10:30am and it's quiet in my house?

This is how we've spent the last few days -


This is day two of laying around for 5 year old and 8 year old who are recovering from some sort of stomach bug.
Everyone is fairly quiet and there's not the constant motion and antagonizing - of course I am sad for them that they're sick, but it's kind of a nice break for me from the noise and making sure I'm on top of all the schoolwork stuff.
My 3 year old is the only one doing his normal thing -


It has actually been fun being able to give him a little more attention - reading and doing puzzles and enjoying his 3 year old cuteness.
And I can blog during the day without feeling guilty that I'm not teaching my children. So here are some pictures I just snapped of a couple small finished and in progress projects.

My So Called Scarf
Yarn:Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Stonechat
Needles: Knitpicks Options size 11


I love the colors. (of the scarf and out my window)- And of course the yarn is soooooo delicious to wear around my neck.

Basketweave Baby Blanket
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky - Teal
Needles: Knitpicks Options size 10




And here's the back of a Trellis baby cardigan - I'm using Pakucho organic cotton.
I'm enjoying the cabling (w/out a cable needle-yay!) and also enjoying the fact that I have a recipient in mind for this baby item now that my sister is pregnant.

I bought the Pakucho on Elann - and I just couldn't decide which color as they are all so appealing in there subdued earthiness - so of course I bought some in every color.




5 year old is awake now - break's over.

Yay!

A finished sweater in time for fall! I love fall in the Northwest where it is actually cold enough to wear sweaters! This sweater was fairly quick (for me) and is warm and simple and I really like it.

Tilted Duster
Fall 2007 Interweave Knits
Yarn:Valley Yarns Berkshire - Chocolate
7 balls for the XS (my gauge was larger than pattern called for so I knit one size down from my norm)
Needles:Size 10 for body and size 9 for collar ribbing
Started: Sept.1,2007
Finished: Oct.25,2007
(Sorry for the headless pics - REALLY bad hair today)






Like others have said, the collar is a tad high and wide but I don't mind it too much and it certainly keeps the neck warm. The Berkshire is a wool/alpaca blend - pretty soft - only the slightest bit itchy and I think it did a nice job as a sub from the stash (though I so so so wanted to try the Berocco Peruvia) - it's so satisfying to turn out a successful project from stash yarn!
Yay for fall! Yay for stash busting! Yay for Ms. Gaughan and this fun design!

Baby!

So 4 months - pretty impressive blog neglect -
But I have a baby to knit for! My sister called me today, straight
from the bathroom and told me she had TWO pink lines!
Hooray!

I have been knitting - just not taking the time or mental energy to write about it - I don't know how people keep up blogs - I salute you regular bloggers - you are my heroes - and you also provide me with hours of voyeuristic enjoyment- how selfish I am -

Here are a couple pics of my "Le Slouch" by Wendy Bernard - I had a bit of Malabrigo worsted left from a "My so called Scarf" (that is finished and beautiful but unphotographed, sorry) This was a fun quick hat.




I've also finished the Tilted Duster from the Fall Interweave but haven't put on buttons or photographed it - pathetic I know - I used Valley Yarns Berkshire that I'd initially purchased for Starsky which I started then frogged - The Duster is very cute and I've worn it out a few times with the collar open and I think it looks pretty good - the seaming is of course not stellar but I'm happy - I'll try to have pics next time (that could mean March or so)

Baby Sweater Anyone?

OK, so who's having a baby? I need someone to have a baby now because I have two baby sweaters sitting here and one more on needles - (not to mention the 3 Tulip Baby sweater kits I bought last month - I'm closing my eyes so you can't see me) and I really want to knit more of these February Baby sweaters because they are just cuter than I don't know what so someone needs to start having babies around me - OK? thank you

EZ February Baby Sweater
Yarn: Elsbeth Lavold Cotton Patine
Needles: Knitpicks Options size 7



Very very cute - I love the color of this yarn but the yarn itself was not so fun to play with - very very splitty - I'm sad I don't like it because the muted color palette of the cotton patine is very appealing to me -

Also, look what the kids and I did - fun with KOOL-AID!

Looks like mint chocolate chip ice cream to me!



Here's my son's bright green dye job.



