Sunday, July 31, 2005

Flickr is cool


A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by SunnyBeach77.

Cuz every day you see stuff like this...

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Eat Our Cake to Dispel Angry Feelings in Feet!

Cuz all sushi is good.

Especially this kind.

I'm hungry.

Friday, July 29, 2005

*)(&#$*&( Corset

I bought the yarn for my Silk Corset and joined the KAL....read all the questions and thought I was ready to get going. So I cast on and started working with the charts last night.

*sigh* I only got to row 4 before I got so frustrated that I took a long overdue trip to the frog pond. I don't know what it is; I've been knitting for nearly 2 yrs and have tackled some (I think) fairly difficult projects. I've made full sized adult sweaters that are actually wearable. My two kiddos have at least a couple of sweaters each. I've cabled. I've done color work. I learned how to Norwegian purl. I can knit socks. I've even done a shawl in lace.

So why are the instructions for the Silk Corset so darned confusing to me? I think I need to put this project aside for a day or two and start again next week.

Besides, tonight is another epi of Battlestar Galactica and I can't work on anything requiring too much attention during the show- I might miss something important! (Yes, I'm a geek because I am so hooked on the new BSG! Sue me.)

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

I cheated


That's right, I cheated: I got (nearly) instant gratification by knitting some socks for Little Man. I made them out of my handspun, which turned out to be some seriously yummy fiber goodness. There's nothing like knitting with handspun-mine was so soft and delicious I couldn't believe it.

I love how the colors came out totally different. Luckily I'm not an ARK (Anal Rententive Knitter), cuz it would be really hard to get the socks to match.

Here's another view:

Little Man wouldn't take the socks off, even tho it's got to be 90 degrees here today. I think I'll have to make another pair for Monkey Boy too.

Remember the toilet paper picture? Well, this is what Little Man did while I was trying to put Monkey Boy down for a nap. LM said he was "sweeping" LOL Can you see the broom tracks?

Friday, July 22, 2005

Behold....


A truly ugleeee pic of a very pretty yarn. It's Kid Merino by Crystal Palace. I know it's mohair, but it doesn't seem to bother me like the other mohair yarn did. Probably because it's only 28% mohair (and 28% merino wool/44% nylon). Very yummy and soft. The crappy picture doesn't do the color justice (try to ignore the flash blast and the crappy posing...that's what happens when you have to wait till the kiddos are in bed before getting out the camera).

Check out the new Bryspun circular needles. I had been looking for them and found them at a local LYS. I wanted to try them because they are a lot pointy-er than my Addi Turbos. The sharper points are perfect for really digging into lace stitches. I'm actually impressed with the flexiblity and smooth join of the cord. I'll admit that I'm an Addi snob because I can't stand the springy, curly nylon most other circular needles are cursed with. I just about had a fit trying to knit with some Crystal Palace circular needles because of the twisty join and nylon cord that would NOT relax.

The Bryspuns have a nice soft cord and I like how they are a little bit flexible, which is easier on the hands. Another plus is they're about 1/2 the price of Addis. I don't think I'll be dumping my Addi stash any time soon, but future needle purchases might lean heavily toward the Bryspuns.

What happens when a 3 yr old gets a hold of 46 rolls of TP?


I think the photo speaks for itself.

Thursday, July 21, 2005


My finished Flower Basket Shawl. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out- the only change would have been to make a bit larger.  Posted by Picasa


Stats:
Yarn: 50/50 silk and merino, hand dyed by me with Jacquard acid dyes; about 400 yds worth
Needles: US 8 bamboo
Modifications: I did 12 repeats instead of the suggested 7 repeats. I probably should have done 14 or 16 repeats.

Just say no to mohair

Ok. Ok. I saw the lovely color and fuzz of the Venezia yarn and it sucked me in. I bought three balls. Swatched. Liked the result and started on Kiri in earnest.

And started itching after row #20. Just like with angora.

My reaction wasn't nearly as bad with the mohair, but I did notice that I got itchy all over the longer I spent knitting with the Venezia. I might have preservered but then I got into the part of Kiri where you start the motif repeats and I was *totally* bulloxed up. I don't know if I am reading the chart wrong, or misinterpreting the directions for the chart or what...but needless to say I ended up ripping the whole thing out.

GGGGRRRRRR

Even 50% mohair is a beeyotch to frog.

*sigh*

I think it's all a sign that I'm not meant for fuzzy things. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the Venezia....maybe gift it to someone cuz it really is lovely stuff.

And I'm going to give Kiri another try, this time with some stash yarn that isn't at all fuzzy. I have some Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere from Elann in a lovely blue that might do.

Ah well, no more fuzzies for me!

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Can I just say...

Two things:

Blessings upon babysitters (cuz mine just saved my life today- I've had 4 days of all boys all the time & *needed* a break. I dunno how single parents do it, they are true superheroes)

AND

Further blessings upon the inventor of air conditioning (cuz it's 98-freekin-degrees at 1pm! Isn't there a law or something against this much heat and humidity in Southern California?)

