True Confessions, Chapter 2

This I think, is the last UFO that is living in my living room.  It is knit in a Debbie Bliss yarn called Cathay that is 50% cotton, 35% microfiber, and 15% silk.   A yummy yarn.  I bought it at a store in the Thousand Palms, CA area, when we were over there for Billy's graduation.  That would have been in May 2005.  At that time, I had done a couple of Charlottes, so I wasn't new to lace, but I remember it being a weird pattern.  It was out of Knitter's.  I think I will probably rip it out and start over.  I still like the lines of the garment.  It has a lot of drape, I love the color, and the yarn.  

When I finally venture in to my Yarn Sanctuary I will add Chapter 3 to my True Confessions.  Till then, knit on!

Guess who I got to watch today?

True Confessions

How many WIPs do you have? Really now, dig down in all of your hidden totes, stashes, behind your couch, in your deep freeze (yes, deep freeze) etc., drag them out, and count them.   I did this, and even TOOK PHOTOS. Here is what I will admit to, from the newest to the oldest projects. 

First, though, a couple of projects who were frogged for recycling.  I  don't think that that makes them actually COUNT as WIPs.  Or of course, UFOs.  To clear up another issue before delving any deeper here, this only takes into account those projects which currently live in my living room.  The yarn sanctuary doesn't count, it is like Switzerland for projects or yarn.  Nor does souvenir yarn count.  For instance, the yarn I 

bought in a frenzy power shop when I was in Providence for Carson's graduation while my husband was waiting in the car while I ran in for  "hand cream".  That is souvenir yarn.   Also the yarn (ahhhhhhh cashmere!)I bought in Italy.  Souvenir yarn again.  It is also could be considered in the category of "decorations" for the living room.  If it never gets knitted, that is OK.  

The orangish pink yarn is Firebird STR, from last year's Sock club. It was actually 

knitted into socks, I didn't like them, and I frogged them. The green yarn is from this year's Sock club's March shipment. I had trouble with it turning 

into the "Lucky" pattern so it also was frogged. The are queued up now for socks, in the on-deck basket.
This scarf was started Summer 07 in two colors of Jitterbug.  It will take forever t finish.

Next comes this sock, cast on July 19, soon to be "Spring Forward" socks to be gifted to a friend in Show Low. This pattern was on Knitty.com,

 designed by a fellow Camp Crow's Feet sock camper, Linda Welch. I will show more photos of them as they progress. They will be a fast knit.  Uh, er, it is now in the time out corner.  It is Wildfoote yarn by Brown Sheep.  I am spoiled and hooked on Sock That Rock.  This just doesn't measure up.

This is a nursing shawl that I just finished for Aimee. It is a 50-50 wool-cotton blend. Not too wide, not too narrow. Even though each row was charted, it was an easy-ish knit.

Amazing how these all look better here than in my bag at the foot of my chair. 

These socks are in Cascade Fixation and for my mom. They are Cat Bordhi's Sky sockitecture, and they are almost done!!!Wooo-hooo!!!

Ahhh, and behold the Monkey KawKaw sock in progress.

This colorway was designed by Tina of Blue Moon fame especially for Club Crow's Feet last April. We all received a skein at camp. One clever fellow camper thought tha

t it would look good in the Monkey sock pattern (by CookieA) that you can fi

nd here. Hence, they have become "the Monkey KawKaw" socks. They are now done!   Woo Hoo!

Now we are jumping back to summer of 07. This scarf is actually a completed object in my basket o' unfinished objects AKA, the "time 

out" area. It is ready for gifting. None of its neighbors are ready though...

This scarf is lime green and eggplant alpaca from 

Alpaca With a Twist.  It is a modular design, you never cut the yarn.  Only problem now is that it was so long ago that I was knitting on it, I will probably have a hard time figuring out how to start up again.

This is an alpaca shawl that I started summer of 07.  It is from Blue Sky Alpacas.  All it needs to be finished is a picot edging that is picked up and knitted all around.  I don't know why I haven't actually finished it.  I'm just not that into it.  It was abandoned. :(  Poor little alpaca shawl (sniff, sniff).

Another view of the Colinette Jitterbug scarf.  Oh,  it is soo short.  Why doesn't the knitting fairy finish it at night for me???????

