Oh, Fudge

This weekend was filled with re-dos. I got through a full 12 row repeat on the Fulmar neckline before I realized that I had repeated the wrong chart. Ripped. It's back on the needles and in full swing again. I wasn't going to just push that puppy to the back of the closet with it so close to finished.

I then tried on my Hand Pained socks and could fit two fingers on the sides without stretching...ripped and backed up to toe increases. Some how the 64 stitch sock was to big and now I'm working a 52 stitch version. How awesome is that! It's knitting up faster then ever.

The Beret, well it's gone to shit. I thought I cold get over it. Figured I could just push on ahead, but I just don't feel the want to keep working on something that is wrong. Here it is looking just perfect...



The green is the Main Color (MC) and the other brown/orange is the Contrasting Color (CC), which will change colors as I get further along. The MC and the CC create these lines that run down the hat and it's knit in such a way that that when the pattern needs to increase in size you end up with branch like extensions that form lines in the MC.

Well, that's what is suppose to happen... this is what I've been running into:



Blob of color just doesn't work for me. Another ripp.

Traveling in the Redwood Forest

This is Frabjous Fibers Blue Faced Luster in Redwood Forest hand dyed colorway. This 8 oz of fiber is my inspiration bought from The Fold. Yes, my wheel has had a layer of dust on it and just the thought of it makes my eyes water. Can't let that happen... so lets spin.



If there is one thing about spinning that I've learned is that you should consider your finished project before sitting at the wheel. Sweater, scarf, socks? they all have different takes on how you spin and what you spin. My inspiration started with the fiber and then the idea of a warm scarf popped into my head.

I'm hoping for a DK or worsted weight yarn in the end, but I think I'm pulling out a sport if not fingering weight sample. sigh. Then a dear friend of mine Knitterary mentioned a 3 ply to bulk it up. Why Not? I'll have to do a little You Tube search and perhaps a few chats with my spinning buddy Knit and Run but I'm kinda psyched about learning this technique.

My Lipstick

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty simple when it comes to makeup. I don't prefer to buy the really expensive brands and overall feel that you can achieve a great look on the more basic brands.

For instance, take my Almay One Coat Lip in Cocoberry.



It has seen better days. I love this color so much I'm stretching the life of this little tube by using a Q-tip for applying. Almay felt it was of their better interest to discontinue the line. Why? You find the perfect shade, perfect texture, and they ass it up by discontinuing the line?

So, I'm reaching my wits end and bottom of tube and figured it couldn't hurt to do an ebay search, right? I know kinda ridiculous, but that's how I discovered My Perfume way back when I discovered they discontinued that as well. Anywhoooo I digress, so I look up on ebay and amazone and nada. Last resort is the Almay website. They actually have a "what do I do if it's discontinued" FAQ question. This then leads me to their suggestion of the new Wine color way.



The website told me I would Love It! We'll just see about that. Okay...time for the before and after photos.

Here is before:


And After:


I can't say I yelled I Love It once it was applied. It's not the same, but it might grow on me. As for now, I'm feeling 3 out of 5 stars.

A Milestone

Guess what that is?

It's not to difficult if you've been paying attention. That... that there is Fulmar as in Fulmar BLOCKED.

It all started happening so fast when working the saddles, that before you know it we've got an almost completed sweater on our hands.



Little Miss Mac helped me pull all the pins, which she loves to do and she even tried racing me without my knowledge and proclaimed "You Won Mommy!".

This really kills me...color? wow. Above photos are taken indoors under florescent lights and now these below are from natural light by a window. So much closer to the true color.



Saddle are then inset into the front and back sections. At this point you can kinda try it on, what fun.



Then I picked up the stitches from the neck to finish knitting the neckband. Thank you again Trish for teaching me some great finishing techniques. I feel so much more confident now knowing the proper way verses making it up as I go along;)

13 going on 30

Today is Mr E's 13th birthday. What happened? Where did the time go?



Thinking back to thirteen years ago where I was recovering from a c-section, holding the little peanut who was early yet weighted 6 lb 12 oz. I couldn't have asked for a better son. He's sweet, caring, loving and funny... gosh he cracks me up. But just look at him. It blows me away every day I look into his eyes. Really, honest he's thirteen.



I really am so proud of my kid. He's had his share of bumps in the road, but he has survived and in turn boosted his confidence. The next thirteen years is going to be one hell of a ride and I'm glad I'll be apart of it.