And if you're wondering about the flurry of blogging, it's all due to the fact that the majority of my conversation over the past few days has consisted of "Do you have to go potty?" "What are you *doing*?!" "Stop that!" etc. etc. ad nauseum. So you, dear readers, are getting the brunt of my repressed adult convo. :)

Yuck and a swatch

I can't believe that it's only 9am and I already have the AC on. Our thermometer says it's 78 in the shade, but that doesn't take into account the lovely humidity. It seems like thunderstorm weather because the air is so still and sticky. We live close to the beach (less than 3 miles as the crow flies), so this kind of weather is unusual for us. It's usually hot during the day, but bearable since we get the ocean breeze 90% of the time. And as soon as the sun sets it gets chilly due to the marine layer. The same marine layer usually keeps the mornings cool till it burns off around 10am.

But this morning I woke up at 7:30 and it was already sunny, sticky and warm. I hope we don't have blackouts today. I try to do our part by not running the big appliances and such...I wouldn't even run the AC if I could get away with it, but the boys' rooms are hit by the sun all day and there's no way I'm going to get them to nap when it's 90+ degress in their rooms.

Last night I swatched for Kiri using my new Venezia yarn. I used #9 needles, swatched, washed and blocked. The yarn actually held the blocking shape pretty well, tho it's hard to work with because of the mohair fuzziness. I like the way it looks alot so Kiri is going to be a go-head.

Sorry for the funny photo- the light is really strange right now. I think there must be a brush fire nearby because the sky has that harsh, flat yellow look it gets when smoke gets into the atmosphere.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Today's Field Trip

Since Da Hubby is out of town, I decided to take the boys over to MIL' s for a mommy break and a visit to a new yarn store. The store is called "Yarn and Needle" (no on-line presence yet). It's in our old hometown of Fountain Valley and is literally w/in walking distance of the in-laws' house.

The store itself doesn't have much atmosphere- it's in a typical So.Cal. strip mall, sandwiched between Big Lots and Rite Aid.

They've only been open a month, so they're still stocking shelves, but they had a lot of Berrocco yarns, different types of Cascade yarns and some Italian brands that I haven't seen elsewhere: Lana Grossa, Lang, etc. They had some novelty yarns, but it wasn't novelty overload like Yarn Lady.

As for accessories, it was pretty much limited to Clover/Takumi so all the needles were bamboo. The sales girl said that they will be getting in some Inox and Addi needles soon. They had some cute purse handles and clasps, and she also mentioned that they have buttons coming in.

I was eyeing some gorgeous varigated bamboo yarn, but I was supposed to be looking for some laceweight yarn for a Kiri shawl. This is what I found:

It's Lang Venezia, 50% mohair and 50% acrylic (I know, I know, but it doesn't SQEEEEEK like Red Heart). It's listed on Yarndex as a bulky weight yarn, but I think it's more like worsted or aran weight. There's about 600yds in those three balls, which should be plenty for a good sized Kiri.

And of course I managed to pick up a ball of yarn with enough angora in it to make me start itching. *sigh* It never fails- every single time I go yarn shopping, I gravitate to the yarn with angora and end up with an allergic reaction. It's funny because I never wore angora as a kid, and I never realized I was allergic till recently.

I bought a pair of socks made from angora, wool and acrylic and decided to wear them to a sit n stitch. The store was about 15 min from my house; by the time I got half way there, I was itching sooooo bad ALL OVER. I had hives, tearing eyes and a runny nose when I actually got to the store. I guessed that it was the socks and as soon as I pulled them off, I felt 100% better. I ended up giving the socks to my MIL (who isn't allergic to angora). After that incident I had an allergy attack while seated next to someone knitting an angora blend blanket, and another when I leaned against an angora scarf wrapped around the back of my chair at the LYS.

So now I try to be careful handling yarn- but sometimes it still manages to sneak up on me. Today I actually asked to wash my hands in their bathroom, which really staved off the worst of the hives! LOL

Stylin' new shirt...


(Cuz I only get to dress him like this for a short while *evil grin*)


Look what I can do... Posted by Picasa


And I'm only 6.5 mos old. Momma's in TROUBLE! Posted by Picasa

Trying to decide on a new project


I want to do the Paisley Shawl from the Spring 2005 IK...

And the French Market Bag from Knitty...
And a new pair of sock from my own handspun....

Which should I start next? The Shawl is really calling my name, but I gotta get me some Zephyr first. But I also have to figure out what color to use....I'm a purple kinda gal, but I also like some of the reds that Zephyr comes in. It's funny because I immediately picked Cinnabar out of the Zephyr lineup and that's the exact color shown in the magazine. I also liked Dianthus and Admiral. Anyone with any suggestions as to what color to use?

