Felt Like Knitting

Last April post

Goodbye to April, hello May!  Here's a final project with orange and yellow.  This is an experimental vase that started out as a pencil cup.  I've read before to make sure to leave the yarns loose in the back when doing stranded knitting and I can see why.  I do like the way it pulls in at the top, but it was harder to block and the beads don't lie flat.  It turned out better than my experimental bowl.  That didn't even make it into a post!  :)

Borders sent me a 30% off e-mail coupon so of course I had to go out and use it.  I kind of wish they would stop sending me those things!  :)  I couldn't decide on which book to buy, so I bought two books:  Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and Knitting Rules!  I have to return LMKG to the library, so I bought my own.  And KR just looked really funny.  I read the bit about the traits of an obsessed knitter and could relate.

In non-knitting news, our associate pastor is leaving at the end of the month.  He has been called to start a mission church in another part of town.  I know this is a wonderful opportunity for our church to support him and help reach out to other people, but I'm sad that he won't be with us anymore.  I'm also apprehensive about what this will mean for our contemporary worship since our senior pastor is pretty traditional.

Family Room progress

The only knitting I did today was three rows on a little Fun Fur scarf I'm making for a friend's daughter.  (Katie told me one day that she thinks Fun Fur isn't very much fun to work with.  I agree.  Do you enjoy it?)

But, my husband and I did manage to work on hanging the curtains in the family room.  We're dealing with a bay window, so it's been a little tricky.  Soon I'll be able to knit at night without feeling like I'm on display or something.  (You know, people do look in while they are walking by.  I've waved at them many times.)

Next is the fun part - accessorizing!  I'm not always good at this.  I need some people from HGTV to come in.  :)  Our lamps are old and falling apart, I'd like a nice piece of art for over the mantle, and I have plans to make pillows and a throw.  The pillows and throw are going to be made from wool sweaters that I've felted.  Right now I probably only have enough to cover from my lap to my toes if I sit very still and don't move.  I think I've been shrinking them a little too much.  But the throw will be sturdy and warm!  Here is one of the places I got the idea.

Sock progress

                                              

Do you see any?  NO!  I am so angry at these socks right now.  Knitting has never made me feel this way before.  It usually is a soothing and relaxing activity and I thought this time I would really complete some socks.  I have great yarn, the right needles, a pattern that works with both, the right gauge, etc.  Today I finished knitting the 1.5 inches of ribbing and started the cuff part of the pattern.  I knitted rows 1 - 5 just fine.  I thought I had knit row 6 okay, too, but somehow I added extra stitches.  When I tried to unknit, it didn't work.  I ripped back to the ribbing and do you think I could get that back on the teeny tiny needles?  No way.  The whole thing is ripped out and back on the skein where it will stay for a few days.  To make matters worse, I have managed to poke holes (little slits actually) into both of my index fingers.  I've been pushing the needles into them.  Bad technique, I guess.

Sorry for the complaining.  Nobody else in my household is up right now to listen to me gripe.  I think I will knit something else for a minute or two just to give myself some hope.  I probably should have done that in the first place instead of trying to knit a new sock pattern late at night.

Grrrrrr................

Mushrooms and a sock

One might not think that mushrooms have anything to do with socks (except for maybe foot fungus or something - yuck!).  Anyway...today my daughter had to finish a research paper about mushrooms.  (She attends an independents studies school for homeschoolers and today was a work-at-home day.)  She was on the computer almost all day, and I was too lazy to fire up the laptop since it was in the trunk of my car.  So I cleaned, finished a baby blanket, and started the new socks.  The pattern may not be as visible with the yarn I'm using, but I really like this pattern.  Maybe I'll actually finish this pair!

                                                

Start-itis

Why is it so much fun to start projects?  I have a terrible time finishing most projects and knitting seemed to be a hobby that I could handle.  Knit one thing and finish it.  Move on to the next thing.  But now it's like any other thing I've ever done.  Knit something and finish it.  Start something new.  See something else to try and start it.  And so on...

I guess part of this is due to beautiful yarn.  And part of it is due to lovely knitting books.  And a big chunk of it is due to hanging out with you great knit bloggers.  You all knit such beautiful things that I want to try them all!  Here's what I ended up getting yesterday in addition to the Lorna's Laces for the prize.  This yarn is for the next three things I will knit (unless something else tempts me first!).

1.  2.  3.

