Thursday, November 30, 2006

Just a few pictures

Okay! Time for some sharing.

First, here are my Lacevember projects.

First we have Baudelaire, which I started in the summer and finally finished yesterday. The yarn is Knitpicks Essential in Gulfstream.










Then this is the progress on the Creatures of the Reef shawl. I just have to do the seafoam stuff at the top and it's done.












Next up, my worst case of Second Sock Syndrome is officially OVER. The Jaywalkers! They're done! I think I started these at least a year ago. Sheesh. The yarn is Knitpicks Sock Garden in Pansy.






















And lastly, a truly craptastic photo of the splendifferous roving my secret pal sent me.











How does it look spun up?

Gorgeous.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Serendipity

Oh, y'all (I say as if anyone actually reads this blog LOL) I had the best day ever yesterday.

I sat knitting by the window stalking the UPS man and almost finished my cursed Jaywalkers aka The Worst Case of SSS in History. Finally he came! My wheels! They came! Wooohoo!

So I tore open the boxes and dug through all the hidden treasures that dear L put in. Homemade soaps, some Romney roving to get me started, extra paint and decals for the wheels, just good stuff. She also sent along some spindles. One is a basic top whorl that is painted with the same green and purple paint as my wheels. How adorable! Then there's another one that is so light and tiny it's like a feather. Can you say cashmere? I knew you could.

Anyhoo! So I got the wheels set up and sat down to learn how to use them. I succeeded in breaking my yarn and losing the end, mostly, but eventually I got it. As I was sitting there, there was a knock on my door. Who could that be? Why, it's the mail man, and he brought me about 8 oz. of the. most. beautiful. merino roving you have ever seen in your LIFE from my secret pal. She is just the best! All you other secret pals be jealous, because I got the best one. She put in a sweet note that made my day most of all. But how perfect that it arrived on the same day, nay, the same HOUR as my wheels? Of course, my pal says she totally planned that. ;) I've already got BIG plans for it.

I really need to get a picture of it. I tried, but the pictures just do not do it any justice at all. So I'll keep trying and post a picture soon. Just be warned. You might need a drool bib.

So then I spent the day spinning and getting to know my wheels, and that evening was the meeting for my Spinners and Weavers Guild. They ooohed and ahhhed over my wheel (I brought the green Delft with me) and tried to steal my secret pal roving when I wasn't looking and Suzieann (sp?) from Fire Ant Ranch was there trying to leave us broke tempt us with gorgeous spindles and fiber she had from Kid N Ewe. Much fun was had.

By the end of the day, this is what I ended up with. Please excuse the craptastic photography.









Not bad, I think, for my first attempt. Brown is not my color at all, but DH likes it and wants me to knit him a hat and some bulky boot socks, so I guess I'll oblige.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

My first secret pal package has arrived!

And I can't find my camera! waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Anyway, my magnificent pal sent me a hank of Foxtrot from To Knit, Perchance to Dream. I LOVE IT!!!!!!! It is so beautiful, and so nice and soft and just the texture I love in a sock yarn. Thank you so much, whomever you are. You made my day! I can't wait to knit it up. Hmm, and I just got some new DPNs from Knitpicks the other day. Perfect. Off to search for a pattern!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Fortune smiles upon me

The lady I'm buying the wheel from offered me a very generous discount for both the wheels she was selling. So what did I do? Bought the other one, of course.

Thank you, L, my spinning savior!

Here's the other one. Love, love, love.
























































Lacevember, third contest question

This question asks what my ideal lace knitting conditions are. Well, my ideal would be sitting on a beach somewhere in the Mediterranean with a Calvin Klein underwear model rubbing my feet and telling me how great I am, but that's unlikely. So, a realistic ideal would be kids in bed, good light, glass of wine nearby, husband otherwise occupied, either sitting in front of the TV with something funny that I don't have to look at (stand up comedy is perfect for this) on, or sitting at my computer listening to the latest Randi Rhodes show, with my cat on the headrest behind me purring.

Pssst, I've heard the Lacevember folks are partial to cat pictures, so here is my purring fuzzball.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Mine all mine, version 2.0

For real this time! Hooray!





















Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Lacevember!

The knitting questions, or the usual suspects

How long have you been knitting? I guess almost two years? I don't really know.

How did you learn to knit? I taught myself.

Favorite thing about knitting? Everything! Okay, not everything. Casting on 437 stitches isn't much fun, but all the rest of it is!

How long have you been knitting lace? My very first project was lace, actually. After some initial experimental swatching, I dove right into the Heirloom Baby Afghan from the craft yarn website.

Favorite thing about knitting lace. The fact that I usually never get bored, and the finished product.


The yarn questions, or flash your stash

Favorite lace yarn? So far my favorite has been Knitpicks Shadow

variegated or solids for shawls? Depends. For really intricate lace, I like a solid or heathered. If it's not too busy a pattern, I do love me some variagated.

Favorite lace color? Purple!


Technique, or show us your skillz

Circs or straights? Circs.

Favorite lace knitting trick? Counting along the purl row and just picking up the bar between stitches if you mis a yarn over. Or, alternately, if you're knitting lace on DPNs and have to do a YO right at the point where the needles switch, skip it and pick up the bar the next row.

Lifelines? If so with what? I live dangerously. I've never put in a lifeline.

Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet? I use the Yarn Harlot method, which is to string a thread through the top edge and then pin the heck out of the rest.


Pattern, or can you follow directions

shawls or lacey items? Shawls

triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls? I love circular shawls, but I haven't knit one yet.

Charts or printed instructions? I can get along with charts just fine if they're not 20 inches wide and teeny tiny blocks, but I do prefer printed instructions

Favorite lace you've knit? Hedera

Favorite lace you want to knit? Tea Shawl from Gathering of Lace


Just Fun, yup that's right, just for fun

Favorite jelly belly flavor? Mango

Tell me everything you know about Eric the Red..... Uhhhhhh, he was Leif Erikkson's father? And a viking?

Coke, classic or with lime? Ew, neither. Dr. Pepper all the way.

Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves? I like them the few days before Christmas, but I think starting them right after Halloween is excessive and makes me want to poke my eyes out with sporks by Thanksgiving.

What is the definition of irony? Well, it's not a black fly in your chardonnay, I can tell you that.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? Let's find out. One... two... *crunch!*

Why is my cat always puking in front of my son's bedroom door? Because the cat is mad at your son and wants him to step in it.

What is your superhero power? Able to wrangle 3 short people on a single hour's sleep!

If the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that's a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be? Black and white for the floor, lavender for the walls

What's for dinner tonight? It's way too early to worry about that.

What is clogging my children's bathtub drain? Alligators

I normally don't post political stuff, but...

I just have to scream this to the rooftops. I am beyond ecstatic right now.




MADAME SPEAKER!




Also, a big "so long" to Rick Santorum. My only regret is that I'm no longer in Pennsylvania and didn't have the pleasure of voting against you.

Spreading Santorum

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Or not

Well, no, the wheel is not mine all mine after all. The seller started getting all shady, was listing it elsewhere for $125 more than I was going to buy it for, and after I had committed to buy it was offering it to another person on Knittyboard. And ignoring my emails. So I wrote her and called it off. Last thing I need is to be screwed out of money.

:( :( :( :( :(

So I guess I'm still searching. Poop.