@#*!%$* Beret

Got into a heap of mess last night and I'm blaming Tammy... she let me try her hat on and thus began the whirlwind of SnB Windmill Beret.



This is the groups first KAL and boy did we pick a doozie. Do you see mine in the group...yeah, I'm on the bottom with the green. You know, the smallest of the group. I started over roughly 8 times that night. Here is a closer look at my colors for this painful project.



I love it when something hurts so bad it feels good. You ever get that feeling? Just determained to see it through and even though your about to poke yourself with the DPN, you think, hummmmm I'm kinda enjoying this.

For all my SnB gals... I did Get Happy, but it didn't happen until this morning on the train ride into work.

Welcome Tiger

This is what happens when you let your 13 year-old go out to the country for a visit. They fall in love with every animal and beg and plead to bring one home. Okay, so there wasn't much arm twisting involved. We've thought about getting a kitty, but ever since the last one, I've been a little worried about it. Cats have very different personalities and I wanted a good fit, ya-no?



Tiger is sweet, playful and loving. In fact he purred the moment I held him for the first time and he enjoys napping with Mac in the afternoon. I think we've found out fit.

Recovery

How do you bounce back after knitting with the Harlot? It's not easy. In fact I've lost a little of my blog-mojo. I was doing really good, trying to post as often as I could when this past weekend hit. I really wasn't up for it. I guess I've got some post-fiber-partum going on.



I'm kinda speechless. Stephanie and Franklin in one room and at My Local Yarn Store! How totally Wicked!

Trich the owner of My Local Yarn Store: Nana’s Knitting Shop is just awesome and gracious...we got to sit and just take it all in.



Then of course there were some naughty South Side Gals...



Even if the wait was something close to 2 hours, we pose for a group picture.



And I think what kills me the most is thinking back about how a customer came to the back door of the shop and I answered it with a Big Hello. The lady had a huge grin on her face and then proceeded to ask how my flight was. I was taken back... "I'm sorry" I said to the lady. She then said... "You look so much like her!"

People. Dudes. She had mistaken me for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Well, I can kinda see how she might be taken back... although I'm thinking cousins.



I'll have to double check with the family, but I believe to have distant relatives in Nova Scotia. With a handful of Great-Aunts and Uncles born in that area, you never know!

In the Yard

They've finally bloomed and just so stunning! I swear this one plant is about to show off about 15 full buds and I'm hoping to get some great wallpaper backgrounds.

In other yard news, I've taken on a large task of landscaping The Dead Zone. This is the before picture:



The Dead Zone is a rough 12 foot by 12 foot space that you see from the back deck when you come out the kitchen. This space is full of rocks and grass, which is also surrounded by more rocks and a fence. All of which makes it really difficult to mow...and plus it just looks ugly. So, I came up with this insane brilliant idea of a stepping path with a raised flower bed. Here is the progress so far:



People. Seriously! Do you have any idea how hard it is to take off the top layer of dense grass while dealing with a rock bed below? Not. Good. Needless to say this has been an on going project and I'm hoping to get started on the raised bed very soon. Talk about a serious workout....and yes I count this as part of my Skinny-4-Stash...although I only get a dollar for every hour I've worked. Heck, those pavers weigh 42 pounds each. You know I'm working a sweat;)

In knitting news, the Fulmar is Killing Me! Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I swear I've fallen into the Knitting Black Hole. So close yet so far. I start my shoulder stuff once I get to 17 and 3/4th... I know! Soooooo Close.

So Sweet

Just had to show off a little slice of the Strawberry Top...boy it's coming quick. I'm hoping I'll have this done for miss mac to wear on the 4th of July... can you just picture it?

Small Distraction

With only the Fulmar on the needles... we just couldn't have that, now could we. So, what do you do when this happens? You look up your pattern queue on Raverly and head to your nearest yarn store.



A little Cotton Rich DK and I'm off swatching for this little sweet thing.



This is so freakin' cute, you could just toss your cookies. Pattern is from My Little CityGirl. It's going to be a little challenging... adding beads, crocheted edging, but so sweet for little miss mac.

What to give a shout out to Miss A;) for noticing my Stash-4-Cash increase. I've been working out almost everyday and am feeling the aches and pains. When does it stop hurting? sigh. I give my self a dollar for every 20 minutes of workout time, so it's adding up. Also, to answer your other question, yes you can totally knit the Cable Lagoon socks top down.

