Stitch Markers

The storm was as horrible as expected. High winds and flooding made it impossible to go anywhere - the pond across the street had flooded our road and it was a bit tense watching and hoping that it wouldn't reach our driveway. It didn't, and today the water has receded quite a bit. The rain continues today, but not nearly as heavy as yesterday, and the howling winds have died down as well. Of course we had some heavy snow in the mix, it wouldn't be April without it! lol

Stitch markers! I've been having so much fun with these, and I've already built up a very nice little stash of beads and fittings to make more.

These are gold-foil lampwork beads, very pretty and very lightweight. The fittings are gold-plated, and I've surrounded each bead with sparkly Swarovski crystals.



These are jade beads with sterling silver fittings, and try as I might I couldn't capture the true colors of the crystals they're topped with. In reality, they're a deeper green, more of a match to the jade.

I've made about 20 sets so far, and if I finish "Voyager" this morning I might have a little time to make some more. I have some gorgeous rose quartz beads calling my name!

As I write this post I'm listening to the press conference that's being televised about the heartbreak at VA Tech. The weather and stitch markers seem such trivial subjects in light of what's happened to so many innocents, and the devastation to their family and friends. My prayers go out to them.

Taking A Break...

...from knitting for a few days, I've finally had the time to start Diana Gabaldon's "Voyager". It's been sitting by my bedside for weeks, and I had loved "Outlander" and "Dragonfly in Amber" so much that I couldn't wait to start the third -- but then so many things happened at once and I'm just now picking it up ~ and have been happily immersed in it all day!

We survived another storm this past Thursday, and luckily got only about 4 inches of heavy wet snow before it ended. Its almost completely melted already, and just in time for some frightening amounts of rain starting tomorrow and all the way through to Wednesday. Nor'easters are pretty terrible storms for the most part, with heavy winds and heavier rains, and flooding is a real possibility with this one, with a possible four inches of rain to fall. Scary thought! But what really frightens me most are high winds, as huge pine and oak trees surround our house and tower over it. I'm hoping this storm won't be too bad. :(

I was going to take pictures of the stitch markers that I made last week, but when I took my camera to do so the battery was dead...and though I've thought at least a dozen times during the week to put it on the charger, I'd get busy and promptly forget. So now without further ado I'm going to do that right this minute! There, done!! LOL There'll be photos tomorrow! I've made several more sets since the few I started with last week, and I've made a few trips to a local bead shop that I found. I find it to be as relaxing as knitting, and nearly as much fun.

I still have two WIPs which I'm hoping to finish up during this coming week. Still waiting for yarn to arrive from France for the Perline sweater so I can begin work on the embroidered details, but the knitting is nearly finished other than 10 rows on the last sleeve. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

Beads & Baubles

I'm so excited, I just made several stitch markers! They came out well for a first attempt, and after the first one I really got the hang of it.

I just came in to shut down my computer so will take pics of them to post tomorrow...

Have a great weekend!

Last Fling

...with winter (hopefully)!

The forecast was for four inches of snow by morning. The reality was more than double that amount!

Yes, it's a pretty winter wonderland scene out there. But...it's APRIL!! The upside is that this will all be melted very quickly at this time of year, so I just plan on enjoying this last fling with winter. :) Maybe viewing these photos will help cool things off a bit in gstq2002's corner of the world!

Where's Spring?

It was still dark when I got up this morning at 5 AM so I couldn't see what the rising sun has just shown me...it's snowing! Just a little dusting on the grass at the moment, but I've just heard on the news that we can expect heavy snow tonight with 4-6 inches on the ground by tomorrow morning! And spring had felt so close a few days ago!

I have two projects OTN at the moment. This cute little sweater: Rowan Classic Babies, and this, called "Perline":

I'm about halfway through with the first sweater, and the second about the same. I can't wait to finish the knitting of both of them, just to get to the chick appliqués on the first and the embroidery on the second. Who knows, maybe spring will be around by then!

Monday morning I went off to visit a very local yarn shop that a fellow art student had told me about last Thursday night. I hadn't known about it till then, and I was excited since its only about a ten minute drive from here, much closer than the half hour drive of the next nearest LYS. The name of the shop is "A Knitters Garden" and its located in an old and lovely farmhouse. Many beautiful natural yarns, all the supplies and accessories you could ask for, and best of all the proprietess is just lovely! Added to that was the fun of making the acquaintance of her adorable Scotch Terrier, Angus...I had a wonderful visit, and came home with a hank of beautiful 100% native and natural baby alpaka yarn, a skein of merino in a tweedy peach color, and a Debbie Bliss baby pattern book. If you ever visit Southern New Hampshire, I highly recommend it!

