yarn I want!) This is the pewter seahorse knob on my yarn cabinet. The one I couldn't get to download the other day. I am still loving this cabinet sooooooooo much! Stay tuned, more to follow just before the felting! I'm hoping to complete this one on Saturday while Rick is out fishing.

Making Waves...

2006-07-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot... Friday when I got home (early, and sick) I had a surprise waiting for me! It was the new issue of Interweave Knits. I loved browsing the pages and then in the back of the magazine... there is was... (on page 141)

ANOTHER BAG PATTERN I MUST HAVE!!! (and I think I must knit them both!)

Making Waves Bags pattern by Chris Bylsma Designs This is the description for the bags from the web site: Classy felted cables make a statement in the boardroom on an elegant divided briefcase and at the boarding gate on a generous carpet bag. Pack up the laptop, a lap full of knitting or lap dog and go! Briefcase: 15" wide x 12" high x 3" deep Carpet bag: 20" wide x 15" high x 6" deep. Do I need another bag pattern? Of coarse I do! So I ordered it, no stopping to think about it, no calling Sherri to ask if she could get the pattern, I just stopped everything and ordered it!!! Keep in mind here, I was very sick at the time! My mind went into overload and I couldn't stop myself. Good thing I don't get sick very often.

Ok, I'm off to knit before bed!

Getting my ducks in a row

2006-07-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, here I am two days in a row! First - the weatherman was wrong - it was a beautiful day at the beach - NO RAIN!! We had some clouds for awhile this morning, but they didn't stay long.

Ok, with that out of the way, here we go... At last the Guideposts sweater is completed!! I do hear the applause. (one duck in line).

Next duck (or sweater) to get in line... the one button cardigan. This one goes in the charity sweaters box at work.

And yet there is one more...

Let me just say I think I am a dyslexic knitter. Clearly the picture in the book shows the ties on the right, and the sweater overlapping to that side... so why has Shanda put the ties on the LEFT?? I also put a small tie on the inside to match the ribbons on the outside. I think I will try this one again. I'm going to use the Mellon colored cotton fleece that was donated to us to make charity sweaters. I will pay attention this time to the length (I think I will make it longer - and I will lap the sweater to the right side this time!)

Here's another shot of the Kimono and my Ball Band wash cloth... I had it outside to wipe down the table and then left it out to dry, and I love the colors together! I also knit this Kimono as part of the Mason Dixon KAL.

Break time.

Red Bag Done!

2006-07-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well I've been dog sick for 3 days now, and Payroll must go out, so it's off to work each day I go!! Pitty Party over. I've been pretty busy too with wedding stuff... that's why I haven't posted in some time! Update - 21 days until the wedding! Moving right along... I have been knitting a little bit. Actually I decided to finish up a bag I started in April. I bought this yarn to make a French Market Bag for Marie when she retired and then changed my mind and went back a bought more in Cascade 220. This bag is the Rick Rack Bag (I'm not a rick rack kinda girl, so I skipped that part!) This picture is pre-felted and pre-strings-being-cut-off! (I'm giving this bag to my sister-in-law... although I want to keep it for myself - guess I'll have to make another one for me.) Isn't this too cute! I have a small box of pasta in it to help shape it while it is drying. By the way the yarn I used for this bag is the Lamb's Pride worsted.

I've also finished my Yarn Cabinet (well that's what I'm calling it because that's what it's full of!) I haven't decided on what I want to sit on it. So for now it's just odds & ends. I love my mobius basket with shells, and my double bun mobius with knitting needles. Later after the wedding I'll come up with something wonderful to put on it, but for now this is perfect.

I love the seahorse pull that we found online to put on the pull door. Behind the pull door are 3 drawers full of yarn!! I have one more small piece of furniture to finish up, but it will have to wait until September now. I tried to get the up-close picture of the seahorse to load, and it looks like it is just not going to happen.

I'll have more to post tomorrow, but for now I'm off to get some much needed rest!

It's Raining... YARN!!!!!