And to all the fathers out there, Happy Father's Day! We went to the movies and saw The Happening. Wow. Not bad.

It's Growing

Sleeves are measuring at 13.5 inches and growing. This is currently the only...let me say that again, ONLY project on the needles. I Never Do That!!

No socks... not until June 21 because that's the beginning of The Summer of Socks.

How did this happen, you say? I got obsessed with finishing. Sahara got picked up after a long dismiss and was off the needles before I could even blink. Then before you know it I was bit by the finishing bug and Wicked #2 got swept into the mix.

At least I'm making huge progress on Fulmar... but sometimes you need that extra man in your life to balance things out. I have fallen for a few cuties, but nothing cast-on as of yet.

FO: Wicked #2

Pattern: Wicked

Yarn: 6 skeins of Araucania Nature Cotton

Needles: US 4 circ

Start Date: April 5, 2008

End Date: June 6, 2008

Comments: This pattern is just so awesome that I had to do it a second time. Top down construction makes it super easy to adjust to a custom fit.

The yarn is soft for a cotton and I don't mind the thick-thin consistency. I believe it give the overall garment a unique texture. The only down fall with the Nature Cotton is the color is slightly different between skeins and led to some random striping. I was lucky enough to have bought extra and escaped having this be an eye sore.

While doing my photo adjustments... I couldn't decide if I liked the super early morning shot or the slightly early yet later morning shot...



This last shot my hair had finally dried and the sun was on full blast... so everything has a richer red to it.

Also, I was a little concerned about being too hot... but figured I'd give it a shot. I'm pleasantly surprised. The top is a bit heavy but it does not hold heat. Awesome!

I'm Swooning For Ogee

I've swatched the Ogee Tunic and got gauge on size US 7's ... This is making me knit the Fulmar faster. I'm guessing this will be my next big project done in purple Bollicine Dolly.



These suckers are going by quick... 10 inches of Fulmar loveliness. I think Knitterary might be right... I bet I will be done come July. Woo-Hoo

Motivation

I've had a serious case of lost motivation over winter and spring and it's clearly not a lost mojo for knitting. More like a dislike of diet and exercise. I thought that once the weather got warmer that my feelings would change. Which they have, but not because of the seasons.

After finishing the Sahara and wearing it...and loving it, I took a hard look at why I just "let myself go", and now I want myself back.

It took me half an hour to get that ONE finished object shot. All of the others are shit. Granted it was windy, extremely bright and lets not talk about the humidity. I guess I have this vision of what I look like, then I take a picture it's completely different.

Weight has always been a battle and will most likely always will be. So, I'm finding that my knitting is my motivation. Sahara is my inspiration. My drive to wake up at some un-holy hour in the morning to torture my body back into shape. Turbo Jam has been my obsession lately. Even if the host is a bit peppy...the music is awesome and so far I'm having fun and finding muscles I've never felt ... ever.

Thus my re-birth of Skinny 4-Stash. I'm resetting my rewards to zero and rethinking my goals. So far I've given myself a dollar for each day I've done a workout... it just seems like such a small about for something that is hard for me to do... I'll have to ponder a bit more on those rewards.

In knitting news, guess who took a bath?



Wicked Number 2 is all soaked and just waiting for a photo shoot. It is taking forever to dry, but hopefully I'll have a post all ready for you to see.

FO: Sahara

Pattern: Sahara

Yarn: 7 skeins of Berger du Nord Belle

Needles: US 4 circ

Start Date: August 2007

End Date: June 6, 2008

Comments: At first the pattern was a bit tricky to understand. Once you have the basic understanding of what direction to go then everything else falls into place. I love that this pattern has little seaming. One of the finishing points is to seam the center panel to your liking. I would recommend doing this section once you've blocked and tried it on. The cleavage section can be a bit revealing.

Another Reason to hate Macy's

If your from the Chicagoland area, then you'll know my pain when I talk about loosing Marshall Fields. I can't say I was a regular patron of the MF but would go there for the "good stuff"... you know what I mean. They had the Cutest! baby stuff and pretty much anything for weddings. Lets also not forget the Frango Mints. At least we know that will stick around, but on occasion I would eat lunch in the basement deli.

I was most impressed with the grilled cheeseburger. It was done to your liking... medium rare please. The works got you lettuce, tomato and a slice pickle... lets not forget the fries and pop. All this for just over 7 bucks, which in the loop is not bad.