No Crocuses For Me!

We woke up this morning to more snow! Not too much, only an inch or two, but it seems that as far as spring goes and our progress towards it, we've been taking two steps forward and one giant step back! But this week the forecast looks good, with a couple of days hitting the low 70's. Though looking forward to spring, the snow fall last night really was pretty and the result this morning was postcard perfect. And by end of day it was mostly melted. :)

I finished the baby cardigan, all seamed up and it came out so nice! I had planned on a gripe fest post yesterday when I ran into some ghastly problems with the button band but now that its all sorted out I just don't feel the need to rant anymore. :) Tomorrow I'm planning on going to the LYS on a search for the perfect buttons for it. I'll post a photo of it once buttons are found and attached.

Hope everyone's had a great weekend!

Cute Cartoon :)

Frustration!

The baby cardigan is finished for the most part. I've already woven in the ends, blocked each piece to perfection, and sewn the shoulder seams. All that has to be done now is the button band along the fronts and back, then sewing in the sleeves. The button band requires picking up stitches, which I've never done! But having viewed a video on the technique ages ago on knittinghelp.com, and remembering how simple Amy made it look, I tried to log in to the site at 8 this morning...and the site was down! Every 10 minutes or so I try again, and still the site is down! Arrrgh! I've consulted my knitting books and tried several times to make a start, but it's just not happening. I feel like crying! So instead of sobbing, I'm going out for a walk on a beautifully sunny and warm day...and maybe the site will be back up when I get back! Oh, the frustration of it all!

11:53 AM: Update! I just got my coat on and tried one last time before walking out the door and the site is up again! YAY!!!

Progress!

I've finished the left front of the baby's cardigan, and the right front is more than halfway there. I should have it completed sometime tomorrow. :)

I have another WIP, a very pretty little bolero in a soft pastel pink. When finished it will have beautiful embroidery on the front and sleeves. I can't find the yarns used for the embroidery, so I think I will ask a friend in France who has an Anny Blatt yarn shop right up the street if she could possibly look for it there. If they don't have it, I'll hopefully have some luck in finding substitutions.

Its one day after a foot of snow was dumped on us! Which wouldn't be so bad but the snow blower went kaput yesterday morning and the driveway (long, long driveway!) had to be shoveled instead... which I didn't take part in, thankfully! I don't think my back could take that kind of shoveling!

Hope everyone's having a good weekend!

A New Arrival!

The baby that I've been doing all this knitting for has at long last arrived! Little Emma Rose was born a week ago today, bringing much joy to her family! She's positively beautiful and we're all so happy! I've written about it in my other journal, which is read by invitation only, so if my readers here would like an invitation sent I'd be happy to send one! Just drop me an email at mardi.xpress@gmail.com and I'll send the invite. I like to keep this journal for just knitting (and a few general things), and the other has a little more about me and my family. Not sure how interesting anyone would find it, but perhaps it's worth a peek!

I began a new project yesterday, a little cardigan for Emma. I'm not sure how it will turn out, now that I've realized that the variegated yarn I'm using won't allow for matching of the different colors at the side seams. I should have looked for a sweater pattern done all in one piece. Ah, live and learn! Here's an up-to-the-minute photo of what I've done so far, the completed back and part of the left front.

I have a peach yarn in the same weight which is a perfect complement to the peach color in the variegated, so I'm thinking to make the sleeves all in peach to help cut down on the mismatching of the colors in the seams.

We have a saying in New England... "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute!" Our weather over the past few days couldn't be closer to the truth! The day before yesterday the temperature was 72 degrees. Summer-like, bright sun, the snow cover finally melted. Today we're in the midst of a snowstorm, with up to 10 inches forecast by storm's end tomorrow morning!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Hooray For Finished Objects!

I've found a few moments to post the photos of the last few finished projects. A welcome break, I've been cleaning since 8 this morning!

First, the little Manteau Gari.



I was so happy to have that one completed!

