A Fun Little Diversion

It may look like a scarf, but it will be a clutch bag after it's blocked and sewn. I found a great place to buy wooden handles online.
4.75" RING WOOD HANDLE
They seem to have a little bit of everything. Check it out!

Funny story regarding Clapotis II..... When we were at the beach, I wore my clapotis to dinner and when we were walking back to our rooms my sister said, "I just love that shawl. If I paid you, would you make me one?" As it happened, I took along the clapotis that I made for her birthday and I was going to give it to her a few days later. After she said that, I couldn't wait and I had to give it to her that evening. Boy was she surprised! I think she really liked it. I'm glad I got it finished.

Kiawah Island Knitting

I'm not sure what happened to this photo or why it's so blurry but hopefully you can see I made good progress on the sock at Kiawah. I didn't have much time to knit but I got some in between the beach and dinner one evening. Kiawah is gorgeous. And The Sanctuary is awesome. But it's back to reality for me!

Cascade 220

Dusty blue on the left vs. brighter blue on the right. This is the how the sweater is getting finished. I'd say without actually measuring there is about 5 or 6 inches with the brighter yarn on the sleeve. I think if I only wear it at night I'll be fine. :-)

I'm off to Kiawah! See ya'll next Monday!

Almost there with big blue....

Finished except for sewing up the seams. It's a perfect fit and it will be sooooo warm! 100% wool. I love it. I noticed that in bright light the different color blue on the sleeve bottom is noticeable but in regular light you really can't see it. I don't care. I'm just glad it's finished. And how much of the original blue did I have left over when I finished the roll neck? See for yourself:
















In a perfect world, that neck would have had a few more rows on it but I'll take what I can get without using the brighter blue right at eye level. That would stand out like a sore thumb. It's doable the way it is I think. I was VERY lucky here.

Socks and scarves.... here I come!! I have sock yarn out the waazuu and I'm diggin in!

Clapotis II Finished!

And once again the lovely Cate agreeing to model the (finally) finished Clapotis II. I worked some magic on the "flaw" and it is no longer an issue so it will go to my sister for her birthday on the 28th. I just love it but I'm glad it's finished.

I worked on the the "big blue" monstrosity sweater last night after I got the clapotis finished. I finished the sleeve in the brighter Cascade 220 that my Seattle friend was kind enough to send. To me it's very noticeable but it might not be so apparent to other people. The good thing is that it is two yarns held together and the other one is the same. Tonight I will finish the rolled neck with what I hope is enough left over of the original blue. I just have to pray that there is enough because I really don't want to have to use that brighter blue around the neck. I think that we can safely say that by this time, if I was going to find the Cascade 220 I needed, I would have. It's just not out there. I exhausted every avenue and I'm just tired of looking at an unfinished sweater.

I also took stock of my stash last night. While I KNOW it's not as bad as some, it's pretty bad. I will dig into this stuff now to finished up some Christmas gifts and then concentrate on some baby stuff. I've got babies (of nieces) coming in January and February. One is a girl. YAY. So much easier to knit for girls. After babies..... ROGUE!!

Irish Yarn

I called Ireland this morning to order the other two skeins of yarn I will need to complete Rogue. knit this cabled hooded pullover :: rogue :: the girl from auntie I got a little old man on the phone with a decidedly yiddish accent with just a hint of brogue. Geez, that was a first! He was just the cutest thing. An Irish Jewish Elderly MAN selling yarn in an Irish yarn shop. I think he's one of a kind!

Of course it will be a hundred years before I attempt to start that project with everything else I have to do before that. But I'm still excited about it. It will have a special meaning since my daughter, who doesn't knit, bought the yarn for me in Ireland. Speaking of her, it hasn't been a good week for the O'Connors.... she lost ALL of her digital photos from Ireland when her computer hard drive crashed last week. She is going to try to have them recovered by someone who specializes in that so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her. She called me crying when it happened. And THAT is why I sent all my digital photos to snapfish.com last week and had them put on CD's. (I don't have a burner) At least I feel safer about that now.

On the stolen vehicle front, we heard that two other vehicles were taken in our little town in the last month as well. Both in broad daylight and at lunchtime. I think we have a thief stealing cars on his lunch hour! None of the other ones have turned up either so I guess we better get car shopping and in a hurry.

