The rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged me
2) Mention the rules
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself
4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged

The meme:
1) I basically view my dog as my child. When I first got married, I always said ‘no kids, no pets!’ but now I basically have both in one little creature

2) Speaking of being married, I got married one month before I turned 18 and before I graduated.

3)  When shopping in large department stores, I get really overwhelmed and a little anxious since there’s so much to look at and I don’t know where to start!

4) My favorite late night snack is a big bowl of frosted flakes or apple jacks!

5)  I absolutely HATE to clean, yet I get super irritated and frustrated in a messy space and suddenly cleaning doesn’t seem so bad anymore !

6) In middle school to mid high school, I would keep diaries and each diary had a ‘name’ so it felt like I was writing a letter to a close friend … obviously I’m over that since I haven’t named my blog

I tag:
~Shameka
~CanarySanctuary
~Julie of TeamKnit
~HannahBelle
~Eryka
~ChicagoPurl

My job here is done!

Yes, I know! It hasn’t been another month or 4 (!!) in between my last post and this one. (Aren’t you so proud??) I just loved hearing from so many people, even some whose blogs I enjoy as well, in my comments that I want to keep writing posts now!! Thank you all for your sweet compliments! And, it was super awesome to be featured in the knitty professors blog! How cool. Thank both of you ladies for being so dang sweet — I really, truly feel honored to be mentioned on your site!!

I always enjoy a three day weekend – it’s nice to not wake up on Monday mornings and go UGH, I don’t want to go to work today! But this Monday was different. I had the day off, but I couldn’t relax completely – my mother was on the plane for a 10 hour flight to Germany and my whole family in Louisiana, about 1 hour away from New Orleans, decided to weather out Hurricane Gustav and not evacuate. I was so worried that I would lose BOTH of my parents, to extremely different disasters. They’re safe, and I’m so glad. But I don’t ever want to go through that kind of stress again.

My sister in law and I did enjoy a warm, sunny day on the deck knitting, I on a baby jacket for my Mother in Law and she on her first scarf. She is doing awesome and has gotten really far, but now that I’ve shown her quite a few patterns, and only a glimpse into my book/magazine stash, she wants to make everything else now. I’m so excited to have a knitting buddy!! I did pull out a couple of my first scarves and realized how far I’ve come when it comes to my knitting. I must say I have come a long ways, and I love how with everything I knit lately, I’m learning a new technique, a new way to better my knitting and give it a professional flair. There’s even things on my Central Park Hoodie that I wish I didn’t do, and I made that less than a year ago.

Speaking of which, on the 30th of August I started that baby jacket as a gift for my mother in law’s husband’s son’s baby on the way (is there an easier way to say that sentence? lol!). It is SO adorable. Here it is before I completed all of the raglan increases and tacked down the neck hem:

Yesterday alone, I finished the last 3 raglan increase rows, the bodice, the bottom edging and tacked down the neck hem. I want to save more detailed pictures after I’m all done, just in case my M-I-L stumbles upon my blog I want it to be a surprise. But all I can say is WOW… this little jacket is amazing/sooo tiny/sooo cute, all at the same time. I may just make one for myself just to have (no I’m not having a baby, lol! ) I taught myself how to tack up a hem last night (for all of the edging) and I don’t think I want to do hems any other way now. It is SUCH a clean finish!

So, with hems in mind, you remember the shifting sands in progress I showed you last post? Yeah, last week (before I started the baby jacket) I ripped all of my 3-4 inches out and started over to try a provisional cast on/knitted hem since the edge of the scarf inherently rolls like no tomorrow. But now I’m not so sure how in love I am with THIS sort of hem either; it looks a bit bulky. It’s also a teensy bit wider than the body of my scarf…

So now I’m asking you, what should I do? Should I keep going and let blocking be the solution? Or rip back and knit normally and hope that edge doesn’t curl quite so much after blocking?? Orrrrrr, utilize my new hemming skillz (haha) and just tack up the hem, as did Brooklyn Tweed on his shifting sands?? My grandmother’s shifting sands’ ends laid pretty flat with a small little flip at the end after blocking, so I don’t think the natural tendency of stockinette to curl is completely avoidable, but it’s not hideous either. I just wanted to try a clean edge like Brooklyn Tweed did, before I got half way into the scarf and decided that I hated the ends!