This is a front of a modular sweater that I started so long ago.  I'm not even sure HOW long ago.  Maybe 3 years?  I actually have the fronts and back done, had it all together and knitted some sleeves, but they just didn't work.  So I ripped it apart.  I have some pewter buttons I found for it somewhere in my travels.  I know that one morning I will just wakeup and pick it up and finished within a couple of days.  There are just so many other yarns calling my name, though.

This unfortunately isn't the end of the list.  However, this is about all that this computer program will allow me to post though.  Yes, there are still a couple that are older than this (grin).  I will put them in another post.  

Christmas in July!

I always read about people who concentrate their July knitting on Christmas gifts. I can never get into this because it is 115 degrees outside in July, which quashes my desire to knit. For some reason, I always want to start new things in July, which is definitely not something that I need to be doing. However, it is always refreshing to see that someone has actually completed something for Christmas in July.




Here is our mystery knitter with a "jabot" type scarf---the hole in the scarf makes it stay nicely around the neck---but she finished more than this one today---




Here she is again, this Mysterious Knitter wearing a scarf with Large Balls, henceforth known as The Scarf With Large Balls. Guess who the Mystery Knitter is and you win a potato taco!!!


Stay tuned for my true confessions about exactly how many WIP's (works in progress) I have going. I am actually embarrassed to see how many there are. All will be shown in my next post!

Happy Knitting!

A Big Monkey for the Little Guy

Here is the Little Guy today after his 2PM feeding. Ready to get the UV light turned back on. His bilirubin is still high, so he still has to be under the UV light. They gave him a different light today, it provides a much greater surface area and will hopefully help him to return to normal levels faster than the other light. His color is actually much better than when I first met him on Tuesday. He up to 2 ounces of formula today. He was visited by the speech pathologist and passed all of his tests with flying colors. These tests are done to assess any developmental problems and are all centered around the sucking reflex. It also is used to determine if he can move on to the bottle and/or breast. Tomorrow he will be visited by the physical therapist. We are all taking an infant CPR class tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow for an update!





Here is Jackson's Big Monkey and his matching blanket. He needs a name (the monkey, not the Little Guy). Hmmmm....George is too obvious. Is Queck a possibility? (inside joke) He looks serious in this photo. He is visiting my office. Let's have a naming contest. Leave me a comment with your ideas. The winner will get a hat or scarf custom knitted for you in whatever color you desire. Unless of course, you ARE a knitter, in which case I will do a stash dive in my "Yarn Sanctuary" (aka extra bedroom) for you.





He is praying that someone will come up with the perfect name, because he's pretty sure he doesn't want to be named Queck.

The future's so bright I gotta wear shades

Every day he is a little better. He is tolerating his feedings a bit better, no throwing up this evening. He is cooking under the light to help his bilirubin, hence the eye mask. The neonatologist likes to draw eyes and glasses on them. Pretty cute little guy!

Someone new to knit for!!!

I am going home from Show Low tomorrow to meet this little guy. His name is Jackson James Dunn and he was born on Monday, July 7 @ 5:57AM. He weighs 6lbs. 14 oz. and is 20 inches long.









And here are his proud parents, Aimee and Clint Dunn. You can be sure that Jack will have many cute knitted things. More photos later---

The Sixth of July

AAhhhhhhhhhhhh the Fourth of July+2. I am a little late, but as you can see my blog got a makeover, thanks to Calliope. Click on her button below---she does wonderful work, and quickly, too!






I don't have a photo yet, but this morning, Clint and Aimee had one of these:

but in the boy flavor. This cutie is Taylor and she is loved by knitters and non-knitters alike. Clint and Aimee have Jackson James, who will also be loved by knitters and non-knitters alike. I don't have a photo of him yet but will post the real thing as soon as I get one, probably sometime tonight. Everything went fine, in fact, rather quickly. They didn't expect him until the 22nd or later, but the heat adds an extra stressor and I guess a lot of women deliver a bit early during the heat of the summer. When it is 115 outside, it is no fun being pregnant.

I am still in Show Low and will be heading home day after tomorrow, Tuesday. Back into physical therapy Wednesday, and knitting at Papa San on Sunday. Hope to see you there!

It is definitely Summer time!