And my daughter's belated 4th of July yarn(it's in a tangled mess right now, waiting for the One Who Loves Untangling Yarn to work his magic)-

And finally, my first attempt at self-striping dyeing - I didn't quite get the sections long enough, and the yarn is very unevenly dyed due to my inexperience but it works for this little coat - Baby Albert from Sally Mellville's The Knit Stitch -


And so this ends as it began, with a plea for someone to provide a cute little bundle of joy to fill up these baby sweaters that seem to be the only things I can ever get finished.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match...

They just love being together!

SOCK

I did it - I finished a sock - it is a very short sock but it is a complete sock!
Thanks Tammy for the yarn! I think I can understand the whole sock loving thing now - and I cast on immediately for the second one lest I fall under the curse of the single sock. I should have a PAIR of socks by tonight -




And here are some fun colors and very soft and squishy Dream in Color yarn for a Tulip Baby cardigan (here I go following that sheep in front of me off the cliff again) - I found the kit on Threadbear Fiber Arts - they have made up several different kits in different color combinations - too cute to resist - and the yarn is beautifully colored and so squeezable - ahhhhh.

I don't know what's up with me and the baby knits lately - maybe just wanting quick finishes but here are some more baby things - I finished the blue cable top down raglan and then started an EZ February baby sweater - I do have one friend who is pregnant - I sure hope she likes knitwear.


We're enjoying summer here - outings, non-homeschooling friends who we can finally play with since "regular" school is out, and extra TV so mom can do things like sit here and write this and look at all the cool sock yarn out there because she has a new infatuation.

Random Things

Kids are just so funny - like when they stick a colander on their head and use it as a percussion instrument -


I'm almost done with the back of the Eyelet Cardigan - I really like the Blue Sky Alpacas cotton -

I've gotten a little sidelined from the cardigan though, trying to make something like Elizabeth Zimmerman's February Baby Sweater (this links to a really cute one) from her Knitter's Almanac after a friend mentioned it to me.

So that's all.

Can I Play? (8 things)

Well, I'm not quite sure how to do this because I don't think I know 8 people online who would read this and know they were tagged but here's a little bit of me.

1. My husband was Jesus.
(well, in a production of Godspell anyway)

2. I have a big scar on my right shoulder from a botched birthmark removal surgery when I was 6 - I don't usually think about it until summer when little kids at the pool stare at my shoulder wide-eyed - I tell them I was attacked by a lion when I tried to stick my head in its mouth.

3. People are always interested in knowing what ethnicity I am - I guess I look just that strange - my parents are from Sri Lanka - my dad is "Burgher" which is the ethnic group in Sri Lanka that is comprised of those who are descended from the Portuguese and Dutch colonizers who intermarried with the locals - my mom is Malaysian but grew up in the northern part of Sri Lanka where the population is mostly Tamil. ( I know - you weren't that interested -but there you have it)

4. I am sometimes long-winded and speak in sentences that soon become hard to follow because I seem to have a problem keeping to one subject when I am playing the piano sometimes a little drool falls out of my mouth after a little while because i am concentrating so hard.

5. I have been accused of not being serious enough and always kidding around.

6. Just Kidding

7. In college I drove from 3pm one day until 8am the next day from LA to Seattle because I missed my then boyfriend - we spent an hour or two together then he flew me back down on a ticket he had bought to come down the next week in order to propose - I always mess up his surprises, even now 11 years later - I just can't stand not knowing what's going on.

8. I have never had a cavity - I love my dental check-ups.

Thanks for listening and have a nice day.

Choices

Sometimes it's just so hard to choose -





I finally bought these two colors for the Blue Sky Alpacas Eyelet Cardigan (thank you special someone who got me the pattern!) because I just couldn't decide - this yarn is so delectably soft and the color choices make it very difficult to resist picking up one of each - Anyway, I settled on these two - the off white, Drift, is the color modeled in the pattern photo - the other is tomato(?) or something like that - and then I just found this free pattern that uses the same yarn and so I am feeling so happy I went ahead and got both colors but i can't decide which color to use for which pattern and I'll need 2 more of whatever color I decide to use for the Licorice Whip sweater so the ladies at the yarn store will think I am completely insane as I have already been back three times to stand in front of the Blue Sky Cotton display and pick up and put back various colors and then settle on something only to come back and exchange colors a few days later - my husband just laughed as I slinked out today.
But now they're all wound up and there's no turning back - just need to figure out what to use for what and we're off - of course I maybe should do something about these first...oh but choosing between UFOs(these 2 are just a small sampling),now this is TOO big of a choice to make right now, so I'll cast on something else while I decide on that.