The little kimono sweater and bonnet, I was happy to hear, has been chosen as part of the baby's coming home outfit. :) The pattern for the kimono is from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight, but I made many changes and sort of made it my own. The pattern called for straight garter stitch, but I thought the angora would be shown off better with stockinette so that's what I did. I also had to adjust the stitch counts throughout, to account for the thicker yarn I was using and larger size needles. There are only a few people in the world more mathematically challenged than I am, so my knitting notebook is just filled with calculations to rival any jottings of Einstein! lol I also did the first five rows of back and front sides in garter stitch to prevent curling. Here's the result:



As I'd mentioned in my last post, I searched for a bonnet to match the kimono, and the mom-to-be had requested a ruffle around the front. I couldn't find a pattern that worked so I wrote my own. Also done in stockinette st., the bottom edge and front were worked in a few rows of garter st and the ruffle is crocheted. If anyone would like the pattern, please drop me a line (MarDi.xpress@gmail.com) and I'll be happy to post it here. The bonnet, kindly held for the photographer by a very friendly flop-earred Easter bunny:



The ribbon is attached with a pretty little flower, centered with pearls. I thought it gave it a nice touch. The yarn used for both kimono and bonnet is 70% French angora/30% merino wool by "Jolie", and size 7 (US) needles were used. I had a real problem stitching the seams together because I used mattress stitch and when I pulled the yarn to tighten the stitches together the angora just pulled apart like wet tissue! I solved the problem by using regular white sewing thread, doubled. Strong and invisible...

I thought I'd include one more pic, of a set that I crocheted for the baby last summer when I first learned that she was on the way! I've crocheted for years, and made several sweaters and blankets in crochet before I taught myself to knit last fall. This is a little side-buttoned jacket and beret, and I can't for the life of me remember where I got the pattern or what yarn I used!



Hope everyone's having a great Tuesday!

My, How Time Flies!

It didn't seem this long to me since my last post, but time does have a way of getting away from us at times!

Back around the time of my last post I was contacted to make some major updates on a commercial website that I designed and maintain. That was a good three days work, which led me to some major updates on other websites that I work on. Still, I kept meaning to come here and type a few words, only to be so exhausted at the end of the day that I couldn't stay awake long enough to.

The past couple of weeks I've been away from home every day helping Sammi and her sister Jessica to ready the baby's nursery. I've started working on draperies in a beautiful pink toile, with a pale green velvet trim...I think they'll be very pretty. But there I've been and not here, and my poor house has been so neglected! I have managed to knit in between everything else, usually my wind-down time before bed these past nights. I made a kimono-type sweater for the soon-to-be-born baby girl in beautiful white angora yarn, and wishing to make a bonnet to match looked everywhere for a pattern. I couldn't find anything at all for what I had in mind so I actually wrote my own pattern, my first! I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and will post pics tomorrow (along with the Manteau Gari pics which I haven't posted yet).

That's all the news thats fit to print, and now I'm off to bed in a few, with plans to tackle some major house cleaning chores first thing in the morning. Hope everyone has been well! I have some big-time reading to do on a few blogs to catch up on everyone's projects. I see that Donna has been writing novels over at Nonny's This & That! It will take me days to read from where I left off on Valentine's Day! LOL

Have a good night all!

Out The Door...

...in a few. Big Nor'easter bearing down on us and I have to make a run to the supermarket. I'm so excited to be finally having a fairly big snowstorm! :)

The Manteau Gari was finished on time, and everyone loved it! I did take photos but haven't had a chance to post them yet, as I immediately started working on a scarf that I hope to have done for my sweetheart for Valentine's Day. Hmmm, working under the pressure of a deadline, do I see a trend here? lol

I'll post the photos later today. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Frogging Manteau :(

Yesterday I was very close to finishing up the right side of Manteau Gari. I had managed all the cast-on increases for the sleeve (Donna, all these increases were done on the purl side, it became very easy after doing a few of them). The pattern read "...work decs and incs at left hand side and sleeve incs same as back". Doing this, it would bring the length of the right side to about 9¼ inches, and when I completed the sleeve incs and checked the pattern, the next step said "Work even until piece measures 6¼ inches!! But I was well over that! Perhaps it was an incorrect translation of the pattern from it's original French to English, or perhaps it was my own stupidity for not reading further into the pattern than what I was working on, but the result was having to frog all the way back to 6", taking with it all my carefully made cast-on increases for the sleeve. What a heartbreak!