I there knitting friends! It is officially summer, the middle of June. I am finally blogging again. I had rotator cuff surgery on June 9, and since my injury wasn't to the point where a lot of repair work had to be done, I have the official blessing of the orthopod to type on the computer and knit as much as my pain level permitted. Which isn't as much as I had hoped it would be, oddly enough. I did finish these, with the aid of Vicodin and donut holes.


And I worked on both of these--the coriolis (the one on my foot) I started at Sock Camp and the Monkey KawKaw I started while under the influence of drugs, because if I was thinking clearly I surely would not have cast on yet another pair of socks. Or technically, a sock, since for some reason I am doing only one, another clue that my thinking is clouded.




Speaking of Sock Camp, I came home with no dirty clothes, but a suitcase full of this

After tripping over the suitcase for a month, I was strolling through Joann's looking for ideas about how to display and store this yarn. I found this





which I purchased and turned into this.

I can look at these wonderful Blue Moon colors while new ideas percolate in my mind.


























I have also spawned a couple of monkeys---This one for Aimee's little one who will be here the end of July,















and this little wild dancing monkey for Lilly, whose mom is a wonderful Public Health Nurse that I appreciate greatly!









This monkey's name is Nelly, a combination that Lilly came up with to combine her name and mine. Last I heard, Nelly was much loved and was going to show and tell.



I will spare you the photos of my shoulder. I am getting more range of motion every day and I see the surgeon next Thursday. I have no photos of WWKIP Day, even though it was yesterday. I am envious of everyone who had gatherings in climates conducive to gatherings of knitters. The desert southwest doesn't lend itself to gatherings of this sort when it is 113+ outside.

Till next time, happy knitting!

The Socks from Hell

Remember the blue sock in my last post? I finished it's mate. If I knew how many stitches I knitted in all versions of this sock (since I am gauge-impaired) I am sure that I could have finished at least 2 1/2 pair of socks. Be that as it may---this is undoubtedly the absolute best fitting sock I have ever tried on. I wore them today with my Birkenstock Boston clogs and there was absolutely NO sagging anywhere. Nor were they too tight. Maybe it is the magic of Cat Bordhi's design, but the fit is out of this world.............

Another cast on

Finally finish both of the socks from hell. Cast on the Serendipity design in Dragon's Blood. Cool, cool pattern, going to be a fun knit!

HURRY UP!!! HURRY UP!!!

Whew!!! The plan was to have both of these done before midnight tonight (8 minutes from now). But, as some of you know, I have ripped these things out so many times that I should have 2 1/2 pairs to show for the amount of stitches I knit. But here is one and I LOVE IT!! Gotta go---have to publish this BEFORE midnight!!!!

See you Sunday.......................

WARNING!!!WARNING!!!WARNING!!!

Halloooooooooooo out there in knitter's land! I know that it is getting warmer, but the knitting bug still persists. Check out DeeDee's Taming of the Ewe Scarf in Socks That Rock (STR) Fire on the Mountain.
Very pretty, eh?

This one is from a new scarf book that DeeDee found and all of the scarves are based around the sea theme. This scarf has a lacy starfish pattern. Very cool, and all of them follow the ocean theme.











Here is Jackie's scarf--it is knitted longways and she fringed as she went. Looks great with her leather jacket!



















IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SUCCUMB TO THE SOCK BUG, READ NO FURTHER!!! FINAL WARNING!!! THIS MIGHT PUSH YOU OVER THE SOCK EDGE!!!




These clear clogs are called sloggers and you can get them from Knitter's Dream (www.knittersdream.com) They were 37.95 including shipping and handling. Knit on!!!

It's About Time!!!

Geezzz... a lot of time has passed since I last posted. I have been trying to use iWeb but I am getting more and more frustrated with it. I decided to come back to blogger again and see how it goes here...

There has been a lot of knitting going on. I have some new knitters with first projects, experienced knitters with new projects, and gifted knits from Christmas past. Read on!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lekki has just finished her hat, in less than a week! Way to go! Who is that in the background knitting behind you? Hmmm....looks like something in red??? Is she wearing scrubs???








And here is Leonda, who is a whiz at all things crafty, AND she was my wonderful Elph in Black this year! She did a scarf and hat in no time--she also did a capelet but my photo didn't turn out nearly as well as the capelet.