My grandma did get her scarf, and this morning my mom called to tell me she is absolutely in love with it. She says she cannot wait till it gets cold so that she can wear it, it is totally her color AND although she is a knitter herself (of socks), she would never be able to make such a beautiful scarf. I am so glad.. I wasn’t expecting such an adoring reaction, though I knew it wouldn’t be a bad one. It’s just so nice to know my grandma, as a knitter, appreciates what I did for her. I know she loves me, even though I’m her only grandchild and that’s kind of a given (lol!) – she still has the pictures I drew for her as a youngin’ hanging on her walls, framed or on the fridge. I haven’t made anything specifically for her for about 14 years now, and I wanted her to have something from me that she knows I didn’t just go to the store and absent-mindedly buy. My mom will be taking pictures of her wearing it, so in about a month I may be able to post some! Until next time everyone Next post, I may just have an FO for you!

I don’t knit much in the summer — I know, shame on me. And, that’s a bad thing because now I have 50 bajillion things I want to make whereas if I knit in the summer, I could have spread all of my ‘must have’ projects out over a couple of months right? Maybe I’ll learn this time!

So what have I been up to? Well, I recently finished my Plath Cropped Cardi and I’m loving it!

Up close with the buttons…

Detail of the stitch pattern…

Cardi in action!

I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece – 3 skeins in Truffle. First time using this yarn and I must say it knits up great and feels really nice. It’s quite heavy, though! And of course, I love the buttons – they just fit. I think it’s how the lines match the lines across the slipped stitches in the bodice of the cardi.

And I just finished a shifting sands scarf for my grandmother in Germany on the 24th. I started on the 19th and as my mom is going to Germany on the 1st of September, I wanted it to go with her so I make sure it gets to my grandma safely. So with the limited time, I had to make sure I had enough time to order yarn/knit up/wash/block/let dry/weave in ends. My determination quickly turned into dread (“I wanna be donnnnne!”) But, it turned out beautiful and now I can’t wait to buy Malabrigo for myself since I’ve never used it before this! I think I will make myself a black or chestnut bucket hat next paycheck to treat myself, but for now I’m making myself a shifting sands scarf (go figure!) using Classic Elite Waterlily in a gorgeous variegated berry tone.

And here’s my shifting sands in progress…

I love that color so much, and the yarn is showing off the cables so nicely!

I’ve also started my first sock, ever! Not too bad for a newbie, yah?

This past weekend, I started to teach my sister in law to knit. She had learned 5 years ago using Lion Brand Homespun. Her scarf was simple garter stitch and was too wide for her liking, so it’s still a UFO and she hasn’t had a want to pick it back up. Anyway, I was showing her some things on Ravelry and we went to Michael’s and picked her up some yarn and some size 8 straights and she’s working on the One Row Handspun Scarf, which will be easy for her but not as plain as garter stitch. The yarn she chose is not a nightmare like Lion Brand Homespun is either. I’m super excited and hopefully she keeps up with it because I have no knitting buds. Seriously. It’s sad

Fall is already here it seems in the ever-rainy Washington State! So hopefully now I’ll be keeping the FO’s coming! I’ve been stalking some of your blogs and thinking ‘maybe I should blog too’ but I haven’t had anything as interesting to write about as some of you. I’m trying though!

As a quick poll — I’m looking into getting a Namaste New Port bag but unsure which color to get: Peacock or Charcoal? I’m not much of a blue-wearing person but the color is just so gorgeous! Until next time

But I do have some updates for you…

I finished the body of my tree jacket, and the fit/length is great! I started to work on the left hand sleeve but then got sidetracked with reading Knitting Without Tears and working on the February Baby Sweater from The Knitter’s Almanac. Both are my first two Elizabeth Zimmermann books and I’ve heard that you either love her or hate her and her chattiness. I have to say she is truly charming and I find myself laughing out loud reading some of the things she wrote. Plus, the knowledge and information she left behind is truly indispensible. I’ve already started sketching out my own sweater designs and now I’m already thinking that I can do them! She is THAT inspiring! But yes, tree jacket will be done, hopefully by the beginning of May! I really love the fit and the color. My only concern is that I didn’t choose the right yarn for it… but I think I will work on that one this evening to just get it off my needles ASAP… I think the baby jacket will have to be grown into, anyway