After frogging it was time to start dinner, so I put it aside and will pick it up as soon as I finish this post. I so hope to be well started on the left side by the end of the afternoon!

Still bitter cold here, but a little better than the cold of the weekend and Monday. At least the wind has died down, it had been howling dreadfully for a couple of days...brrrr!

Happy day to all!

Update: Just taking a quick break from the jacket with a glass of water and an update here: Though I used a lifeline when I frogged, somehow the stitches were twisted when placed back on the needle and all my best attempts at correcting it were to no avail, so I decided to frog the right side entirely and start over from the beginning. *sigh*

Brrrrrr! Part II

Back to the deep freeze; at the moment its 10 degrees with a wind chill of minus 9! I am officially ready for spring, so please, just bring it on anytime! It's supposed to be this cold all week, so I'm planning to do any errands I need to do in one go today to limit my time freezing outdoors as best I can for the rest of the week.

Yesterday was wonderful! I made my way to the yarn shop for the much anticipated 40% off sale! A woman greeted each new arrival at the door with a loud "Welcome!" and a white shopping bag, and I had mine filled in very short order! Yarns that I would normally pass by due to their expensive price tags were now affordable, and since I was using the gift cards I received for Christmas and my birthday, it was guilt-free shopping! Among the yarns I bought were 3 different hanks of Malabrigo, 2 balls of Rowan "Tapestry" in rustic, 2 balls of a gorgeous angora from France, and several others. I have enough yarn to keep me going for quite a while, all thanks to my gift cards which were really great gifts to receive.

One thing that troubles me is that I came across a bin (called the "Orphan Bin") for single balls of yarn that were the last in stock, and each was being sold for only $5.00. In going through the bin I came across, at the very bottom of the pile, a hank of Tilli Tomas spun silk in a deep red color, just gorgeous yarn, and which I knew was very expensive. I couldn't believe that it was being sold for $5.00, but it had lost it's original tag, replaced with a hand-written one, and so I happily placed it in my shopping bag and made my way to the counter. When it was my turn to have my purchases tallied, I first took out the Tilli Tomas and showed the woman at the register (I believe she's the owner of the shop), and told her that it was in the "Orphan Bin", to make sure that it was correctly in the bin, and not placed there by a customer. She was shocked! ...and she turned to a young boy who was helping someone else and asked if he'd put it in the bin, and he said "Yeah, it was the last one" She replied, "But it's TILLI TOMAS!!!" and playfully tapped him on the top of his head. She made a joke of it, but I'm sure she was upset. Still, she honored the $5.00 price, though the hank should have sold for $30.00, and I thanked her...but all the way home I felt as though I should have offered it back, not feeling at all comfortable in profiting from an innocent mistake. I think I'll bring it back...

Petit Manteau update: The right side of the front is up to the sleeve increases (oh no, panic mode again)! and it's really beginning to look so pretty! I'm hoping to have it finished, with the velvet overalls, for the baby shower which will be this coming Sunday. Wish me luck!

Have a lovely day!

Pre-bed Post

I have no idea how it got to be 1:30 AM. The last time I glanced at the clock it was 11:00 PM Saturday night and I was making plans for going to bed! The story of my life!

Manteau Gari update: the back is finished, and I'm a little more than halfway on the right front. Tomorrow is the big sale at my LYS, the Superbowl Weekend Sale! I'm ready!! The store closes at 4:00 pm so I have plenty of time to get back home before the game starts. I have a list of yarn that I'd like to buy, and a few notions as well. I'm looking so forward to my little shopping excursion!

We had snow last night, somewhere between 2 to 3 inches. Very pretty outside today but I didn't venture forth, instead switching back and forth between working on the jacket and reading "Outlander. The book is nearly finished - and I don't want it to end!

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Color My World

Class was great last night, I love working in color! It was all very basic, mainly layering colors to give us an idea of how to create shadows and such. I won't have anything from this class worthy of posting a pic for a couple of weeks yet, but here's one of my most recent drawings: Violin.