These are Salad Wristers knitted by Kathleen, my very artistic TA! Roll your cursor over Salad Wrister on the line above and it will lead you to the link and pattern. They are verrryyy cute. And check out her nails in Cibola colors--very spirited!

Now, for not new knitters with projects (better than saying "old knitters", correct?) Here is Fran AKA "Grasshopper" modeling Barb's Capelet and here she is modeling her shrug and another capelet--I think she may have knitted this one. Or else we asked her to model it because she is so good at it--


















And here is Linda in (I think) some of her yarn from Florence---I know it's Linda, it's the yarn I'm not sure about, after all, we did do a yarn crawl across Italy last spring--















Boein's socks don't want to upload now, for some reason. Maybe because it is midnight and my contacts are filmy? I will try them tomorrow.

And here is the mystery knitter for this post---hiding behind Boein's socks knitted out of Colinette's Jitterbug. I believe his mom has a matching pair, too. Perhaps we can get a photo of his feet and moms to post later?


My next post will be about Christmas gifting. I have a bunch of photos of things i knitted for presents this past Christmas. And I have other ideas lurking in the back of my mind...............until then, happy knitting!

Yarn crawl halfway around the world

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh what we will do for yarn! Here we are in Florence (the one in Italy) with Beatrice Galli in front of her yarn store. I googled "yarn shops in Florence Italy" and up popped Beatrice's store. It was Monday before we left, and I emailed her for the hours for her shop, thinking I wouldn't get an answer before I left for Phoenix on Wednesday. I had an email from her on Tuesday. We looked her up, she has a wonderful view of the Ponte de Vecchio, a notable bridge lined with goldsmith shops. Naturally, we looked her up and dropped some serious coin. If you ever go to Florence, she is easy to find, and quite sweet! ! There were several completed objects on this trip, and one new knitter who cast on and finished a scarf (her first) during this trip. It even drew a nice comment from Beatrice, which is the ultimate compliment!
Here are my miserable Inside-Out socks in the Monsoon colorway from my Rockin' Sock Club. I have to really get busy on them, since my 2nd kit arrived today.
developed some problems with it om the trip, so I put it in time-out. I finallly finished the first and started the second yesterday. I have to get cranking on the second one so that I can dive into the new kit. I cannot knit on these socks in public for an obvious reason when you see the sock in person. Come to knitting on Sunday and I will show you why. Even so, they are very comfortable.

And here is the new yarn! I will bring it Sunday. It is a new blend of merino and silk from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Their sock yarn is proving to be absolutely yummy-delicious.



I can't believe that I haven't posted since February. Bring your knitting on Sunday, if you have any FO's (finished objects, as opposed to unfinished objects), bring them for photo acknowledgement. See you then!

Why we do what we do

Here is why we do what we do. This is Bertha (on the right) and her sisters and niece, all wearing their prayer shawls that Bertha knitted for them this past year.





Here are three of her nieces wearing scarchos that she knitted in 06. She is a prolific knitter, and has at least 3 other shawls, socks, and felted bags. My challenge to all of us is to keep track of everything we knit this year. I think you will be amazed at how many things you make.





Meet Sophie, wearing her her newly finished pink hat! At 10, she is the youngest person that I have ever taught to knit. She and some of her friends like to knit at school recess. It is one of many special things that she does with her grandmother. Way to go Sophie!






Ady is a TA in my office. She is working on a scarf, but check out the scarf she is wearing. I gave my TA's who knit balls of yarn for Christmas, she has knitted hers into this great scarf. Way to go Ady!


Speaking of newly finished objects, here is Louisa running her waterfall--

This was the first project she undertook. She learned quickly and it became a boring knit. She has done several shawls, scarves, even a pair of Ugg booties. Way to go Louisa!






Here at last is my Urban Bubble Scarf! From the nice, pre-felting stockinette stitch, then with all the balls placed with rubber bands, drying on top of my crocs, and lastly, the finished product. It took 400 yards of a fine mohair 90% nylon 10% and about a zillion little wooden balls. It starts with 3 stitches, increases to 35, decrease back to 3 and bind off. Then, you put the balls the purl side, wrap a rubber band around the ball, throw into the lingerie bag and felt away. I will bring it for show and tell on Sunday. It is the most curious thing I have ever knitted. I will explain on Sunday-hope to see you there!