I'm going to stop at the yarn shop today to pay my yearly "KnitKnuts" dues. (our little group)
If I was smart I'd just mail it in. God knows what all I'll buy while I'm there that I DO NOT NEED. :-)

Irish Appreciation Day

Well I know from the sound of it you would figure it has some ethnic meaning, however, we just had a little fun day appreciating the dog.... whose name is Irish. My daughter said, "Mom, Irish is 9 years old and we never even celebrated her birthday once." This is true. So, we devoted a day to spoiling the dog a few Sundays ago. And since there is no knitting news to speak of, I'm subjecting you to this. She got new toys, doggie ice cream, and a trip to the park. The whole thing was so ridiculous that I didn't even have any trouble getting grown kids, spouses, and significant others to appear. I think they came just to find out if I was nuts enough to actually do it. But they got a great brunch out of it afterwards.

I said there was no knitting news, but actually there is. I screwed up Clapotis II big time over the weekend. It's funny. I never had one minutes problem with it the first time around but over the weekend I found myself one stitch off on a row. Do you think I could find the problem? No. So, I did what any novice knitter would do. Whatever I felt like doing at the time. And what happened when I dropped the next stitch? Well, it ran down the piece alright. And the whole thing started to unravel at the edge. Obviously it was not a stitch that was supposed to be dropped. So, I stopped the bleeding at the bottom with a slip stitch to hold the thing together and I think from here on in it will be okay. I dropped the next stitch and it was successful. So, now I think that I will keep this one too because it is "flawed". I can wear it but I wouldn't want to give it as a gift.

And in case you were wondering, our van has not been found which really bites. I keep expecting to wake up and find it sitting outside the house, returned by a remorseful individual who saw the error of his ways and wanted to repent and beg forgiveness. Yeah. Right.

Anyhow...this is what it looks like. You have to wonder what the attraction was.

Never a Dull Moment

I'll start this story by telling you that I live in Hollidaysburg, PA which is the county seat of Blair County. It is a picturesque, historic little town. Crime is low. Sure, things happen here as in every community in the country but real crime is pretty rare.

I live on a tree lined street beside a big stone church in an area that can boast of few problems at any given time. I actually live in the historic district with a plaque on my house that is supposed to mean that the house is somewhat special but what it really means is that we can't do the improvements we'd like to due to a bunch of bleeding heart preservationists wh0 have a stroke everytime we mention the words "vinyl siding".

Anyhow, our car was stolen on our lovely street today, in broad daylight, right in front of our house. Were the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked? Yep. Have we always done that when we knew we would be going back out shortly? Yep. Is that stupid in this day and age? Yep.

But in our defense, living in a community such as this spoils you to the point of stupidity.

Stay tuned.

HELP....

me get these two sweaters out of my system! I have 4 projects in progress, about 30 rolling around in my head, and I can't get these two out of my mind... and don't forget about the Irish yarn and Rogue! Have I mentioned baby projects? We're having a population explosion in this family currently and I have to/want to knit for babies too! There definitely are not enough hours in the day to knit.

Maybe I can knit on vacaton... I don't know... I'm not much of a beach knitter. Does anyone like to knit on the beach? I just think sand and suntan lotion don't mix too well with yarn. I'm more of a beach reader than a beach knitter. In any case, Kiawah Island on Aug. 23rd and I CAN'T WAIT. This trip is my sister's birthday gift to me. This is a BIG birthday folks. I think this was my sister's way of keeping me from jumping off a bridge in a fit of depression over reaching the half century mark.

Close up

I took this photo just to make sure I could. My old camera wouldn't do a close up but this new one seems to work okay. This project is coming along. I love the colors. I don't think I'll have any problem getting it finished before Aug. 28th. You would think this would be boring but the pattern is addictive!

I need some suggestions for a good baby project. Or a good baby pattern book. Send some my way! Thanks!

Vogue Knitting - Fall 2005

A quick critique... because I only have 15 minutes to leave for an appointment!

1. winsome eyelet pullover - Cute but I don't like bell sleeves. I wouldn't wear it and I wouldn't knit it.

2. circle cardigan - very creative and cute. Not me. I wouldn't wear it but I think it would be tons of fun to knit.

3. devil-may-care tie - there isn't much I like about that at all. Not the shape, not the color.. nope... nada.

4. Debbie Bliss cardigan - That is cute. But I don't like sweaters with a tie closure.

5. stunning gloves - stunning, yes. practical no. I think of gloves as being practical. I'd never wear them and I certainly wouldn't take the time to make them.