But this is a knitting blog, I digress! I'm on my way to go puppy-sitting in a few moments, and when I get back I'll be working on the Oscar the Grouch furry jacket. The sleeves came out well, thanks to Donna, and I now have just the neck shaping to do to finish off the back. It's really working up fast, even though I haven't had very much time to work on it. I can't stop reading "Outlander" for very long, it's not my fault! LOL

No snow in sight yet, and haven't heard the weather this morning. Still hoping for snow flakes this afternoon but so far the sky is clear and the sun is shining. (Ah, just checked weather.com and it looks like the snow will hold off until tonight. I guess that explains the sunshine)!

Superbowl weekend, and everyone that I know around here is hoping for a Bears win! Poor gstq2002, I hope you won't be too nervous during the game! Methinks a glass of something soothing might help! ;)

Hope everyone's having a wonderful day and a great weekend to follow.

Dusting Off My Pencils...

Tonight is my first night back to art class for the new semester. I'm very excited about it because this course will be drawing with colored pencils, a great change from the grayscale of regular drawing pencils. It's a ten week course, so I'll be going every Thursday night until mid-April. Colored pencil is a somewhat overlooked medium, but for an idea of all the possibilities that artists can render with them, you might visit here! Incredible work! And no, I'll never be that accomplished... But that's fine, I just have so much fun dabbling, and that's what it's all about!

Cold and overcast here today, with a few inches of snow expected tomorrow. I've spent the day doing the heavy cleaning that I usually reserve for Fridays, but there's something so relaxing and cozy about knitting or reading with snow falling outside the window, I wanted to keep tomorrow free for just that! :)

Every time I look at the photo of the furry jacket that I posted here on Tuesday I start to laugh. In the photo it looks like a cross between a bathroom rug and Oscar the Grouch! Haha! In reality it really does look much prettier, and it's soooo soft! Thank you for your sweet comments gstq2002 and Donna. :)

...and no Donna, I haven't treadmilled today...yet!! But now that you've caught me, I'm going to go fill up my water bottle and get on the darn thing! LOL

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

A Wee Bit Busy!

I've been so busy the past few days... Working on the little furry jacket, cleaning out closets (a fulfillment of one of my new years resolutions), and in between, reading my newly arrived book, "Outlander", (awesome book, gstq2002, I can't put it down! Thank you so much for suggesting it). Last night, after a busy day, I curled up in bed (ah, the beauty of having a portable DVD player :), to watch the first part of "Elizabeth I", with Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. Helen Mirren's portrayal is fantastic, she is simply wonderful! Disc 2 tonight and I can't wait.

The little "Manteau Gari" is coming along well, with much thanks to cast-on tips from Donna for the sleeves. A little messy on the sleeve edge, but really not too bad, and seaming will make that irrelevant anyway.

Update photo of the back of the jacket, needing a couple more inches of knitting to finish that part, then on to the left front. I knew it would be difficult to capture a good photo, colorwise and due to the fuzziness of it (I keep resisting the urge to comb it out)! LOL ...but here it is:



Not too much to look at for the moment, but with more progress on it I'm sure it will look a bit more interesting. :) Last week I bought a couple of yards of a cream colored velvet and a pattern to make little overalls to go under it. Perhaps I'll dust off my embroidery skills to embroider something on the overall bib to coordinate with the color of the jacket, just to tie them both in together.

Hope all are having a wonderful day! Sunny here and 23 degrees, a heat wave for us!

Zero Degrees

...with a wind chill of minus 13! I wouldn't mind if I didn't have to jump in my freezing cold car and drive to the supermarket today. Definite bundling up weather!

I worked a long time on the new project yesterday, and already up to the cast-ons for the sleeves. Which has me in a panic, because I find it really difficult to cast on in the middle of a pattern. :(
I believe there's a video for it at knittinghelp.com, so after this post I'll go check it out...and pray a lot! :D

The weekend will be fairly quiet, so with all the heavy housework being done today I should have a free weekend to get a lot of knitting done, with the nights free for reading. I love weekends like this! But today will be busy, so I'd better get on with it.

Have a great weekend... (And best of luck on the Celtic Festival, gstq2002)!

Mission Accomplished!