I also got some advice from my LYS about what to do with my somewhat cowl raglan increases since the arm will be toooo big where it’s at now and still having another inch to increase in. So hopefully I’ll pick that back up soon.. but, look what I got earlier this week:

I am sooo excited to have some copies of this magazine. I treated myself earlier this month and they finally came and I literally want to make EVERYTHING out of them… so I may just put everything on hold and knit something from the new spring copy! If you haven’t seen the contents, check out the preview. Everything in here is to die for!

Something else that was pretty cool this week was the Knitting Daily post about the secrets of the yarn collectors. That was my name and my comment right there in that post – I’m the one who doesn’t know how to collect/stash yarn but I am desparate to start and have one. lol. I even went to my LYS on Thursday AND Friday in search of SOMETHING…. ANYTHING but… I still couldn’t bring myself to buy anything. I guess I’ll still have to work on my inability to buy anything truly due to undecidedness and hesitance. lol. I’m definitely not an impulse shopper, that’s for sure!! Once I pay the taxes/registration on my new car and see how much I’ve got left, I will splurge – believe me! Until next time!

Not a lot of new developments in my life in general, but…. On the knitting front, I’m currently, but slowly, working on the Somewhat Cowl. I’m almost at the point that I can separate the sleeves from the body but at the point I’m at now, the stitches belonging to the sleeve I’ve figured out will make a sleeve 1.5-2″ bigger in circumference than my actual arm, and I’ve read the comments of quite a few people who have complained about the arms being too big. They’re that much bigger than mine already and I’ve still got another inch in which to do increases! So right now, that project is on hold until I figure out what I can do with it. Knit/purl backwards to the spot that the circumference is only .5-1″ greater than my arm circumference and then work even on the arms but only increase on the body? Bleh, who knows..

Another thing is I’m currently teaching myself to crochet so that I can make the Hourglass Jacket from Stitch Diva Studios. I’ve been practicing like no tomorrow using video tutorials on YouTube and I think I’m getting the hang of it! I bought the Happy Hooker book to learn from as well. If you haven’t seen it, here is the Hourglass Jacket – I’m DYING to make it and I’m determined to learn to crochet just to make this cute little number!!! Here are some practice swatches – they aren’t the best looking in the world but I just taught myself this last night so bear with me! The weight of the yellow yarn is not right and the Blue Sky Alpacas is more along the lines of the yarn called for:

How am I doing for a newbie?? I now know how to chain, Single Crochet, Double Crochet and do broomstick lace! All self taught! *smiles prouldy* anyway….

Oh another exciting thing – I’ve got my first pattern up on Ravelry! It’s not the most complex pattern, and I made it up like, four years ago when I was teaching myself how to do cables… but It’s really exciting to see something I made go up in people’s queues and in their favorites! I can’t wait to see peoples’ FOs! Here’s my original, four-year-old cable mini scarf:

I really adore that little scarf and wear it more than anything else I’ve ever made, besides my Princess Mitts which, speaking of which, a MASTIFF (yes, one of the most gigantic dogs on the planet!….) had in her mouth the other day. I washed the mitts (they were dripping with drool.. ew) and have yet to see if she tore a hole in the one that she was focusing on. Hope nothing is damaged

Until next time ladies (and gents, if you’re reading!!)