6. ankle brushing skirt - Way too big a project. Way, way too big. And I'd never wear it.

7. Bell sleeve pullover - what did I say about bell sleeves??

8. Sasha Kagan's top and hat - Love it. But it's too complicated for me and just something I would aspire to eventually ... but not anytime soon.

9. Purple sweater - LOVE IT! But I don't like the neck. Love the design, don't love the neck.
Did I mention I don't like the neck?

10. Orange cable cardigan - Love the sweater. I'd take the time to make this one. But not in orange.

11. red cable pullover - too... um.... trendy? I don't like the ruffled bottom or sleeve caps.

12. blue spiral cable pullover - there is not one thing I don't like about this. I'd wear it, I'd knit it, I'd buy that yarn to do it.

13. cascade 220 form fitting cardigan - someone pick me up off the floor. I think I fainted. It makes me want to lose more weight just to wear it. It's incredible. And I love Cascade 220.... especially when it occurs to me to buy enough of it for the entire project.

14. Chunky short cable cardigan... here again, love it, would wear it, would knit it, and I'd do it in that exact yarn. Sorry fiber snobs... but you have to admit... it looks great.

15. shawl - Well it reminds me of my failure: Michaela. I love it. It's fabulous. It would scare me after what I've been through with lace. Maybe ritalin would help.

16. Turkish cape - now that is just plain cute but I wouldn't go there. Too many color changes for me.

17. Rectangle wrap - just ho hum in my opinion. I'm not into fringey things.

18. Another lace shawl - I love it. I wish someone would make it for me so I wouldn't have to make it myself.

19. ditto above

20. knit suit. - classy looking. I'd certainly never take the time to knit it and I probably wouldn't wear it once I did.... and wouldn't that JUST KILL YOU if you went to all that trouble?

21. black and white cardigan - this is so me it's scary. I have to talk myself out of buying black and white when I shop because I have a tendency to ONLY buy black and white. I think I'd be more inclined to buy a sweater like this than take the time to make it.

22. michael kors turtleneck - very nice. I'd wear it. My husband certainly wouldn't.

23. knit coat - awesome. I'd kill for that. (well, ok, I'm exaggerating) I just love it. But it's something I know I'd quit in the middle of. Big and boring knit.... but worth it in the end.

24. tiny tank - there's something about that that reminds me of Knitt.com's "W" that I have on hold right now. But I don't like that deep V on this one and I'd never wear it.

25. retro design vest thingy - wow... takes me back to high school. And that was LONG time ago. It's cute. I think my daughters would like it.

26 - seed stitch vest - I'm just not a vest person but that's cute.

27. slip stitch vest - very cute design, very cute. I wish I liked vests because that's one I'd do if I did.

28. checkerboard fair isle - another vest - cute, but not for me.

29. and 30. - sporty hoodies - They are just adorable. If I didn't work and had all the time in the world to knit, I'd do them for my daughters. I don't see that happening in this lifetime.

31. racer top - awww... that's adorable. I'd think about that for cate and kelly.

32. hooded pullover - love it. Love the design, love the color. It's so wearable. I'd make that.

33. - arm warmers. -they're kidding, right? arm warmers? really? arm warmers? I'd be laughing too if I had to model them.

Weekend Knitting

I knit for about 5 hours on Clapotis II yesterday. A few more rows and I'll drop the first stitch. The colors are nice and should go with about anything solid. And speaking of Clapotis.... I have been in search of a beige Sheath dress to go with my green one for months now and I came across one on ebay about a week ago. It was my size, new, AKA Eddie Bauer, so I ordered it. It came on Saturday and I can't believe my good luck. It fits like a dream, looks like a dream, and it's exactly what I wanted. And are you ready for this???? It was $17.99!!!! It will be perfect for some functions that I have coming up in the near future. Things like that usually don't happen to me.

I was evaluating my yarn stash over the weekend. It's out of control. So, I am vowing NOT to buy any more yarn (except the Irish yarn for Rogue) until after I use up at least half of this stash. It's taking over my spare room AND my living room. There should be some sort of an organization to help people with this addiction.

Hi. My name is Holly and I'm addicted to yarn.

No Knitting News....