The Blueberry Chenille Scarf is on its way to France, and I've already started on this:

The pattern is from an Anny Blatt pattern book that I sent to France for, and it's considered "easy" enough for beginners -- let's hope they're right! The yarn that it called for was ultra-expensive, so I found a suitable (and very soft) substitute for it at the LYS when I was there last Saturday, in a very soft sage green. If I had used the Anny Blatt yarn in the pattern, it would have been nearly *gulp* $100.00 to make, which is just a wee bit pricey! LOL

Yesterday I found a package at the front door. Yes, the Knit Picks Options which I ordered with part of the gift card I received for my birthday! I had thought about them for awhile, they've received such great reviews, but as I haven't started knitting with circulars I kept deciding to wait until I was a bit more experienced. But then I read that you can use them as straights with the end caps they supply, and with a gift card to pay for them, I just did it! And I LOVE them! Super light-weight, incredibly smooth -- I think my knitting has picked up a little speed with them! I might even be able to catch up to Donna! LOL

Will post photos as the "Manteau Gari" jacket progresses. Off to work on it a little while longer before I have to start dinner...

Snow Day

...but not a lot of snow, just flurries with little or no wind so it's falling so softly. :)

Yesterday the mail brought an addition to my ever-growing yarn stash with a box of Anny Blatt Flirt'Anny cotton/linen blend yarn in a soft and very pretty peach color. It will make a lovely summer-weight baby blanket with a matching sweater set. Tomorrow I'll search through my books or online for suitable patterns with this yarn weight, because today I will be finishing the incessant Blueberry Scarf! It must be shipped off to France no later than tomorrow, so I will be hard at work on it today.

Later today I will also be driving down to the village to register for my next course of art classes, which begins on February the 1st. Just to give you an idea of how rural an area I now live in, one course offered is "Blacksmithing"! LOL

Blueberry Scarf time!

Ouch...

Oh, that game hurt! The Pats lose it 38-34, a Tom Brady interception in the last minute giving the win to the Colts. Even with the Pats leading by a large margin through most of the game, I didn't feel they had it tied up at all. With the third Patriot touchdown in the second quarter, I nervously thought that it was too much, too soon. C'est la vie... But three Superbowl championships in the last five years makes this loss much easier to bear, and they played a great season!

And now there's gstq2002's Bears to cheer on in the Superbowl!! GO BEARS! :)

Knitcentricities

I have a few "knitcentricities", do you?

• I can't knit without a ring on my right ring finger, to help keep the yarn wound over that finger for proper tension; just as I could never crochet without a ring on the ring finger of my left hand. Without the ring in place, the yarn always slides up my finger, usually falling off at some point!


• My favorite place to knit is sitting cross-legged on my bed, (usually with both cats curled up on either side of me and my dog at my feet)! I try to knit sitting on the sofa, but it's just not comfortable and I always end up back on my bed.


• I always listen to music when I knit, and the music runs the gamut from classics, to Beatles, to Jacques Brel, to Broadway musical scores. I have a selection of all my favorites and set it to random on my iPod so that each song is a surprise. (I guess it is a bit strange to go from Concerto for Violin Op. 61 to Yellow Submarine in the space of a minute! LOL


• I love coffee but for some reason when I sit down to knit or to read, tea is the only thing I can even think of having.

I had a fun day today. In spite of the bitter cold, I finally made it to the yarn shop (with the gift certificate that I'd received on Christmas burning a hole in my pocket)! I didn't have any particular purchase in mind, so I drifted and browsed and eventually made my way up to the sale loft (where I happily discovered that during the month of January everything up there was 40% off)!... There I found two beautiful balls of Jaeger 100% silk 4-ply in a soft silvery green, and 5 balls of a soft fur type yarn which feels just like angora, On Line Linie 67, Como in a soft sage green. I guess that tells you that green is my favorite color!

I resisted the impulse to start on a new project with one of the two yarns, instead working for awhile on the blueberry scarf (which I'm happy to say is nearly finished); and then I spent a few hours after dinner to finish my latest book Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette, by Sena Jeter Naslund. Next will be a book I just ordered online which should be delivered this coming Monday, Great Tales from English History: The Truth About King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart, and More, by Robert Lacey. This is more my cup of tea, so I'm really looking forward to getting it in my hands!

4:20am and I must be off to bed. Eeek, the game tomorrow!: go Pats!! (and gstq2002's Bears)!!

PS: Donna, I did get on my treadmill yesterday, and Friday too! I'm being very good! ;)

Brrrrrr!

