mommy's purse

this post has the feel of cleaning out my purse to me. i have a bunch of little odds and bits to tend to that will serve the purpose of tidying up mind and space to make room for... more.


click for peek-a-back and peek-a-bea...

first, here is the boogie vest. done. i didn't do an edging because the 'felting' served to smooth out the edges and tighten the cable in the back enough not to deal with that. i've worn it a couple of times now. i like it. it's cozy. i need to find some more feminine tshirts to wear with it to compensate for the bulky look of the finished piece. it's a few less stitches per inch that i think i care to wear regularly.

over the february break, i took the kids to newburyport to see the cousins. we visited the local yarn shop, three bags full, that i couldn't find last time. my niece had scoped it out for me in between visits. it's lovely. lots of rowan. lots of cherry tree hill. lots of lots of nice things. big, roomy, i'll be stopping in whenever we stroll downtown in the future.



i purchased some crazy sock yarn (in red/pink/blue) while i was there. i tried to resist but my sil enabled me. i told her i didn't know the gauge of yarn i needed for my next project, but she argued for stash building--in spite of not being a knitter herself. i figured i know what i'll do with sock yarn; it's a safe purchase. i only have one other lot for socks besides this new bit and the yarn i'm using for dah's socks (which btw just turned the 2nd heel on).

that's it for now. i hope to update the project lists in the sidebar this week.

heads up ct locals

the fabric place in cromwell is having a knitter's breakfast next weekend. i went to the one in the fall and enjoyed myself thoroughly. i was able to pay at the door with no reservation in advance, though i don't know if they've changed that policy for this go 'round. you get a 5 dollar coupon when you show up, so essentially it's free.

great use for leftovers...

you have some yarn left over from that project you've worked so hard on? why not fashion a noose to hang yourself with after you've *&%^$ ACCIDENTALLY %$#& FELTED @#%*^ THE $#@& PROJECT!



i don't even want to post about this. what can i say? i've washed many, many wool sweaters in my front loading washing machine with cold on the hand wash setting without ever having any problem. one of the bitchin' stitchers in our group swears she cannot felt in her machine because it is a front loader and has had to farm her felting projects out to a fellow bitcher to achieve desired results. apparently aplaca silk FELTS VERY EASILY.

i am so sick about this. in spite of it all, i am blocking it. it started to felt just enough so that the drapey springy fabric has just turned a little stiff. the ribbing is for naught, no stretch action remains. the cables still look pretty. but the softness of the yarn is severely compromised and the beautiful sheen is gone. what a waste. caroline, i'm so sorry i did this with your beautiful gift of yarn.

i'm hoping i can still wear it as a boxy style... i'm also hoping there is enough give along the edges that i can still pick in and crochet the edging. the unfelted edging might look weird; maybe it won't need edging anymore... will see...

excellent knitting adventure

please excuse the furry nature of the photos as many were in fact taken at nite and the camera was having focus issues for lack of light.

rip back.



shaped with short rows.



connect shoulders.



remembering the icord edging from the tea set pattern, i attempt to knit cable border perpendicular to back piece connecting with a picked up stitch at the end of each rs row as i go. [i am that experienced knitter!]
first try, unacceptable eyelet thing happening.



remembering the toe and heel shaping in the toe up sock pattern, and froggy's attempt of feb 23[with undesirable side effects] with said pattern, i try again picking up the stitch and the wrap each time.

now we're talking!



i didn't take anymore pics but finished the neckline. ripped it and reknit, knitting some of the picked up stitches in the vertical rows together to account for the vertical to horizontal ratio in knitted stitches that was making the back neckline flare and wonky. still not perfect but figure the rest should block out nicely... keep fingers crossed...

boogie [all]nite[r]s

got my swell book (knitting on the edge) in the mail. no help at all. while it does have beautiful fringe and cable borders in it, they are not part of any whole sweater pattern and so provide no insight for me on how to knit the cable (sideways?) onto the neck or whatever i imagined i might do.

so, i'll be feeling my way through this one. my plan is as follows;
will add pictures as execution progresses:
1. rip back piece enough rows to accommodate width of cable border.
2. reknit with a little neck hole shaping, again considering border width.
3. simple cable or cable with rib? my decreases created a raised rib on the side of the cable. lesson learned. would think to find an invisible decrease, perhaps hide one in the purl stitches to each side of the cable in the future. can one do that?
4. three needle bind off available stitches at shoulders.
5. continue cable stitches left on holder to a length that would cover the remaining neck circumference along the back.
6. attach cable piece to back piece.
7. three needle bind off remaining stitches.
8. continue finishing of vest: side seams, crochet edging around neck and arm holes.
9. block, and
10. wear!

look familiar?

here we have dah's toe up sock. it may look a lot like it did before. but i'm holding out on you.