2006-07-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Knit Night at The Yarn Corner was great this week!!! I think I might have gotten one row knitted on my T-Top Sweater (Guideposts knit for kids sweater). The rest of the time I was gabbing and looking at yarn, and asking questions about knitting! I love these girls!!! They are all so talented, funny and very eager to help with my numerous crazy knitting questions! I talked to Amber about Kool-Aid dyeing and I can't wait to try that, but for now it will have to take a back (far back) burner. I did make a major yummy yarn purchase and I couldn't get home fast enough with it! On the drive home I told myself, "as soon as I finish the charity sweaters, then I can get started on my Chocolate Cardi" I almost had myself believing that this is what I was going to do. Until I walked in door and starting looking for my needles. Unfortunately, the only size 8 circulars I could find were yucky bent ones that were either given to me, or I picked them up at a garage sale. I didn't even make a swatch first (I will now slow down and do this!). I did knit a few rows on the old ugly things, and then stopped to go to bed. About the yarn... I love this Chocolate color, it's Cascade 220 Superwash. Ever since I saw the halter top that Heather made, I've been wanting something in that yummy Chocolate color. This is another purchase from a couple of weeks ago, I'm not sure yet what bag pattern I will be using, but I couldn't pass it up. I believe this giant skein was 350 yards. It looks so different in these two cute balls. I've narrowed down the FELTED bag patterns to maybe 5. Any suggestions would be welcome! I also purchased more cotton chenille to make flower wash (face) cloths. They will be Christmas presents, so I need to make sure to keep that yarn in my Go Bag! Well I'm off to my first Bridal Shower. My sister-in-law ( the best in the whole world) is hosting it tomorrow for me. She lives up near Seattle, and Cassie and I are leaving the boys (Rick and Thor) for the weekend. Of course I have my knitting with me! I'm going to try to finish the T-Top Sweater. Knit on!

Morning Surprises!

2006-07-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

First, where is the sun?

Well I've once again made the watering rounds, and look what I've found. We had company for dinner. Those beautiful deer, that all the tourist love to slow down and look at, came by to eat my flowers! And did the dogs bark, or growl, or say anything to chase them off? Their bedroom window is right in front of the now eaten deer smorgasbord!!! What worthless (cute) dogs we have, and now they want treats?!?! Yes! It worked... here is stage one of my yarn dresser! It really is light blue.

I'm off to find out why Rick isn't getting ready to go fishing, and find my much needed coffee!!

Knitting in the Sunshine

2006-07-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

I woke up today to an awesome sunny morning! Watered the plants about 7:30am, started a load of laundry, played with the dogs, read a few blogs and was out in the sunshine knitting by 11:00am!!!! This was truly a perfect knitting day in the sunshine.

All my favorite items are present in this picture... RIO (for listening to a new book I just started today, The King of Lies by John Hart. I use Nintendo DS earwear because the earbuds that came with my RIO aren't very comfortable and I really like the way these stay on my ears.) Iced Chai Latte, and the Baby One Button Cardigan for charity. I'm using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. I love the way this feels! I think I'm going to have to think about making me a wonderful sweater someday using this or the Cascade that is the same 80% cotton and 20% wool. It just feels yummy. Now on to the next project of the day! My dear friend (and knitter) Patty gave me her old dresser set and I've totally striped them down and I'm giving them the "Beach Feel Treatment". Today I dusted them really well and began the painting process.

I have tried to download my dresser picture 5 times now... it's not working!! Picture will have to wait until tomorrow!

It looks white in the pictures, but it's a very light blue. I've already finished the tall piece, it's the same light blue, light aqua and another light blue/green. All three shades are so close it's a little hard to tell the difference. I'm not sure yet what fun things I want to do to this piece tomorrow when it's dry, but I'm sure it will come to me. I'm going to scuff it up a bit to make it look weathered, and we bought some cool hardware for it. Although we haven't found the hinges I want yet. So the door will have to stay off for a little while longer. This piece will go in our entry way. I can't remember what we talked about putting in this when it was finished, but now all I can think of is it's going to be a great place to keep yarn!!! I'm sure this will go over well with Rick! I'm thinking about maybe fabric to line the drawers, but not sure yet. It will come together slowly like everything else I imagine.

I'm praying for a second day of sunshine tomorrow. Rick is going out fishing and still on my "to do" list for the weekend are:

get the two lavendar plants I bought into the ground (deer don't eat them!)
finish painting and scuffing my yarn dresser
finish baby sweater ( the one button cardigan)
make more bobbles
address more wedding invitations
wash and vacuum sand out of car
fold clothes (do you see how low this rates on my list!)

Enough for tonight. Sweet dreams of sunshine (and little wind)!

