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July 28, 2006
Eye Candy Friday
Purly came up with Eye Candy Friday to help us all get through the last day of the work week.
The point is to take pictures of things you like or think are pretty and talk about them a little bit. Not knitting, just anything.
But, before I can show you the pretty pictures I took this week (as Purly says, we can't all be Cara, but we can try), I have to show you a really disturbing picture.
Yes dear friends that is exactly what it looks like. I broke the tip on my Holz & Stein needle when I was trying to execute one of those nasty knit 7 into 5 thingies for Trellis. I cried. And I cursed. And then I tried to find a replacement. I actually did end up getting one from the wonderful lady in Germany I've ordered from before. I hope it gets here soon because I tried to work those k7tog things on my Addi Naturas last night and I swear to you I almost cried again. Just because it was so much worse.
Now that I have you all feeling sorry for me (and that was really what I was going for), here's my eye candy for the day.
The Boys. I guess I really take them for granted. They're always there. Hanging out in the pasture eating, or complaining when you lock them in the corral for the day (because they're starving, clearly). When I stop and think about it, I can't imagine my life without horses. I grew up on a ranch and there's really never been any time in my life when I didn't have unlimited access to horses. And for that, I'm very thankful.
The Kids. Isabelle and Riley - both spoiled rotten, but aren't you supposed to spoil your kids?
And finally, some pictures of the sunset the other night.
July 26, 2006
A Bit Of This, And A Bit Of That
I'm feeling random, so I'm sorry, but you're getting randomness from me today. First up, the Zephyr is awesome. Trellis is coming along nicely.
I've completed the edge repeat and the first pattern repeat, 22 more repeats to go! I think I like the fabric made with the 2.5mm needles - it is dense, but I like it. Right now the scarf measures about 7 inches wide, and I think that's fine for a scarf. What do you think?
Second, I got the new Interweave Knits over the weekend. The patterns are ok, but nothing that jumped to the top of my to-knit list. The absolute very best part of the magazine is the fabulous article Eunny wrote on shaping a lace garmet. That girl is brilliant. If you haven't read it, go now.
Let's see, what else... Oh, has anyone used the Colonial Rosewood dpns? How are the tips? It looks like they make a 5.5 inch dpn that I think would be fabulous for socks, but I hate to order them without some personal feedback from you all.
Next up, I need a good stitch dictionary. I am knitting a square for a friend's wedding chuppah, and I think some fabulous lace is the order of the day, but nothing too fragile - it needs to have some structure. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Today is only a half day of work (yipee), and I'm excited to go home this afternoon and do some crafting. I have an apron for an apron swap that I am really close to finishing. I need to get that done and maybe spend some time with my neglected flowers, but really the only thing I want to do is knit on Trellis. I'll let you know what won out. Have a great hump day.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:20 AM | Comments (29)July 24, 2006
New Team Member
The Amazing Lace has not been going well. The yarn I bought didn't really work out. It is gorgeous yarn - very soft and a yummy color, but the problem is that it wasn't plied. It's just a single, and as a single - it pulls apart. I was really afraid that I'd get the whole scarf knit and try to block it and the whole thing would pull apart. So, what's a girl to do but buy different yarn. After consultation with a couple of friends, I ordered some zephyr
Can someone please explain to me why I've never used this yarn before? It is great. It's so soft, the color is perfect, and the best part is that it's plied. I cast on yesterday afternoon and got just a little bit done.
I went way down in needle size. The pattern calls for a US #6 and I swatched on a #3 and a #2 (the 3.0mm version), but finally decided I like the look of the pattern knit on a 2.5mm. But, of course I'm doubting myself and wondering if it's too dense.
I had high expectations for my productivity this weekend, but I ended up being a lazy bum. I worked on Butterfly on Friday night while I watched Best in Show, but I didn't sew a single stitch or knit anything else until I restarted Trellis. Mostly I laid on the couch and read a book. The only other productive thing I did this weekend was make a cherry pie (don't look any further if you don't want to see it). I picked up some pie cherries at the farmer's market on Friday night and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.