Danica from Knitty Winter05 and a Top down raglan little baby sweater just for fun because I like small things

Ms. Marigold - After Neckline Ribbing and Ruffles

Hello Ms. Marigold,

So good to see you again you cute thing, and looks like this time you kept the girls inside - I think they prefer it like that and I'm sure it's easier for you to go out without any worries knowing they're safely in their place. We'll definitely do lunch, OK?

Yours Truly

P.S. Your shoulders look great - have you been working out?






Ms. Marigold
Knit in Rowan Calmer - 4 balls (color is called coral I think but I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the band)
Needles - Knitpicks Options size 7 for body and 5 for neck ribbing
I (mostly) knit the size M - made some length adjustments and added some waist shaping.
It's cute - I wish I had knit her a tad longer as she seems to like riding up - I LOVE the Calmer - so nice and stretchy and soft - yummy to knit and to wear.

Ms. Marigold

Ms. Marigold before neckline ribbing -


I think it's working out so far - I had to make an emergency run to a yarn shop 30 miles away because I ran out of yarn - I had bought this Rowan Calmer on Knit Happens last year because it was on sale and thought I might be able to squeeze Ms.Marigold out of the 3 balls I had, but it wasn't quite enough and neither of the two LYS's that are closer to me carried Calmer so I got to visit a shop I don't usually get to see - very fun -
I cast on the number of stitches for the size M but then knit to the lengths required for the small -
On to the neckline and ruffles!

Recharge

3 ladies - 9 kids


+ lodge by river















+ healthy snacks ( I know these don't belong on a proper girls getaway but one of us is being very very good about eating healthy and it's really starting to pay off... yay Alissa!)














=giddy girl chatter, relaxing spa activities, hiking without having to worry about someone falling off a cliff or eating poisonous berries, a little shopping, just good times.

And of course even after just 2 days, you come back to your brood with new appreciation for just how precious they are to you and how cute their little faces are and for maybe 27 minutes they are so happy to see you that they don't whine or stomp off to their room in a huff about something...and once they start doing that again hopefully you have a little stored up energy from your weekend recharge to respond in more positive ways than you did before the getaway. Just have to remember those things we learn in the few quiet getaway moments we have as moms to help us through the noisy, rowdy, whiny, what do I make for dinner moments of our everyday days - but I have a hard enough time remembering where I put my cell phone, so these recharging sessions may need to increase in frequency.

Dedication

Look at this man -
He is so patient and tolerant of all my tangled up messes-
not just yarn either - he has to listen to all the tangled up mess that constantly streams through my brain and promptly spills from my mouth - thank you patient man.
This is some rust brown Silky Wool that I managed to get good and knotted up while trying to wind it - He sat for 2 hours and happily worked on the "puzzle" and I ended up with a nice little center pull ball that is now being knit into a Marilyn's Not-So-Shrunken Cardigan - no pictures yet but I plan to do more knitting starting next week.

Sorry mom...

This little top is made from yarn that I bought several months ago to make something for my mother for her birthday which came and went on April 4th. I thought that maybe she wouldn't quite like the nubby texture( I love it) and so here we have - something for me -

It's basically the Picovoli t-shirt pattern from Magknits - with a little lace rib band (stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's first Treasury) and YO raglan increases - I was intending to do the whole bottom part in the rib and lace stitch but then got lazy and succumbed to the mindless pleasure of stockinette in the round - the yarn is Classic Elite Classic Silk - I love it so much - it's a tad rough on the fingers when working (it's cotton, silk, and nylon)but I really like the feel of the fabric it creates - very light,soft,cool - NEED MORE -
We're 2 weeks away from our first performance of Sound of Music - that's why all I can handle is round and round stockinette - soothes my jittering innards.

Sock 1

The yarn was sitting there in that strategic position just to the side of the cash register - just like candy in the check-out aisle right at the eye level of my little sugar monsters - I happily succumbed to the retail manipulation -
And here is the beginning of my first sock -

See why I couldn't resist - it looks like those Brach's neopolitan caramel type candies -
I was going full throttle and then I burned out after the heel shaping -


and what is that little hole doing there? Is there a good remedy for that? what did I do wrong?

