Namaste Bag Give Away

Hey all. I was on Ravelry today (go figure!) and Hip Mountain Mama is having a bag give away.

Check it out at:  http://www.hipmountainmamablog.com/2010/08/namaste-hip-holster-giveaway.html?showComment=1281791478362_AIe9_BEOfb-L97Va71NR3_EdJmD1p1wwE2nBqqkXveqJsllabSbiZ15KG9aSuKy4o3_0ou721bpgpQ54rKy9-h_etQjuHFlc87NaEIljYKFzYLcZ8S2pI9JLko-B76D2da0nApdb6CAQg4iouX1b6lpO-mWmp8OTbtLyXBs16ZQOTJucxq1JnmcImzug2_GMd8RX3_e_xTty5b05MGzXK-AuztRQEBRXJfA_Lasa7XYykHUHdM5GXY8RWzC0L4HNm5H-1zfsVXW6ppI47csCjKKuFJe4F0oOsq1K6WRvxlvaDzoEUFLZuM9MbRwwbFNsD23vWxQaD2-tjcC_PuOxVXxqj9-yVj_ELCXq6kmbu2uPXbUwjibwCE33EC-UI5cAu34SJiNsoyOgG6PZc8F-uzDYEBs_jj7CgG_JLCywg64nQOgTxHnOmv1DXmexG3quKt_bcMdyso64xapbqdTMeDmRXB2xN2Y650e7jBuYF8An65ufOXH-FVTv36Yl-npZscAkkpHKnKRHT8kT4sEwBv0gW4jH-5zBYtnGclggWF-Zf0wLNRTong7ObuwurFt3wzsQIbEuMD0T5tpZXDjl26Yx8ArE4EBXhNXSkMjNiDnMWQWO4ECxTObSo0kT76K9HzV2Y_ze3QW8wX5HwFczF4Apc7vYLzeL9YZH0u3TetqJDfMRnH8c71qfHgFHhmtyZ5oWCMTeLGWSYKHqAndn5AvxFRyJ4-vhEdlibChk7nIKqL-SaRTBfOSLotsg0La-L83_cpcQlPF3h7D7ZoY-JSajyYqjH8qE6-MMENbGJVZXxn8jYc58jnA#c2259122524950408387

Yarn Diet Over!!!

Woohoo.  Alishia-Marie (my daughter) put me on a stash buster/yarn diet and it's finally over. I had a good dozen projects going and a whack of stash.  Well, I've knit down the UFOs (Unfinished Objects) down to 3 of the more difficult ones and beat the stash down quite a bit.  So she has now agreed to allow me to purchase more yarn and to start new projects.  For only being 18 years old, she's one tough cookie!!

Summit Shawl

I'm one ball of Fleese Artist Somoko into this shawl and have started the second ball. I can't wait to get it knit & blocked!

We have 2 new babies today!

Not even 12 hours after their birth, they're climbing out of their cage.

Here are the proud parents:

Royal Citron

I joined an international shawl swap group.  After scouting the internet, browsing Ravelry and flipping through magazines, Andrea showed me exactly what I wanted to knit for my swap buddy in Norway.  It's Hilary Smith Callis' Caplet she named Citron.

For this project, I'm using my 4.5mm Addi Turbo needles in 24 in and some lovely lace weight cashmere. It was so light, that I rewound it double stranded. For it to have my own touch, I inserted a 4 row lace panel and will do the 5 sections in the pattern pretty much as directed but after that, I'm going to keep to the Row 9 & 19 increases but incorporate lacy patterns.

Here's what I've done so far

Project info

Name Royal Citron

Pattern  

Citron by Hilary Smith Callis

Needle and yarn

Needle

US 7 - 4.5 mm

Yarn   Cashmere

Colorway  Blue

Notes

CO 3 sts. K 6 rows.
At end of 6th row, do not turn work. Rotate piece 90 degrees clockwise; pick up and k 3 sts (1 st in each garter st ridge) along adjacent edge of piece.
Rotate piece again, 90 degrees clockwise; pick up and k 3 sts (1 st in each CO st) along CO edge. 9 sts.
Row 1 WS: K3, place marker, p3, place marker, k3.
Row 2 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k1 three times, m1, slip marker, k3. 13 sts.
Rows 3-5: Work in pattern as set, maintaining first and last 3 sts in garter st and working sts between markers in stockinette st.
Row 6 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k1 seven times, m1, slip marker, k3. 21 sts.
Rows 7-11: Work in pattern.
Row 12 RS: K5, m1, k1 twelve times, k4. 33 sts.
Row 13: K3, Purl to last 3, K3.

SHAWL BODY
Note: In all directions that follow, “work in pattern” means to work in stockinette st, maintaining first and last 3 sts in garter st as set.

First Section:
Row 1 RS: K3, kfb in each st to next marker, k3. 60 sts.
Rows 2-6: Work in pattern.
Row 7 RS: K3, k2tog to next marker, k3. 33 sts.
Row 8 WS: Work in pattern.
Row 9 (Increase Row) RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k2, m1 twice,k1, m1 19 times, k2, m1 twice, slip marker, k3. 57 sts.
Rows 10-18: Work in pattern.
Row 19 (Increase Row) RS: K3, slip marker, m1,k3, m1 twice, k2, m1 18 times,k3, m1 three times, slip marker, k3. 81 sts.
Row 20 WS: Work in pattern.

Second Section:
Row 1: 156 sts.
Rows 2-6: Work in pattern. 
Row 7: 81 sts.
Row 9 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k4, m1 three times, k3, m1 17 times, k4, m1 three times, slip marker, k3. 105 sts.
Rows 10-18: Work in pattern. 
Row 19 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k5, m1 three times, k4, m1 16 times, k5, m1 four times, slip marker, k3. 129 sts.
Row 20 WS: Work in pattern.