And I know I promised modeled photos of my completed Flower Basket Shawl, but DH has been working like crazy for the past couple of days. Plus he's out of town for til Wednesday so there's no one here to take pics of me (except Little Man and I'm not gonna hand over my working camera to a 3 yr old! LOL). Maybe I'll have some time to take a self portrait in the mirror sometime today...or maybe not considering I'm alone with the munchkins all day.

*completely non knitting related*
Check out this link for some seriously cute hot dog critters. Little Man loves to have his dawgs cut into shapes- usually I do an octopus but the shark and reindeer crack me up.

Friday, July 15, 2005

Here it is: my finished Flower Basket Shawl! It's blocking on our bed right now. Maybe later I'll be able to get a shot of it being modeled!

A close up of the points.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Here 'tis...

As promised, the Funky Tank being modeled by its happy owner.

I think I picked up too many stitches for the armbands, as they flare out a bit. Plus the pattern seems to call for some pretty big arm holes. Little Man is wearing a cotton tank under the sweater cuz otherwise you'd surely be able to see his chest/tummy.

I'm happy with how it fits tho- he'll be able to wear it all summer and probably into the Fall with a t-shirt underneath.
Stats:
Funky Tank Top (Zoe Mellor's "Adorable Knits for Toddlers")
Used Knitpicks' Shine yarn throughout- less than 1 ball for most of the colors. The main color (light blue) took less than 2 balls.
Took about 1 week to knit (actually, less than a week, but the seaming/weaving took forever)
Size 6 Addi Turbos

Monday, July 11, 2005

This is calling my name....


Is this the most gorgeous tank/cami/corset or what??? I found it HERE and am seriously thinking that this will be my next big project. I love the lace at the top and bottom. Yum.

The best part is that it calls for worsted weight yarn and I have about four or five different yarns that I think will work well.

Finally, knitting content! This is the Funky Tank Top I've been working on for Little Man. It was a supa quick knit- but the weaving in...not so much. I swear it's taken me just as long to weave in the all the ends and do the neck/armbands as it did to knit the durned thing. And this is with weaving in the ends as much as possible while I knit. As you can see, I have one armband and the seaming on that side and then I'm done. I'll try to post a photo with the model tomorrow.

My Flower Basket Shawl in progress (still). I joined the Summer of Lace group and it's given me plenty of motivation to keep working on this. I"m at repeat number 9...Planning on going all the way to 14 repeats before I do the edging.

Close-up of the FBS pattern (upside down).

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Birthdays and (a little) knitting

We celebrated Little Man's 3rd birthday yesterday. I can't believe he's already three years old!



And here he is at three weeks old....
I swear I look at these old pictures of him and it just blows me away how much he's grown. I never thought I would be a full time mom- my plan was to have a baby, put it in daycare and go back to work. But once I saw Little Man's tiny smiles, smelled his sweet baby breath and watched him take in the world....there was no way I was going to let anyone else have those precious moments.

There are plenty of times where I wonder "What was I thinking?" to stay at home with the kiddos. But every day brings plenty of laughs to go along with the frustrations of dealing with a toddler (and baby). I can't wait to see what the munchkins will grow up to be....

Eat cake!

Little Man was very excited with his new scooter. He immediately wanted to try it out in the kitchen!

Goodie bags for the kiddos

Cousin Audrey and her Daddy

Prezzies!

And yes, I have been knitting....I'll post a pic tomorrow of the vest I've been working on for Little Man.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Warning: picture heavy post ahead!

No knitting content, but lots of pics from our Fourth of July block party. It was a huge success- we rented a jump house for the kids, had a big pool on the lawn and everyone brought plenty of food.

Here we go...
Yum!

Little Man and Shane's wagon, all decorated for the 4th

Monkey Boy and DH

Little Man in the Jump House

Shane enjoys the pool

Little Man

Doesn't this look like "The Scream"?

Monday, July 04, 2005

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

Sunday, July 03, 2005


I finally manged to ply up all the BFL that I had dyed and spun. This is the stuff that I felted a little bit...but it turned out ok. I have 360yds- the most I've ever spun! Not sure what I'm going to make out of it, but I love the colors.  Posted by Picasa


I wasn't lucky enough to attend the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene this year, but some friends (Karen, Kat and Lori) went. They brought me back this wonderful BFL handpainted roving from Dicentra Designs. It is soooo yummy- I immediately started spinning.... Posted by Picasa


I'm thinking of making matching socks for the boys from this roving. There's 5 oz so that's plenty for two pair of baby/toddler socks. Posted by Picasa


Watch out! Gruesome Toothsome is in the house....

Still working away on multiple WIPs...the FBS is growing slowly but steadily. I just completed the 8th repeat on my way to 14 (or maybe more, we'll see).

The Pinwheel Blankie is also growing. It takes alot longer to finish a round now, especially since I'm up to 23 sts between YOs, and I've got like 500+ sts on the needles.

I'm not even going to mention any of the other WIPs floating around. I'm afraid to actually take stock of how many I've got. *eye roll*

Everyone have a happy and safe 4th of July!