1.  Lorna's Laces for socks for my daughter.

2.  Cascade 220 the some felted flowers for .  This Noni bag is called Garden Party and the pattern was given to me by a great lady I met in the Felted Bag KAL.  Thank you, Maggie!  This will be for Project Spectrum for May (green).

3.  Misti Cotton for my Lily Blouse.

It's all I can do not to cast on the socks or the sweater.  But I must finish or frog my other projects first.  Hmmm...frogging would be quicker.  :)

Please tell me that some of you have this problem, too.  I'm not the only person that starts more than I can finish at one time, am I?

Choice of prizes

The shopping trip was fun, but a little hurried.  There's still plenty of time in the contest to tell me what you would buy if you had $100 to spend.  Later tonight I'll post what I bought (right now I have to leave in a few minutes to attend a science exhibition.)  But, here's the prize now.

The randomly selected winner will receive her/his choice of two hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn (color Bucks Bar) or four skeins of Patons Classic Merino yarn (colors are Royal Purple and Leaf Green, great for felting).  (Please note that one of the skeins of Leaf Green Patons has a slub in it.  Aack!  I just noticed this!  It should still felt fine.)

    

It was hard to choose a prize!  So many people are sock knitters but others like felting (or sweaters or scarves or...).  Either prize is in upcoming Project Spectrum colors.

Thanks to those knit bloggers that have already played!  The deadline is May 1 at 9:00 PM Eastern time.

The "What would you buy?" contest

Tomorrow I am going to spend a $100 gift certificate at a LYS and I only have 45 - 60 minutes in which to do it.  My indecision over what to buy makes me wonder what you would buy.  I know I can easily spend this amount of money, but the short time frame is making me uneasy.

So, tell me:

If you only had one hour and had to spend $100, what would you buy in a yarn store? 

The winner will receive a prize, but it's a mystery until I buy it tomorrow!  I'll post a picture in the afternoon.  :)

Here are the details:

Post your entry in the comments section below this post. 

I need to be able to get in touch with the winner, so please fill in your e-mail address in the appropriate section when you are sending your comment.

The winner will be randomly selected by an impartial judge (my husband, using a random number generator) on Monday, May 1 at 9:00 PM Eastern time.  I will announce the winner on my blog either that night or the next afternoon.

Please tell your knit blog friends!  I have enjoyed the contests I've seen online and I think it'll be more fun when lots of people play.  (Hmmm...although I guess this will decrease your odds of winning!)

Thanks for playing!

Summer sweaters

On Saturday I picked up two sweater patterns:  Bistro Shirt and Lili Blouse.  I'll be knitting one of them in a sweater class I want to take.  I just can't fit it into my schedule right now...

April Project Spectrum bag

There aren't many advantages to outgrowing your clothes.  But, I just discovered one.  I can make handbags from the things I don't wear anymore!

I had a linen tank top that I really liked, but it was a little too short, a little too tight in certain places, showed my arms, etc.  But, I loved the fabric from which it was made - an orange paisley.  After a few hours of work, I now have an orange paisley handbag!

   

The whole thing cost me a whopping $2.75 for 1/2 yard of beaded trim.  I had everything else here.  Since the linen was a bit flimsy, I added some thin batting and quilted it a bit.  Wonder what else I don't wear anymore?

Let sleeping dogs lie and don't lie with sleeping dogs!

I have a knitting picture to share, but first some words of wisdom.  Don't sleep with your dog.  Last night we had more thunderstorms roll through.  Since my husband had to get up early for work, I said I would sleep on the couch and listen for the weather radio to go off.  That way he wouldn't be awakened by the radio in the middle of the night.  I made the mistake of letting our dog (a pug) sleep with me on the couch.  She was all over the place...beside my knees, at my feet, on her side, on her tummy.  And she snores like a freight train.  What does a tornado sound like?  A freight train.  Yes, at one point I woke up wondering if the weather was that bad and it was only my dog snoring.

Okay, enough of my whining.  I'd like to share a picture of the completed baby sweater.  I'm not sure of the best way to photograph a sweater.  If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them!  I made this large enough for my friend's baby to wear it next winter, so it may look like it was knit for a toddler.  I did block it, but now I'm thinking I really should go ahead and wash it even though I don't want to.

         

               Pattern:  Boat Neck Sweater from Baby Knits for Beginnners by Debbie Bliss       

               Yarn:  Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (color 202)

               Needles:  Sizes 7 and 8

Today I bought two short sleeve sweater patterns.  I'll tell more about them tomorrow and show some pictures, too.