Yarn Crawl

Thanks Secret Pal!!!

I got my final Secret Pal package this weekend and I was soooo impressed!!!

Look at all this stuff:

First, there was the incredible Della Q bag - I couldn't have picked out better colors for myself! These bags are super nice and I have always liked them. What a great treat!

Next up, an incredible skein of Mountain Colors merino crepe yarn - over 1000 yards!!! I am going to have to come up with something great to do with this - and I have recently been getting into pinks and purples - so this is perfect!

As if that wasn't enough, there was also a beautiful mother of pearl/tortoiseshell shawl pin - I haven't taken it out of the package yet, so that's why the picture really doesn't do it justice:

And some yummy candies! Love sour patch kids especially! These were two-flavor, which I'd never seen anywhere before!

On top of all of this, this beautiful handmade felted card! Check out the miniature knitting needles and swatch - how cute is that?

Who is this wonderful, generous person who gave me all of this? Joan of FairyGodKnitter! Despite numerous challenges she's been dealing with lately, she managed to be a great Secret Pal and pick out gifts that were truly perfect for me. Thank you so much, Joan. I sincerely appreciate everything. I am looking forward to reading your blog archives and getting to know you better (and maybe learning from your sewing expertise!!)

Alexandra - Finished!

Alexandra finally dried after her lavender "bath" and blocking, and I wove in all the ends today. I really like how this one came out! It is a little wide on the neck, but I think it is supposed to be that way.

I also dragged out the Debbie Bliss Lace & Bobble Jacket today and picked up all 300(ish) stitches. Now I have to do 13 more rows, and the bobble bind-off and I will be putting the proverbial fork in this one at long last. Almost a year in hibernation for that one!

I finished the 2nd sleeve on the yellow Lace & Cable sweater and started the front today.

Blocked the pieces of the Surplice Bodice Camisole and they're drying now.

No progress on Fifi except got clarification on my pattern question. Thanks Cozy Kitty! I love this design, but I'll tell ya - this pattern could be a lot more clear than it is. It has made me less than motivated to work on this one, although I think the end result will be pretty.

In non-knitting news, on Friday night Jim and I went to his cousin Anna's house for a fun home shopping party. She had these Beijo purses there that I had never seen before, Lia Sophia jewelry, and Tastefully Simple. Of course I had to hit each vendor...I bought this purse

this jewelry (I tried to pick things that would be more difficult to make myself - they were buy 1, get 2 at 50% off)

the earrings and necklace in the upper right corner - pink teardrop shape

and the earrings marked "B" in this picture.

and some assorted seasoning mixes from Tastefully Simple.

On Saturday morning, I went to a jewelry design class with my friend from work and made this:

I had thought we would be doing wire wrapping (I took a class on that before and need a refresher) and making a bracelet and earrings, but only made the bracelet. Oh well, at least we were able to ask the instructor (same one I had before who doesn't believe in handouts, hence the need for a refresher course) about some other things like the memory wire closures. I also got motivated to try to make the lace bracelet (using 26 gauge wire) from Lace Style.

Two things I learned: 1.) I don't like knitting with 26 gauge wire - too stiff and hard to bend into shape but 2.) I do like working with 32 gauge wire, which has a lot of patterns for it. I started playing around with the 32 gauge wire and some beads I bought on sale at Michael's and got something kinda cool so far, but it'll probably just be a practice swatch.

I also got an AWESOME final SP10 reveal package and will blog about that separately tomorrow as this is getting too long and I have a lot to show!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sucked into the LOL Cats

I know I am a little late to the party on these, but they just crack me up - make your own here!

A FO of a Different Kind

I told you all that I bought a bookcase over the weekend, right? Well, I hurt my wrist slightly yesterday morning doing this wrist flexion stretch as part of this Yoga for Golfers DVD (Phyl, this one is supposed to help with the wrist action) so I thought it'd be a good time to "move in" as I couldn't knit for long. I had been keeping all my books on some overcrowded shelves in my yarn closet, so I thought I'd have extra room in this new bookcase. NOPE!

I even had to put the sewing and jewelry making books, as well as magazines, on a shelf on my other bookcase (after designating some books in there I knew I wasn't going to re-read as "to be donated".)

Does anyone know of a good organization to donate books to other than the library, or is that the best place? I know the library doesn't keep them, but sells them in a used book sale. I also know I could try to sell them on amazon but for most books it doesn't pay.

Here's my Alexandra - still drying - this yarn takes FOREVER to dry. I did try it on and it fits well, another one that's kinda off the shoulder on me, but this one was supposed to be a wide boat neck. Pics to come this weekend!

And a flower pic from my walkway...courtesy of Jim the photographer!! You can always tell the pictures he takes!!

Loop-D-Loop Knitting Book Pics

This was the quickest way I could show all of the designs in the book - I took a picture of each but then created this mosaic (below.) Click the miniature mosaic below to see all of the images on one screen, much much larger!

I like the One Shoulder Tunic, the Ballet T Shirt (wouldn't mind making another one of these as they are quick and easy!), the Dreamcatcher Medallion Cardigan although it looks complicated and there's lots of picking up, the Cabled Riding Jacket, the Slinky Tree Bark Rib Tunic as well as both fair isle designs!

New Loop-D-Loop KCAL!!!

Well, I went ahead and set it up!! Here's the new home of the KCAL for Teva Durham's books - I will send it to Natalie to publish on the KAL list. I'll send invites to anyone who commented on my other post saying they were interested, but anyone else should email (or comment) if they want to join!