With Macy's taking over things, it has seriously gone down hill. I was passing by and thought, Hummm, a burger could really hit the spot. Lets just say I'm not going back. Have no reason to ever enter Macy's again. That is unless Vin Diesel happens to be there signing boobies...but I digress.

The burger was dry... they didn't even ask how you wanted it cooked! Then they put a huge dill pickle spear on the bottom of the damn thing and they don't even have the condiment packages anymore ... so no mayo or relish. Stupid Macy's.

Green and Blue

You know how I said I just couldn't put the Sahara down? Well, last night I finished the hems, weaved in the tails and gave it a lavender bath.

Here she is blocking away:



It really grew. The shine from the silk is just breath taking. I so just want to slip it on to see if it fits. sigh. I'm a bit worried. Well, maybe not worried. More like, I've fallen in love with it that I SOOOOOOO just want this to be perfect. ya-no?

In other good news, our dead evergreens have been replaced. FOR FREE!!! I highly recommend Saunoris in Frankfort as far as nurseries go. Amazing.



More yard work is scheduled for this weekend. Hope fully I'll be finished with my project and show off before and after photos.

The kids are away with school out, so hubby and I can celebrate our 5th year anniversary.... my God has it been that long?

Oh Sahara...

How I've fallin' for your lovin'...

Sounds more like a country song then anything. The story goes a little something like... you exposed with your holes, you split when I needed you the most and lets not talk about that merino I saw you with.

Either way, Sahara has warmed my heart again and I'm now so close to a Finished Object I just want to scream.



It's not the kind of screaming were you just want the thing done, it's the kind of scream that's more like ... Oh Boy This Is Fun, I Don't Want To Stop.

Can someone explain why is it necessary to work 5 days a week? huh? It should be more like 50/50... 3 and a half days, that's it.

In other news, I've got a download-able PDF my Cable Lagoon sock pattern for everyone to download if they so wish. Have fun with it and if you run into anything just let me know.

FO: Leafling & Sock Swap

Pattern: Leafling (only available for Rockin Sock Club members)

Yarn: 1 skein of Socks That Rock - Lucky Colorway - Medium Weight (not available to the general public until 2009)

Needles: US 1.5 circ's

Start Date: April 16, 2008

End Date: May 9, 2008

Comments: I decided that when I joined the Sock Club, I would knit the pattern that was included with the yarn. Not that I had to, but it just seemed a little out of my comfort zone and was chalking it up for experience. Good or Bad.

I think the yarn is fabulous. It's not to self-striping which is nice change, but the pattern was slightly tricky for my construction. When working on two circular needles, it takes a bit of maneuvering in order to produce the sock. This lead the sock to become awkward. Not difficult, just picky.

I would highly recommend this pattern be knit with DPN's...It's not so simple on the circular needles.

My modifications were done on the heel. Which is the source of tricky-ness. There was a Raverly thread where everyone was getting a very loose sock. I choose to listen to them and ended up ripping it out because I was getting a tight sock. Go figure. In the end I skipped a couple rounds of added heel stitches. It turned out stretchy which is a good thing for the simple fact that these are heading to another knitter as part of a gift swap.



Isn't that just the cutest box you ever saw? I thought so. I then proceeded to fill it full of goodies. Wanna see? Sure you do.



The idea of the hand dyed sock yarn swap is to knit a pair of socks for your buddy. Pick out another hand dyed sock yarn for them to knit (I choose Soxie by Great Adirondack Yarn Co) along with a sock pattern (my Cable Lagoon pattern). Then add some goodies for your buddy, so I picked up a sock bag from Nana's Knitting Shop. Tossed in some Lindt Lindor chocolate and wrapped the socks with a gift tag and stitch markers.

Package went out UPS as of 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. My buddy should be getting her gift on Thursday. I hope the socks fit and now it's just waiting to see when my gift comes in!

::Spoiler Alert::

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The pool was officially opened on Sunday and after several hours of yard work it felt good to splash in and relax.



My little water bugs are disappointed to see rain in the forecast. I on the other hand am happy to not come home to wet towels and swim suits on the floor.

Now for a little yarn...

The Rockin Sock Club May Package is: The Incredibly Shrinking Violet



Simply breathtaking.

Mosaic?

So, I copied Knitterary's Mosaic Me Game. I'm not tagging anyone, but found it to an interesting way to spend my lunch hour.

I had planned on blogging about my weekend, but I left the camera at home...so you'll just have to wait.