Wow I have nothing! I was tempted to do some stash enhancement just so I'd have something to talk about. But instead of buying yarn, today I broke down and bought a new DIGITAL CAMERA!!! yay!!! I can only hope that my future photos are much better than the previous ones. I stuck with Fuji. Got a good deal on a Fujifilm FinePix A345. I really liked my Fuji but it just wore out. I use it a lot for work and play and it's a dinosaur as far as technology goes these days. It is only a 1.3 megapixel! I was way overdue for a new one. I ordered it online at Circuit City but I can just stop at our local store on my way home from work and pick it up. It was neat because it was a "web only" special, would have been $20.00 more if I had gone to the store to purchase it, but I can pick it up at the store for the "web special" price after ordering it online.

I don't think I'll get much knitting accomplished this weekend either. My daughter and son in law are coming home and I'm babysitting the monster dog. (one year old golden retreiver with energy out the wazoo) All the kids and their significant others are trekking off to Kennywood tomorrow for some sibling bonding so it's just me, DH, and the dogs holding down the fort. Irish and Zoe are not too crazy about each other so it should be an interesting weekend.

What kind of needles?

You are "turbo" charged.Fast moving and classy, you get things done with
power and grace. Your expensive tastes can be
deceiving, since what you really value is
quality and efficiency. As you're careening
around those corners in life, finishing a dozen
knitted objects each month, stop and smell the
roses. Don't miss the beauty of process!

hmmm.... expensive tastes, yes. dozen finished objects each month, no. I really should stop from time to time to smell the roses though.

What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by

Slow but steady.....

progress on Clapotis II. I figured you really don't need to see a photo of clapotis with a few more rows on than the last photo, right? It's just a bigger "V" at this point. My husband's brother and his wife are visiting from Florida so there hasn't been much time to knit. And who feels like knitting when it's a gazillion degrees out anyhow? Holy Heck! Turn the heat off! I can't stand it. All I can say is Thank God for air conditioning. I don't know how people live without it in this heat.

I got my red Soleil back from the seamstress the other day. She re-did the thing a la Bonnie Marie (? was that the name?) It fits now but the shoulders look a little funky. I am so tempted to rip those things and do a kitchener closing. But with my luck I'd just make it even worse so I'll probably let it alone. It will sit in my drawer forever because I won't get rid of it since I made it but I'll probably never wear it because of the shoulder funkiness. (is that a word?)

Work has been Gawd-awful lately. One problem after another. From radon to roof problems and people bitching and moaning about anything and everything. It would be nice if I had the power to make everyone happy and agreeable to everything but it doesn't work that way. I think I was due for some rocky roads since things were going so smoothly for so long. It tends to go in cycles. In real estate, so much is out of the agent's control but who is the first person in the line of fire when something goes wrong? You got it. Moi. So why do I love it??? :-)

Third Time's A Charm

If you'll recall, I came home from Florida to find my second clapotis pulled off the needles and in a stringy mess on the love seat in my living room where I left it. I don't know who or what was responsible for the destruction but I didn't ask questions. I figured that if I was dumb enough to leave it sit there, I shouldn't be surprised to find it in that condition upon my return to the insane asylum I call home. (Think Malcolm In The Middle and you get the picture) Anyhow, since I have failed miserably with the lace project, I decided to get this thing movin again and finish it for my sister's birthday next month. I am again reminded how much fun this pattern is to knit. I just like the sequence of stitches.



I got the pattern for the felted purse in the mail on Saturday. It calls for acrylic handles and I'm almost sure the one I saw in the store had knitted handles. For some reason I don't like those plastic handles on knitted bags so I will have to fashion some type of a knitted handle for it. It shouldn't be too difficult even with my limited skills! Buy pattern here:
Hand Knit Purse Patterns, Felted Purse Patterns


I measured the yarn from Ireland using a tip from Jillz (thank you Jillz!). Turns out I'm going to be just short for Rogue. So I sent an email off to Ireland asking if I can buy just one skein but I think the answer will be no and I will have to buy another bag. But it's not like I'll never use the rest of it if I have to do that. Just more really, really good stash! Right?

Off topic, we got brave yesterday and ripped the carpeting off the stairs to the second floor in our house. (old Victorian circa 1891) We had no idea what we would find. I am sort of pleasantly surprised. The top of each step is an oak hardwood that was never painted over. The risers are painted white. The wood is in semi-okay condition. It is splitting in some places and will need to be sanded down and filled in with wood putty but I think I can get it to look half decent. Of course this will take away from my knitting time and I'm not real happy about that. But it is definitely not my husband's thing so I guess it will be my project. The dog is not loving this change in her little world. The bare steps are freaking her out.