Loop-D-Loop Crochet

I found Loop D Loop Crochet over the weekend at my local Borders and similar to Teva Durham's first book, this one is another "artsy" coffee table book. I do think that there are some really cute and wearable designs in this book, and I always enjoy Teva's commentary about her life and how it's impacted her creative process. I believe that she's one of the most innovative designers out there and I always say I could never come up with the things she does. That being said, although I really like the crochet book and want to crochet (typed "knit" and had to fix it) some of her designs below, this book has also sparked an interest in revisiting the first book and knitting some designs from it. I'm thinking dual KAL for both books - thoughts?

Here are my favorites from Loop D Loop Crochet; I've thrown all caution to the winds and have photographed the book with wild abandon. I think tomorrow I will get out my copy of the first book for knitting and photograph my favorites in there as well.

Other designs in the book:

Weekend in Bullet Points

Wow, what a great (almost) week I just had! I was off work since Tuesday at 2:30 and I can't believe how much fun I had just hanging out with Jim around the house.

Here's a recap of "what I did on my summer vacation":

• Finished the knitting on the Alexandra sweater from Fitted Knits and just need to seam the sleeves and block

• Finished the first sleeve of the lace and cable pullover and got about 4 inches done on the second sleeve

• Finished all three of the top sections of the Surplice Bodice Camisole from Knitting Lingerie Style and am ready to sew the shoulder seams and pick up around the edges, then pick up at the bottom to create the lace bottom half

• Got Fifi (with the SKC KAL) done up to the sleeve separation and tried it on – looks like it will fit so I don’t need to change anything

• Frogged Waterlily – funny how I know that it was the right decision by the fact that I feel much happier toward it now that it’s YARN again and not a finished garment

• Started the Coquette Lace Tube Top from Fitted Knits in red/orange Pima Tencel

• Got my hemp for knitting in “sprout” and my lacy leaf skirt pattern

• Updated Ravelry with some of my to-knits in my queue

• Bought Loop d Loop Crochet and Twist and Loop and found a new knitting magazine at Borders that is published in Austria, “Sandra”, which reminds me a bit of Rebecca magazine in its designs and styling

• Swatched the skein I had of Classic Elite Lush for the Waist-Cincher top from Knitting Lingerie Style and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this yarn even though we've discovered Jim is highly allergic to rabbit fur

• Bought a new bookcase for my increasing knitting/crochet/sewing/beading books and magazines! Jim is picking it up today so I get to “move in” to it soon, clearing more space for yarn in my yarn closet which has been sharing space with the book collection

• Joined a new KAL sponsored by Maryanne and Kasia for the Wheat Ear pullover from the most recent Interweave Knits. I think I’m going to use my Tess Silk & Ivory for this one. It doesn’t start til September so I have time to decide though.

• Drew the prize winner for the first Fitted Knits contest – Wendy won a $40 gift certificate to WEBS. Yay Wendy!

• Worked on my tan - I got a few shades darker!

• Found a new Pan-Asian place where I can get Pad Thai and Jim can get chop suey, and we can find new things to try together. I tried a Tamarind cocktail there which was something new for me. It’s a brand new restaurant and we are hoping they make it!

• Finished two audiobooks - Middlesex and The Thirteenth Tale, both of which I really liked. I just downloaded Peony in Love by Lisa See, who also wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I really enjoyed. It seems really interesting and unique so far!

Guess What I've Been Up To?

I've been off work since Tuesday at 2:30 and have been knitting like crazy!

First, there's my new SKC KAL project, Fifi - I just separated the sleeves and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this project:

Next up, my Knitting Lingerie Style KAL project, the Surplice Bodice Camisole - this has gone amazingly quickly and so far I am done with the upper back and upper right front. After I knit the upper left front, these three pieces are sewn together and then the bottom is picked up to knit the lace portion top-down. And, um, yeah - those are yarnovers for the bust dart - not going to wear this one without a cami!!

Alexandra from Fitted Knits - finished the body, starting the first sleeve next:

And finally, last but not least, the first sleeve of the Lace and Cable sweater. I finished the back the other day and decided to be crazy and start a sleeve next. This way I might not get "second sleeve syndrome" as badly as usual. Can I just say I also am in love with this pattern?

As I was so NOT in love with the two-toned shrug on me, I am frogging it. And I may have some progress on this later this weekend if I can muster the energy to pick up 300 stitches...hmm, I did just have a Red Bull...I really should finish this before the whole shrug "thing" is over.

Two FOs

I finished Tube Top-orini - I actually think I like the way this one turned out better than I thought I might. It's got that bulky wool factor (used Rowan Cork) but somehow it manages to be cute. I've seen tube tops worn with camis underneath in some of the Rowan mags so I thought I'd try it, and I think it looks kinda cute that way.

And a fugly FO - Sarah, here's another one for ya! You just KNOW I had to be due for one as I haven't had one in a while. Waterlily Top from Interweave Knits in Colinette Giotto. This one is frightening, as is the look on my face as I had just been debating with Jim WHY you do not want to take pictures of someone from 2 feet away, outside, from an upward angle, while the photographer is sitting down beneath you. Anyway...here's me looking pissy in my Waterlily Top. LOL!

After that one, I don't have the strength to show my WIPs.

Secret Pal 11 signups started yesterday, and I signed up just as a participant this time. The hostessing was so much fun, and I met a lot of great people that I wouldn't have met otherwise, but I just have too much going on right now to do it this round. FYI - if you signed up yesterday, and got a weird error, you need to go back and sign up again. The issue has been fixed now though.