My God, it's freeeeezing here today! Sunny, but only 3 degrees, with a wind chill of -11! Not a drop of melting in the ice-bound outdoors. The driveway is an ice skating rink and yesterday I couldn't even try to maneuver it to get to the mailbox out by the road. My car is just a big ball of ice, the ice about 1/4 of an inch thick on every outer surface. And this all adds up to another day at home today, and oh dear, I'll just have to suffer through another day of knitting. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it! ;)

Short post today, must get the housecleaning done so I can settle in to work on the neverending blueberry chenille scarf...

No LYS Trip Today : (

Today's weather is bleak, to say the least. It actually started yesterday with a drizzly freezing rain. Both dogs fell on the steps (luckily both unhurt) going out last night, the first we realized that it was an icy world outside our door. Today is more of the same, (arrgh, I think our power is starting to go! Will try to finish this post before it's out completely :( ...

Second try. We did lose power but it came right back...hopefully to stay!

Up-to-the-minute weather photos:

1. Iced house...


& 2. View from the dining room window.


Poor birch tree, all bent over from the weight of the ice...

I was up until nearly 4am this morning, an afternoon nap yesterday keeping me wide awake last night when I should have been sleeping. But the happy result of my sleeplessness was the finishing of the "Thin Blue Line" knitted cap for policeman Joe, probably one of my quickest projects, and a nice break from the ongoing and forever "Blueberry" scarf!



A bientôt!

Go Pats!!

The last 10 minutes of the game and I couldn't take it. I couldn't sit in front of the TV, I fled to the kitchen where all I could do was pace and try to breathe! Down to a field goal attempt by the Chargers in the final seconds to try to tie the game, and impossibly, he missed it! What a game! Pats to Indy next week, I hope my heart can take the next one!



I've discovered that I knit much faster under the nervous excitement of a Patriots playoff game! I'm working on a request from a police officer family member for a black knit hat, with just one thin blue stripe... I only began to work on it last night, and for just a couple of hours at that, so not much progress -- until tonight's game, and knitting faster than I've ever managed to do before, it's nearly finished! I'm just starting the decreases and it will be done. :) Must make a note to bring all my WIP's to finish off during the game next week! LOL

Yummmmmy!

Dinner was delicious! It was so hard to choose an entrée with so many yummy choices, but I eventually decided on Chicken Farcito; chicken stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella, sautéed with mushrooms in a sherry wine sauce...delicioso! A couple of gin & tonics, and dessert (it would have been a cannoli, but then they brought out the dessert tray overflowing with the most amazing cakes and pastries!) was a chocolate & vanilla mousse cake... Yes treadmill, I'll be there in a minute! LOL Donna, I shared the mousse with you, I hope you weren't too disappointed that it wasn't a cannoli!

I could only eat half of my dinner, so the rest is waiting downstairs to be my lunch... heaven continued! :)

Busy day today; I just showered and dressed for a trip to the supermarket to get what I need to make my famed corn chowder for the party tomorrow...and then a run to the post office, and a quick stop at CVS. I don't think there's time for knitting today, but I'll do my best to get an hour in if I can!

Have a wunnerful day!

Today is...

...my birthday! (Shhhh, tell no one!)

I'm going to dinner tonight to an Italian restaurant that I hear is just wonderful, and it will be my first time there. Happy me! Saturday will be the family party, with everyone here. ...and chocolate cake! Yes, this of course means more time on the treadmill! ;) I've been very good so far, missing just one day since Donna unknowingly inspired me to get back on it! :)

Still working on the "Blueberry" scarf, making slow but steady progress -- Photos to follow when it's done... which I hope is soon! It's lovely, but I'm a bit tired of plain st st. :(

A bientôt!

Another Rainy Day

...and so a perfect day to organize my yarn stash! It's been growing by leaps and bounds since I started knitting, and I think I have enough yarn to qualify me as my very own LYS! It started out reasonably enough with two plastic bins for yarn storage, but that's now woefully inadequate. I've been browsing through IKEA's online store for a better solution, and have several ideas to turn 'mon petit bureau' into a well-organized, de-cluttered marvel! :D My poor little office, home to my webdesign business, my yarn warehouse, sewing central, art studio, genealogy file room, as well as the 'nursery' for my two darling Himalayan cat brothers! Oh, but I need so very much to get organized!

I think a trip to IKEA this coming weekend is very much in order!