The Weight Watcher's report is that I lost 10 lbs. so far. Yippee! I have 28 days and counting until I have to put a bathing suit on so the HEAT IS ON!!! I have decided that Weight Watchers is definitely the way to go. Because my work schedule is so insane, I went to weigh in the last few weeks but didn't stay for the meetings. I was losing willpower and determination and when I did finally attend the meeting on Saturday it really helped. Listening to all these people who have SO far to go and hearing them talk about their progress is really motivating. You think, hey, if they can stay positive knowing they have to lose 100 lbs. , then surely I can stay positive to lose 20.

Whoa! Majorly bad day at work... majorly!

Can you say wine? And lots of it tonight? What is it with people this week? I'm not into astrology but somebody's moon got messed up with somebody's stars or the axis isn't turning right or the house of the 7th moon isn't lining up with the galaxy or something like that. Whatever it is it's BAD, really BAD!!!

Lace II - Frogged!

Well, I hated it. It was going okay but I just hated the way it looked. I'm going to put that yarn away for now and forget about a shawl. It obviously is not meant to be right now. So the good news it that I can start working on my sister's clapotis tonight and over the weekend. The aran scarf for my boss is coming along but it's a boring knit. That will be a good "take along" project for when I need something to do at an Open House or waiting for clients. I do like the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran yarn.

The yarn shop in Ireland never answered my inquiry about whether or not I have enough yarn for Rogue. Wouldn't it be absolutely terrible to get that 3/4 of the way finished and then run out? And why don't they mark the yardage on those bags??? That doesn't even make sense. Those people are world-class knitters. You would think they would realize the importance of yardage! The lady told my daughter "It's enough for a woman's sweater, but not a man's extra-large". So, I'm wondering, with the extra yardage for the big hood, do I have enough?

I'm anxious for the Vogue Fall knitting magazine to come out. I usually like most of the patterns in Vogue. I was very disappointed with Interweave Knits Fall edition. I don't know why I'm so anxious for it to arrive.... it's not like I don't have enough projects swimming around in this head of mine to last for the next 3 years! I really don't need any more! But it's fun to look, isn't it?

Stuff... Just Stuff

Well thanks to Jane I now realize I can add photos to my blog a lot easier than I was doing it before. Thank you Jane! Unfortunately, I have no photos to show today. That's what happens when you work until 10:00pm... no knitting!

But I do have some knitting news. The yarn my daughter got me in Ireland has been officially designated for this:knit this cabled hooded pullover :: rogue :: the girl from auntie I COMPLETELY forgot I ordered this pattern. It was one of those "back burner" things that I thought I'd do eventually when the right yarn sort of popped into my life. Well it popped, baby, it popped!!! I will wait until after Christmas to give this one my full attention. My only problem with this is that I know I will need help and I don't like to ask my LYS proprietor to help me with projects if I didn't buy the yarn there. Maybe she'll be up for some private lessons for a fee. I'd be happy to pay her to help me. The instructions for that are 19 pages long. Very intimidating. Because the bag of yarn isn't marked as far a yardage, I sent the shop proprietor in Ireland an email asking if there was enough to complete this pattern. Believe me, I'm not entering the realm of shortage again. It's way too painful.... which reminds me that I do have to finish the big bulky blue thing with the yarn that doesn't really match at some point before winter. That Cascade 220 was never located despite extraordinary attempts.

In other knitting news, my daughter picked up a little felted bag at The Wool Gathering in Kennett Square the other day and did some really pathetic whining and hinting that she would sure love to have one of those for Christmas. I just ignored her but I called Karen at the shop today and she does have the pattern. It's on it's way to me. That will be a quick and easy gift and the best thing will be the surprise. (don't worry, she doesn't read this blog!)

Whoopsee....

I didn't know that the photos that you submit to Photobucket and then send to your blog have to STAY in your photobucket album in order to show up on the blog!!! I cleaned out my photobucket photo album today thinking I was doing a GOOD thing. Wrong. Well I am NOT retrieving all those photos and putting them back on the blog. Sorry folks. If you missed them the first time, you missed them for good. Geesh. Live and learn. Bill Gates I'm not. (damn)