(because i like a tongue twister in the morning),
press picker on picture to perceive ped progress,
plus pissed progeny:


and since we're talking about [cute] feet; take a look at what i see at the beginning and end to each day: sunrise.., sunset.., sunrise.., sunset...

in for a penny

....boogie, boogie, boogie [uttered slowly, shaking head].
i like the neck line. i changed it to a v rather than a slit. it's real purty. the problem with changing a pattern, is that it changes the pattern.

i cannot live with this:


i am my mother's daughter when it irks me so much that a pattern started on the front of a garment abruptly stops where the back begins. how many cute items did my mom not allow me to pick out for myself because "there is nothing on the back, ce n'est pas de bonne qualitee." there was no problem with the way amy king wrote this pattern; i had to go and change it. now i have to go and change it some more... maybe this lovely number(the green on the right w/cabling around the neck) could help me...

so rather than have a finally finished boogie, i'm committed to figuring out how to continue the cable motif across the back of the neck. do i knit a piece and tack it on? do i rip back and knit sideways? i'm sure experienced knitters know how to do this. i am not that experienced knitter. but i will be.

for now, boogie sits and waits until i recieve my copy of knitting on the edge in the mail... i'm hoping it will help.

i just looked up from the computer screen to the tv to see aunt mae, in spiderman, knitting up a blue garter stitch square. that amuses me.

be mine

*if you're not a fan of the holiday, scroll to the links at the end of this post for justification of your position.



aidan is making valentines for his friends at school. they have their sweetheart party on monday. we recycled some of his preschool color experiments for many of the heart shapes.

last week was my very first parent teacher conference; on the parent side of the table that is, for aidan. it was fun and affirming. i'll savor this one as i don't imagine they will all be this wonderfull... especially desmond's...



to celebrate that, saturday was mommy and primo day with aidan. we had a date to go to the library and check out flat stanley, because his cousin sent him a flat stanley doll in the mail. and then, we hit cvs to get some lollipops to stick in his crafty homemade valentines. being no dumdummy, he chose dumdums because they had the most in a bag.

happy valentine's day to you.
*these are atrocious, check out the puppy one especially.

fo

there were 13 of us at snb last night; what a blast! the other nice thing is that at least 2 new groups have formed in the last couple of weeks. i can't wait to check them out one of these days...



and now for the reason behind this post... ewok sweater is all done.
i was going to give it a fluff through the wash and dry cycles, but aidan hasn't taken it off since the final try on; he hasn't even put down the hood. he wriggled into it, looked up at me and said one word in the shape of a question... ewok? he looks just like one. i'm taking it that's a good thing in his mind.



the pattern was from the knit it section of the free patterns on lionbrand's website.
the yarn is lionbrand homespun in montana sky.
this is the closest i've ever followed any pattern; pretty much to the letter. i only added a tassel to the hood. oh yeah, and i had to make the hood probably 3 inches longer to accommodate the pumpkin that is aidan's noggin.



would i knit this again? yes, i have two more to finish for the other bambinos. after that, it will be a long time before i work with this yarn again. it's splitty and fuzzfull. seaming s***ed as the end of the working thread would fray and a 3 inch blob of fuzz would shed off in the stitch i just made. i look forward to a practical, washable garment to make up for that little peeve.
one thing i would do differently, though i didn't catch it in time for des' sweater, is that i would start knitting the front with a new ball. i ended up changing balls about 2/3 up the piece and now there is a more abrupt color change than the subtle gradation the yarn is intended to move through. i'll definitely remember that for bea's edition. overall, i'm very pleased.

progress is slow and steady on the remaining two sweaters, dah's sock(s), and the boogie vest. boogie was the knitting of choice at snb last night, until the ball ran out. i'm getting very close to the point where i will have to stop and do some math to achieve the neckline i plan to alter for.

dig it

dig the flickr daily zeitgeist i have in my sidebar. i was turned on to this several months ago from a visit to action hero's site. i never did anything with my account until now though. i'm using the service as a fo album. if you click over there, you can scroll through all the pics represented.

the descriptions are a work in progress. the information i've included so far is from the top of my head and lets face it, my memory ain't what it never was. i do have some patterns and yarn ball bands ferreted away. so, over time, i hope to fill in some holes and add a little more accurate and detailed info to the descriptions.

what is too bad is that so many of the photos are of poor quality as they were taken with my cell phone before we had the digital camera. what is nice is that the zeitgeist is so tiny, it makes even those look good at blog page level glance. thanks for stopping and enjoy a perusal of my fos over at flickr!