On the knitting front, I only had a few hours to spare during a very busy weekend so haven't made as much progress on the chenille scarf as I'd hoped. Hopefully there'll be time for it later today after the house is in order. Optimistic me! :D

The Pats won yesterday!!

Where's Winter?

The weather here in New England is more like spring than winter. Most people, I'm sure, are thrilled at the lack of snow, and frost on the windowpanes, but this unseasonal warmth has me feeling unsettled and uncomfortable. Winter is my favorite season, and snow is one of my favorite things, so I'm saddened at finding a ladybug (a ladybug!! ..in January!!), tracking a slow progress across my window. The grass is an unseasonal green; and if it weren't for the bare trees I'd swear it was late May!

I think that Northerners, who have lived all of our lives in a climate that feels all the extremes of each season, have an internal thermostat which must be utterly thrown off-kilter without regular snowstorms and wintry Canadian blasts, the norm at this time of year.

I have yet to wear a coat. Each trip outside is in a sweater and jeans; my gloves and scarves haven't been worn since last winter!

I can only hope for snow... a few feet of it would be nice! ...and soon!

Blueberry Chenille

Having finished the needle case and a few other things - plus swatching several stitches from "The Knitter's Bible" yesterday, today has been devoted to working on the chenille scarf that I started before Christmas craziness slowed down my work on it.

I've added 4 inches to it so far today and still have several hours more to work on it before dinnertime. :)

Here's what I have:



I just realized how colorful this is compared to all the neutrals and pastels that I seem to always gravitate to ...It makes for a nice change!

No pattern, just a simple stockinette st scarf, with garter stitch borders to give it a firmer edging. The yarn is Blue Heron Chunky Rayon Chenille, colorway Blueberry: glorious shades of purples, deep blues, magenta, and a touch of aqua. I'm working it with US size 4 straight needles. Long way to go, but it must be completed with enough time to arrive in France for a birthday at the end of January, so I think I'll be sticking to this without other project diversions until it's finished!

Now if I can only get rid of the song in my head:
I found my thrill,
               With blueberry chenille...

Ha! I'm such a goof!

Heart Be Still!

When I saw the box on my doorstep yesterday afternoon I was so excited! I expected that it was The Knitter's Bible that my blogging friend, Donna, had recommended. My slight disappointment when it turned out to be another book, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette, an historical fiction, showed me just how much knitting has become a happy passion for me. Before, any history-related book would have me dancing in the street when it arrived! lol

But I knew that I didn't have too much longer to wait. I have been tracking my books like an over-eager hawk since they were ordered, the three in this post, as well as The Knitter's Bible. Delivery was imminent for the latter, and the other three weren't expected until somewhere between January 6th and the 11th, so I was THRILLED to find, not one, but TWO boxes on the doorstep this afternoon. Yes, all FOUR books!!! *faints*

Donna, just thumbing through The Knitter's Bible I can see that this is exactly what I needed, to show me the how-to for numerous stitches and the answers to so many questions! I can't thank you enough for pointing me to it, I'd give you a huge hug if I could! :D

The other three look fabulous too...and though I'd just made myself a cup of tea and settled myself in for a few uninterrupted hours of reading about Marie Antoinette, I'm now heading to my yarn stash to grab something colorful and play with some swatching!!

I love days like this! Now all I need is a ton of snow falling outside my window...

..and yes Donna, I treadmilled for a half hour this morning! Yay us! :)

Needle Case... Finished!

The needle case is FINISHED! I decided to follow the McCall's pattern pretty much as it was, though I did shorten the length by about 3" to better accommodate my 9" bamboo needles. Finished size: 5½" x 13", closed; fully opened: 15" x 18".



The body of the case is done with a golden brown Dupioni silk, the front contrasting band and ties, along with the inner pocket is a multi-hued brocade. It's lined with a lightweight fleece to give it body and greater protection for the needles.



The only difficulty was the infernal unraveling of the silk edges and the brocade as well (pesky fabrics)!, which I solved by overcasting all edges after stitching the outer seams...Overall, I'm very pleased with the result, and future ones will be of my own patterning to include pockets for circulars and such...



It's such a great feeling to complete a project!! :)

EDIT: I had originally used one tie with a dot of velcro to close but didn't like the asymmetrical look of it, so I made another tie and closed with a simple knot. Much better!