Anyway, so recovery day two (Sunday) - I’m able to do some things around the house so I’ve got the laundry machine going and the house to myself – except my seven and a half month old pitbull puppy and a headstrong, mischievious kitty who belongs to my sister in law. This cat is funny. He’s completely snow white with only a patch of grey on his head between his ears which goes perfectly across his forehead and down the back of his neck and then ends, like a hairline. It’s even got a white line down the middle in the front that looks like his ‘hair’ is parted! It looks like a really, really bad toupee. Anyway, so I’m sitting on one of our couches with three balls of yarn that I managed to get tangled up a few months ago in an effort to make a multi color scarf resembling one I saw at American Eagle when I hear the pitter patter of little feet running around the main floor (which is upstairs). I go to the bottom of the stairs and look up, calling “Naaaaaaaaaaaaasssshhh” (my dog) and all of a sudden I see a blitz of white running past the entry way to the stairs and then my dog chasing that mean little cat (who can be quite sweet when he isn’t scratching up my puppy’s little nose!) So, I get my dog to come downstairs and lay down and that cat comes padding down the stairs, snooping around the couches checking everything out with this look of pure victory on his face while my dog, who knows not to move from his spot, stares on sadly. Animals are so funny to watch. I’ve had cats all my life and Nash is my first dog – he’s what I’ve been looking for all along, though. A little companion who wants to hang out with me and cuddle. He’s really attached and maybe a little needy. I always got sad and frustrated with my cats didn’t want to be near me (I was younger, lol). But, it’s so funny to have both animals under the same roof. They really are as different as night and day, but they enjoy each others’ company most of the time so it makes their friendship rather cute.

Now on to the knitting thing!

a little dark – sorry

Tree jacket is progressing slowly at the moment, especially with the lull in my knitting this last week. I tried it on again though and here’s how it’s looking at the measurement from underarm to hem that the designers say to start casting off. I think I’ll go another 2 inches or so. I don’t like short sweaters at all. Anyway, I didn’t do any shaping (it’s not really recommended with this pattern and I didn’t want to mess anything up) but its fitting me quite well. Hopefully my self-taken pictures are okay. I should be done with this soon but I didn’t have the nerve to keep working on it so I’m doing some swatching with some Moda Dea Washable Wool that I bought from Joann’s months ago for a mini scarf or something.  The weather is warming up a bit and the sky is getting a little more blue everyday so I’m wanting to make something a little lighter than a sweater after Tree Jacket is finished before moving on the Somewhat Cowl. I’m thinking some little shrugs (finish my ribbed lace bolero maybe?), or the big, almost daring Snezi shrug from Sensual Knits. I’m definitely feeling an itch to make some springy/summery camis…. summertime tunic and vixen camisole especially. Anyone ever use Debbie Bliss Cathay and like it? I may use that for the tunic but I’m not sure – maybe a mercerized cotton or something. I joined the yarn of the month club yesterday so that should be interesting – get to play with new yarns and swatch and see what I like without nagging everyone else for their opinion!! Here are the colors I’m considering, though, for the summertime tunic. What do you guys think??

 a lovely mercerized cotton in wine or  a cotton/silk blend in orange (or black?) (Horrible pictures, sorry)

Anyway, this is by far my longest post so I’ll shut up now! Ciao!

Anyway, I’m finally back to my computer. I’ve been very, very sick since Tuesday and I finally made it to urgent care yesterday so now I’m feeling a little bit better. I had a stomache flu, and was unable to eat basically since Tuesday evening… so I lost about 7 pounds of water weight and had to have an IV to kind of “perk” me back up, as the doctor said. I’m feeling okay but I’m still laying around and relaxing, drinking only gatorade and water and only eating when I can and what I can stomach. It got pretty scary. I thought I was going to die… but I’m still here! I wasn’t able to knit either, so I have no updates on tree jacket. I only have an inch left on the body portion though. I’ll get it done for you, Lara! Maybe this evening I’ll be up to knitting a bit  

So with that in mind, I’ll turn to you all with a serious dye-lot related question. Okay, so – when I decided to make the Somewhat Cowl, I was able to ask Wendy some questions – about sizing, yarn substitutes, etc. When I decided to just go for it and use Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk, she offered to sell me four hanks she had if I bought two more from an online store. So I did… and my dyelots are a bit off. In dimmer lighting, they look the same, but I think when it’s all knitted together, you would definitely be able to tell. Problem is, I need 6 skeins for the pattern, I got 4 from Wendy and I bought the additional two from an online store. Then, I changed my mind and added an extra skein to the order to make sure I had a sufficient amount and instead of three, I guess my order got processed twice, I got 5 – one short of the pattern recommendation and one more than what I got from Wendy. Should I order another skein from the online store to make the dyelot complete for the sweater? What do you guys think I should use for my Somewhat Cowl? Here’s a picture of my two dyelots mixed together: Wendy’s dyelot is the first and third skein and the other dyelot is the second and 4th skein.

