Monday, April 30, 2007

Off, On and Frogged




Off the needles:
The Moebius scarf - it needs work! First of all, it's not a real moebius - mine has one and a half twists. Secondly, it needs to be blocked. It is alot more narrow than I want it to be and very long.

The toe-up-sock - this is a small sock to be used for my "adventsocken".

On the needles:
A thong (a gift for my sister-in-law), a pair of toe-up-socks for T., and a dishcloth for my SP10.

Frogged:
The toe-up socks for myself. I realized a did not have enough of the solid blue yarn (used above in the small sock), so I've decided to use that blue as toes and heels in combination with this yarn.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Pysanky

I learned to knit back in the 1970's. For several years during the 80's and 90's I did no knitting at all. In my free time, I enjoyed making pysanky, Ukrainian Easter eggs.

My good friend, Lisa, taught me how to make the eggs. We did not have any Ukrainian background, just a how-to book and a keen interest. My now husband and I shared this pasttime while we were dating. I taught him how to make the eggs and we'd make them as Easter and Christmas gifts.
This year at Easter time, I dug out the old box of eggs and displayed them. The eggs in the ceramic egg crate (a gift from Mom) are large chicken eggs and the egg on the left is a peewee egg from a farm in Arizona. In storage I also have goose and ostrich egg shells waiting to be dyed.
If you ever want supplies for making pysanky get them here.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Six Weird Things

Marsha tagged me for this back in December and I'm finally getting around to it. I must be feeling particularly weird today.

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with "Six Weird Things About Me." People who get tagged need to write a blog entry about their own six weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag six people and list their names. Don’t forget to write "You are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog to find out what that means.

If you are sure you really want to learn six weird things about me, read on.

1. I watch very little TV, but when I do I like watching those Texas Hold 'Em poker tournaments.

2. I like to wash my feet before I go to bed.

3. My career in the fast food industry lasted 12 hours at McDonald's.

4. I don't have any fillings in my teeth.

5. This one is hard to explain. Here goes. When I eat from my plate, I eat around my plate so as not to complete any item entirely. For example, if I have chicken, potatoes and peas on my plate, I would eat some of each until only a bite of each remains. If I start to look low on potatoes, I either serve myself more or take an extra bite of chicken and peas to catch up.

6. I hate hearing the sound of people misusing the words: "fewer" and "less". Off the top of my head, I can't explain the grammatical rule, but I swear I can hear the misuse and it really is annoying to me. It's like hearing fingernails down a chalkboard.

Do I really have to tag six people now, I hate chain letters?

PS - My husband does not have a blog. Shucks - I would definitely tag him. You know that dangly thing at the back of your throat, your uvula. He has two. Now wait a minute, I just checked the spelling of "uvula" and learned that some people have a forked uvula. Maybe his is forked and he's not so weird afterall.

Monday, April 16, 2007

ooh, la, la



Today a package arrived from my Secret Pal. It made it across the Atlanitc, through a mid-April snowstorm and safely to my mailbox. Lucky for me! Look at the contents: cashmere yarn, size 1.5, 5" dpn, "Knitting" magazine from the UK, Belguim chocolates and cookie cutters? Did I mention the cashmere yarn? It is the only cashmere yarn I have ever owned and it is oh, so soft. Take a look at the colorway, it's perfect for me. I just want to keep touching it - I will definitely make something for myself with this yarn. SP10, is the cashmere you sent the 4-ply sock yarn you mention in your note? Have you made socks with cashmere?
I broke into the chocolates so fast, I forgot to photograph them before eating the milk chocolate covered whole hazelnut, see the crumpled foil wrap?
Thank you SP10, I hope you are being well-spoiled by someone.









Sunday, April 15, 2007

A Thong!

I've never worn a thong in my life. So, what was it that struck me about this Lacy Thong in my Interweave Knits Spring 2007 issue? Maybe it was the thong as a quick knit. Or more likely, it was the fact that I recently had some corrective surgery and feel ready for a little lacy, sexy boost.

For whatever reason, I love the result.










Pattern: Laura Rintala, Interweave Knits, Spring 2007
Yarn: Wildflower D.K., col #24
Needles: US 5 and crochet hook D
Start Date: 4/11/07
Finish Date: 4/14/07

Sunday, April 01, 2007

The Moebius Revisited

Friday morning I sat down to CO a moebius scarf. I frogged the first moebius scarf, when my Denise needle came apart and I dropped a bunch of stitches.

I picked up my new 52" Denise cable and carefully followed instructions for the CO. It felt so wonderful. The stitches seemed to take to my needles like soft butter to fresh warm bread. I was in the knitting zone. Oh, yea. This is why I knit.