Anyway, seems that most people knit socks as fun little quick side projects and crank them out like nobody's business - Me, well I'm not so sure I'm feeling the sock love and all that - though all the fun colors and self patterning stuff and the fact that they're so small and portable keep deluding me into thinking that maybe one day I'll feel it - Maybe if I actually get a pair finished and feel them on my feet I'll understand - Oh how I want to feel that sock love - Because I don't doubt that I will continue to run into those tempting little displays at the check-out - and buying yarn just for the sake of looking at it and wanting to eat it, well that's just wrong.

Another good thing

We are all here enjoying playing pass the virus from one family member to another - its good fun and the game can last for weeks on end to ensure non-stop entertainment!
One good thing - having sick kids gave me a legitimate excuse to miss jury duty last Friday.
Another good thing - I finished the "Simple Hat" from the Simple hat and scarf duo in Melissa Leapman's Cables Untangled - yarn is KP Swish Superwash (I like) in Light Coral - there are some really beautiful items in this book, and what's even more beautiful is that I got it for free! (thanks to Computer Guy's "free shelf" at work -we've scored loads of CDs, kids DVDs, books from this treasure trove - and its all legit - it's not like pilfering office supplies or anything - really)
This is a nice warm hat in a nice soft yarn - if I had a nice, un-cone-shaped head it would be just perfect.

I'm Scarving

While various larger projects lie dormant for the winter, these fun, quick little numbers entice me with the chance to try a new yarn, a new stitch pattern, a new way to procrastinate when faced with knitting sleeves - I currently have 4 easy scarves on needles - 2 of which are pictured here -


a Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf
in Patons SWS(Soy Wool Stripes) color Natural Blue
The yarn has a nice shine and is soft, but it's spun loosely and is a bit sheddy and it took me a little while to get into a groove where I was not splitting every third stitch - I really like the colors though and will probably try some of the other colorways.


And this is a reversible cable scarf in Austermann Bambou Soft. I bought this stuff at the LYS during a New Year sale - and I am loving the feel and the look of it - nice and smooth, a bit of shine, gliding perfectly on the needles - I'm sad I only picked up 20 balls of it (See what has become "only" for me? Oh the gluttony) 3 balls in this rust brown color, 3 in a pinkish lavender color, and 14 burgandy which are longing to become a cabled sweater like the one on display at the LYS that lured me to this yarn in the first place(pattern free with purchase of said yarn) - But it will have to wait until another cabled sweater (Starsky)comes out of hibernation and gets itself finished - let's hope the Wool Bamboo is patient stuff -

The other two scarves are a really chunky ribbed scarf with a cable down the middle and a mistake rib scarf for my sister done in some thick and thin wool she bought at the craft store and I said sure give it to me, I'll knit you something - I'm totally indiscriminate when it comes to yarn - I'll knit with anything - (except furry or feathery stuff) - I just CAN'T GET ENOUGH! Maybe it's time for medical intervention.

Happy

Look what we got Wednesday night - and it's still here Friday night -
unusual for us - but it makes me so happy -

A "puhwple" sweater with very bright yoke accent colors - as per my little girl's specifications - inspired by Wendy Bernard's "Drive-thru"

I used Plymouth Encore and size 7 and 8 needles -
It looks very cute until you look up close and see my horrible finishing - now as this is a seamless sweater one would think that there wouldn't be that much to screw up - but I managed to do just that - the grafted together underarms are ok, but after those stitches were joined I was left with a hole on either side of those stitches - like the fabric got stretched out or I did something wrong when joining all the pieces on the needle - so instead of doing some careful research, I proceeded to sew up the holes in a fit of impatient and ignorant finishing, yeilding a less than spectacular result - only later did I go back and read more CAREFULLY the section about weaving the underarms on this type of sweater in Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting Around" and realize the "hole" problem could have been avoided very easily by picking up some stitches in those corners and including them in the grafted stitches (and why was this not an obvious solution to me anyway?)
Nevertheless, I'm quite pleased with the sweater, especially when it's on my little girl who has waited so patiently for her purple sweater - And I will trust that the frenetic motion of most 4 year olds prevents too close examination of their knitwear.