Happy Fire Crack'n 4th

2006-07-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we visited friends that were camping near by, it ended up being a very long night, with lots of campfire smoke. Everything went straight into the washer when I got home. I love the smell of a campfire, but only when I'm outside sitting around it! Just a couple of updates... 46 days until the big wedding! (I mean the small, easy and simple, no stress wedding day!) Things are progressing nicely... no stress here! Flower Washcloth... I've started another one! This is the first one, with my new Go Bag! What a wonderful combination, everything for the washcloth fits right in the cute little bag! I can take this one on the go to the beach with me, and no sand in my yarn! Baby Hat... I need to hurry and finish this today, because I'll need the needles to complete my Flower Washcloth (I use two sets of circular needles, because dpn scare me!) Bobble Bag... It's been sleeping in a bag just waiting it's turn. I may bring it to work to finish making the bobbles at lunch time. Baby Sweaters... I now have two, make that three half done sweaters. Well, one is my Baby Kimono, and I've still to sew it up. I MUST do that today! Then I'll find some ribbon for it. I also have a One Button Baby cardigan that's more than half way done... I'm afraid I'm going to run out of yarn, and I picked up the yarn at a garage sale!! urgh!!!!!!! How silly am I? The third is another One Button sweater that I'm making for a very small baby, it too is not yet half way done. Wash Cloths... I'm finished with the 5 charity donation cloths!!! Don't you love to say "Finished" or "I have completed that project" ! Makes me smile too!!! I forgot to post this... I started it this morning and now the day is done and I'm finally going to bed at 1:25am (July 5) I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th!!

Charity

2006-07-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've discovered that it's just as much fun to knit for someone else, as it is for me! A group of us from work "GHC Cares" have decided to knit (and crochet) wash cloths for a charitable organization called "Loves Many Cloths". I have a box that sits on the corner of my desk that we are filling. (about 18 so far). We also decided that it would be fun to knit baby sweaters, hats and blankets too! So needless to say my Bobble Bag has been put on hold, but just for a short time. I've knitted numerous wash cloths, and the baby kimono (the one from the Mason Dixon book!) and now I'm working on a Debbie Bliss baby hat pattern. Oh yes, I did take a short time out (a one night project - a LONG one night project) to knit the flower wash cloth for myself. It's from the Weekend Knitting book. My friend Lauri made one and I saw it at The Yarn Corner and loved it. So I tried it, and guess what...I really, really love it!! Something so simple, and yet it makes me smiles, it's soooo soft. (cotton chenille). (I'll post pictures tonight when I get home, mine is pale blue). I think I should make many of these for Christmas presents, so they can love one too! I've ordered wonderful soaps to give as gifts with them. I'll post more later!

Bobbles, Bobbles, Bobbles

2006-06-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

My lime green Noni Bobble Bag is completed - I mean I'm done knitting the bag part, and it's off the needles! The pattern said to knit 55 rows... I hate to count rows, just tell me how many inches to knit and I'm happy. Anyway, it ended up being 65 rows and it's 15 inches. Another thing, I picked up the wrong needles to begin the project or maybe I planned to use these circulars... I'm not sure. The pattern says size 11, and I ended up making the bag on size 10 1/2's. Now I'm making bobbles! They are pretty quick to make and I've found that some of them are not exactly the number of rows that they were supposed to be, but they look fine so far. I haven't began the process of cinching them into actual bobbles yet, but they look pretty close. I'm thinking that if this turns out well (no reason it shouldn't - I almost followed the pattern exactly on this one.) I'm going to line it with a fabric of pink with green dots! I still haven't decided on the handles, I'll have to do some looking around. Either lime green or pink or maybe even a light wood set of handles. They will call to me when I see them. Wedding plans are slowly progressing. I got the invitations ordered today and will have them next week. My mom completed my Wedding Jacket-thing! It's awesome. I have to take it in to The Yarn Corner to show it off to my knitting family tomorrow. The sleeves are VERY long, and for me that's a good thing. I'll get pictures posted tomorrow... well by Friday! Oh yes, we got a new camera. It's a Kodak EasyShare P850, 12x, 5.1 MP! I love it, and that's all there is to say about that. I'll have to start taking it with me. Rick bought a larger memory card so it can hold at least 300 pictures... that's a lot of knitting projects!!! I hear the bobbles calling me... gotta run!

Wow, it's been a busy week...