Third Section:
Row 1: K3, kfb in each st to next marker, k3. 252 sts.
Rows 2-6: Work in pattern.
Row 7 RS: K3, k2tog to next marker, k3. 33 sts. 129 sts.
Row 8 WS: Work in pattern
Row 9-12 - Insert bead stitch
Row 13 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k6, m1 four times, k5, m1 15 times, k6, m1 four times, slip marker, k3. 153 sts.
Row 19 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k7, m1 four times, k6, m1 14 times, k7, m1 five times, slip marker, k3. 177 sts.
Row 20 WS: Work in pattern.

Fourth Section:
Row 1: K3, kfb in each st to next marker, k3. 348 sts
Rows 2-6: Work in pattern.
Row 7 RS: K3, k2tog to next marker, k3. 33 sts. 177 sts.
Row 8 WS: Work in pattern
Row 9 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k7, m1 repeat to end, slip marker, k3. 201 sts.
row 10-18: work in pattern
Row 19 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k8, m1 repeat to end, slip marker, k3. 225 sts.
Row 20: Work in pattern

Fifth Section:
Row 1: K3, kfb in each st to next marker, k3.
Rows 2-6: Work in pattern.
Row 7 RS: K3, k2tog to next marker, k3. 33 sts.
Row 8 WS: Work in pattern
Row 9 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k9, m1 repeat to end, slip marker, k3.
row 10-18: work in pattern
Row 19 RS: K3, slip marker, m1, k10, m1 repeat to end, slip marker, k3.
Row 20: Work in pattern

Ho-Hum-Diddly-Dum

Well, one more UFO to the blocking board. Wonder if there are any magic blocking fairies out there that would swoop down in the middle of the night and block my Koigu square.  It was pretty cool. I took all the left over yarn from another project of a friend and wound them into 16 little balls. Using the Barn Raising Quilt pattern, I cast on 12 st with the red and kept going round and round with the next smallest ball until I'd worked in all 16 balls. Several were under on 1inch in diameter balls - worth not much more than scrap or markers. But in one of my past lives, I was a young person during the Great Depression. So waste I must not! Taking my old time waste not want not with the age old tradition of knitting and BAM!! (well not really bam - more like several hours later) a funky baby blanket is born. For the last several balls, I incorporated some fagoting (which is 1 and 2 row lace patterns).  Seeing how I didn't sleep well last night (ahhh, the old achy bones! It's sucks to be sOoooooOoooo very young and have a touch of the big A (arthritis - not attitude), so I'm gonna go crawl in bed. Tomorrow I'll post some photos of the Koigu Baby Blanket. Of course, I'll file my 2009 taxes first. Would want The Man to come after me :0

Monkey Business Around the Zoo

I've always had a real love for monkeys. Yip, if I could trade in my 3 dogs, 2 cats, gerbil and 2 chinchilas for 1 little monkey - hello monkey - bye bye zoo!  I might even consider trading in a kid or two (sorry, kiddos ;)  So now my monkey love has spread to Kiddo #2 and she's wrapped her monkey love & knitting into one. Meet Monkey!

   

Now Kiddo #1 really likes the zoo environment of our home and she's elected to convert her newly found knitting talent into adorable little zoo animals to add to our 3 dogs, 2 cats, gerbil & 2 chinchilas.  Meet Eli:

Back & Forth

Well, it's been a bit since I went to my blog - well to be honest, I was too busy knitting to break myself away to type.

This morning, I went into my study to go through the Stash and UFOs. Well, I gave a pit of my yarn away and that helped the stash level, mostly because I've been on a yarn diet!  How cruel a diet this is. So many beautiful fibers calling me, begging me to take them home, yanking on my heart strings. But no, I'm on a diet and must reject their advances (so, I'm buying Namaste bags & Addi needles instead). 

But the UFOs are a little more than I would like to have going at any one time. 3 pair of socks, 2 pair of mittens, 2 lace shawls, 1 square shawl and one I'm not sure what it's gonna be. Hoohum! My cashmere & merino Fleece Artist kits sit longingly in my cubby waiting, patiently for me to pull them out and work them into something beautiful.  But, no!! I have to snub them and work on the UFOs!

The beginning

A long time ago, in a far away land.  Sorry, dozed off there for a second and thought I was writing a kids story.

Let's try again.  Me motter taught me to knit when I was a wee little thing.  Nope, not Scottish, that doesn't work.

Well, I guess it goes like this - I love to knit and love to hang with people that knit. Mom taught me when I was in elementry school and she was fantastic at the craft. She could fly through a cable knit "fisher knit" in a week!! Yeah, I know, it's a Fisherman's Knit but we're busy women in our family. Taking the "man" out of the title just makes it go faster ;)  She was a perfectionist and dang good at what she did, so when she let me have her teach me - well, that was like getting Gretzky to teach you skating (Gretzky's that hockey guy from the 80-90's right? Oh, Go Canada in winning 2010 Hockey Gold - men's & women's!)

Then my Dad made me a wee bit obsessive. He was born in 1915, so his Mom HAD to knit vs. wanting to knit. One day we sat in the livingroom, he in his favorite smoking chair (man that thing got NASTY) and I on the gold 1970's couch. He watched me struggle and then get the hang of a new stitch she taught me. When I looked up, he said to me that his mother (born in the 1880s) always said and idle woman was a useless woman and he was glad to see I wasn't going to be useless.  I was so proud that MY Dad was proud of what I was doing, I haven't had idle hands in 35 years!!

So, I'll post some photos and some thoughts. Don't take anything too serious I say, cause I'm going through the "change" and my mind isn't always quite where it should be.

Enjoy life, else you're gonna die unhappy.
Elizabeth