Normal Lighting:

With Flash Treatment:

I’ll be looking forward to your responses! Now it’s off to work out for 30 minutes and bring my always sick puppy to the vet. Poor little guy has like, a blood bubble, on the inside of his leg and always has rashes. His skin is so sensitive!

Yeah, that’s what I thought. And as much as I love the somewhat cowl and as much anticipation as I am in over it, the tree jacket has greedily taken all of my attention. This baby is growing daily! Inches. DAILY! The rounds are just flying by and it’s coming along so nicely. This pic was taken yesterday. Surprisingly, It’s grown 4-5″ since then! [Don't pay attention the my ugly facial expression there ;x] Guess I’ll be having another FO here pretty soon!

I realized the other day that I never posted good front pictures of my central park hoodie, so here’s an okay one (I have quite a few in my notebook on Rav!):

That was the one day I wore the thing to work. And now that I look at the outfit, that shirt totally screams “MATERNITY”. Yeah, NOT  prego! lol! Anyway, I decided not to do a closure, for now… but the thing is, I just realized I’m not one for sweater jackets. Like, I’ve only owned one sweater with a zipper and it got worn a couple of times back in the 9th or 10th grades and then put in storage. My Somewhat Cowl and Tree Jacket will definitely get more wear. What are you all workin’ on??

This morning, weighing in after about 2 weeks of regular exercise, I realized I have lost three pounds. Better yet, looking in the mirror I can tell I‘m slowly but surely losing some inches and my belly is lookin’ a bit flatter. My calves are gettin’ all nice and chiseled and well, I definitely don’t look as lumpy as I did two weeks ago. I feel so good about myself – like I’m really doing something for ME and I’m so energized. Annnd I feel pretty darn confident about knitting my next sweater because I won’t have to worry about my hips being 3-4″ more in circumference than my bust! Maybe just 2-3, since I’m not a small frame girl but still.. 1-2 inches can make a difference! And look – the Reese’s is still begging me to eat it, but I’m not even tempted anymore

On a knitting-note, my next adventure in sweater land will be Wendy Bernard’s Somewhat Cowl. Sure, I’m working on the tree jacket at the moment but I know once I get that Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk in my hands, that’ll steal my knitting-time-focus and it’ll be all I do until I’m finished. Cool thing is, I was able to buy some BSA from Wendy herself. How awesome is that? I’ll share pics of the yummy goods when I get them!

 My theme song of the day is definitely “I Feel Good”… ooohh yeah !

ETA: So I got the blue sky alpaca silk in the mail today and wow, wow, wow it is gorgeous and feels so nice!!! After opening the envelope, I pet it for a while, had my husband and sister in law touch it and then raced to Joann’s before they closed to get some bamboo circs.  As I was winding up that little ball you see there in the picture, I enjoyed every inch of alpaca-silky goodness… and of course I cast on right away (without knitting a gauge swatch, more on this in a second……) I don’t think I can knit a sweater with any weight other than DK ever again. These stitches… so tiny and neat! This yarn feels amazing. Too bad, almost two inches into it I realized I’m getting 5 sts to the inch, when I’m supposed to get 6. Oh well. At least I know this sweater is going to look great when it’s all done! I almost hate frogging these first two inches, but it’s going to be WAYYYYYYY too small if I don’t. Atleast I get to relive the awe while starting to knit up this yarn :)  Just remember, always knit a gauge swatch.  Yeah, yeah. These knitting pros are always right!

My puppy whose not so much the size of a puppy anymore, my knitting, and my laptop in bed = HEAVEN! - now all I need is to be getting a nice back rub from hubby while surrounded by all of these things! Too bad I already got a neck rub earlier Until next time!!