2006-06-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night was "Knitting Night" at The Yarn Corner in Aberdeen. By the time I made a couple of quick stops, it was after 9:30pm when I got home. It was soooooo worth it! Not only did I get to meet some wonder ladies, but I learned about the box under the table in the back. I think I had seen the box and didn't know what it was. I know, you're dyeing to know what was in the box! Kids sweaters!! Guideposts' Knit for Kids. The pattern seems to be quite simple (good things for me) this is my first sweater ever. The sweaters are sent to Oxfam Knitting Project. They have been collecting and donating these sweaters since the mid-1990's. It feels good to do something like this. The colors I decided to use are lime green and navy. I can't wait to get done. Wednesday night was another get home late night... very little time for knitting! But I did manage to get about 3 inches done on the sweater. My sweet little Cassie is NOT a night owl. She keeps asking when is it time to go to bed. Thursday - all was calm at home and I used the time to do laundry and knit. Laundry is the perfect "house keeping" thing to do while knitting. It requires little effort and when my sweetie-pie asks "are you just going to knit all night?" I can say "No, I'm doing the laundry too!" At work today I recruited another two people to make French Market Bags (This makes 4 people so far). I can't even tell you how much I love my French Market BagS!! I have made 4 now and each one I love more than the one before it. My first one is red, navy and light denim. It now has a special place in my car (Red Honda Element), it holds my books on CD. By the way this was also my first knitting project - I purchased the yarn on March 15, 2006, a special day now on my calendar. It is from here forward known as my Knitting Anniversary day! The second FMB was a gift for my mom and I made it a little taller and stitched the dark part of the handles together to make them thick like an I-cord. (now my mom is hooked on felting too! Mom is an awesome crocheter. She's even making my Wedding jacket - no, it's not felted! It's called a Lacy Leaf Cacoon.) My mom also made this cute felted coin purse, not only is it felted, it's lined too! I am a special daughter.

This is the coin purse my mom made for me, it goes perfect with the Openwork Triangle Tote I made. Pattern from Two Old Bags.

The third was a retirement gift... Red with Ink Blue bottom and handles. It was hard to part with, but last I heard it is touring with her in Texas right now, and it is very loved. Don't you love it when you make something for someone and you hate to part with it because you love it so much, and then you find out the person you gave it to loves it just as much. (feeling warm and fuzzy now!) Ok- now we are on to the 4th FMB - My favorite to date... I use this one as my knitting bag and I have it filled with everything... books, current projects, my RIO, and other assorted must haves. I knitted it about 17 or 18 inches tall. and added about 5 extra rows to the handles and once again made the I-cord type handle grips.

This is my current knitting bag - #4

For some reason on Friday I found myself with knitting time during the day and I decided to start working on Noni bag again for a few minutes. It's not really very exciting to just knit, knit, knit, knit, knit in a circle - forever! But it is over half way now and I think I'll take a stab at making those cute little bobbles on Sunday. Here it is Saturday... sun was shining and I just had to do laundry and knit in the sunshine! My very favorite thing to do. This is part of the view from where I sit and knit on my back deck.

I finished the front side of the kid sweater! I'll make a good effort tonight to get as much done on side two so that I can be making bobbles tomorrow.

Rick is on duty all night (OSPD) so I say "Knit On!"

I think those warshrags are a calling my name... this is part of my collection so far!

68 Days

2006-06-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

As of today we only have 68 days! I'm getting married August 19th. I'm trying to stay organized and not get stressed. Last night we (Rick) picked out our wedding invitations... I narrowed it down from 13 million to about 8 and he poo-poo'd on all of them but one. How lucky for us he picked the most expensive one of the bunch. (I didn't show him any prices just the invites.) I'm happy with the choice and today I placed the order. That's one more thing to check off of my list. I'm starting to think this is a little like that song... 99 bottles of beer on the wall - now only 99 more things to do! At our little gathering "Knit in Public Day" at Morrison Park, I began my Noni Bobble bag. The pattern shows it in black with multi-colored bobbles, but I've decided on a lime green bag with different shades of pink for the bobbles. As soon as we get this stupid camera to work (or I throw it out and we buy a new one) I'll post a picture. It's funny in my knitting bag I have two warshrags going and when I was working on my bag at break today, I could hear them calling to me... "hey, were in here!" "come knit us" it's hard to let go of them, so I'll have to share the love, I really can't wait to get the bobbles, and yet those warshrags keep calling to me. We'll have to work out an arrangement at break tomorrow. Well, The Closer is over (one of my favorite shows) and so I must take the dogs out, put my knitting up and cut off the light (or say good-night). Or as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson would say it that cute little southern voice "Well, Thank ya, Thank ya very much". (Be sure to check out Brenda's Southern Recipes if you visit the web site for The Closer - You’ll feel your arteries hardening with every delicious word.)

A New Day

2006-06-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

And so begins a new day and a new project. I'm going to try this Blog Thing out and see what it's all about. So far, so good. Rick will be out fishing for hours, so I hope I can figure out how to add "Links" before he comes home... oh, and I want to knit on my new bag too!