July 19, 2006
Fabric
Thank you all for your assistance on the felted bag. As soon as the handles arrive I'll be ready to play with the lining and see what works best. I think I'll take some of the knowledge I gained from the Weekender Bag and apply it to finishing this bag. I'm really excited to see how it develops. As promised, here's the fabric I picked out for the lining.
And a close-up
The fabric has a variety of reds and matches the flowers nicely. I also like that it has a soft floral design, but isn't terribly busy. Hopefully it will look good once it's in.
The other fabric I picked up over the weekend is some cotton for the retro dress. The challenge was to find something cute and fun that didn't make people think of their grandmother's house dress (not that there's anything wrong with your grandmother's house dress, but it isn't exactly the look I'm going for). After much debate, "trying" many fabrics, and enlisting the help of pretty much everyone in the store (including my mom), this is what I came up with.
My mom is not a blue fan - it would be the very last color she's ever choose to wear (ok, fushia might actually be the very last color) - and she was very surprised that she liked the blue, which makes me feel pretty good about the choice. If she actually liked it, that is indeed a good sign. I still need to get bias tape and buttons - I'm thinking navy. I hope I can pick them up tomorrow. Travis is going to be gone all day Saturday, so I might actually get some sewing done. Or, I might not. You just never know around here.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:19 AM | Comments (17)July 18, 2006
Ask And You Shall Receive
Or whine and cry until you get your way. Whatever works for you (the whining and crying is my preferred method on most occassions). Back by popular demand, the Noni carpet bag. Just to refresh your memory and for comparison purposes - here is the pre-felted version.
And the post-felted version.
With toes for scale
As you can see it shrunk considerably. It's about 11 inches high by 20 inches long. The pattern specifies a bag 13 inches high and 19 inches long, but I figure this is close enough.
The flowers ended up felting very nicely.
My only concern is that the felted bag is still very floppy.
Is this just because it's so freaking huge or is it because I haven't felted it enough? If any of you expert felters out there have an opinion - I'd love to hear it. I forgot to take a picture of the fabric I got for the lining (I'm sorry), but I'll include it in the photo of the fabric I got for the retro dress - tomorrow.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:30 AM | Comments (38)July 17, 2006
Weekend Teaser
This weekend was like all the other weekends - crazy busy. I got a couple of things done, so I'll be able to tell you about them over the course of the week. Maybe that'll keep ya coming back. The short version is that I went fabric shopping and got fabric for this dress and for the lining for the Noni bag, I spun, I cleaned, I felted, I baked, I started Trellis, and I worked on Butterfly - pictures to come on everything. Don't look at me like that, I promise.
Because it's Monday morning, I thought a little sugar rush might get your day started off right. But, because I love you all, you have to decide if you want to see the baking pictures by clicking on the links - I'm not forcing carbs down anyone's throat. No sirreee bob. Not me. Yesterday I baked even though the temperature outside was 95 (which for Laramie is extremely hot). I don't know why, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. I made bread, strawberry/raspberry cobbler (which I sort of made up from an existing recipe), and apple turnovers (I still need to work on my pastry dough, but they taste good). All of the recipes are from my new cookbook, except I modified the peach/raspberry cobbler recipe to use up the strawberries I had. Travis thought the bread was the "best bread you've ever made." WooHoo. I wanted to jump up and down and do a happy dance, but I just calmly thanked him (and pumped my fist in my mind).
Now for a little knitting (I know, I know, that's why you come). I worked on Butterfly for a couple of hours yesterday after almost a week without touching her. She's coming along nicely - slowly, but nicely.
Thank you all for your support on the felting. You'll be happy to know that it all seems to have turned out nicely. I'll have pictures for you tomorrow. I also started Trellis. I went down from the recommended size 5 needles to a 3 and I'm contemplating going down to a 2. I'm off to reread Eunny's lace tutorials and see what I can figure out. Try to have a great day even though it's Monday.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:38 AM | Comments (20)July 14, 2006
Ready To Felt
I finished knitting the second huge flower last night and I'm ready to felt everything. You remember the size of the bag? Here are the flowers on the bag to give you some idea of their size.
I made a couple of extra petals on the second flower - one of the largest and one of the medium size. The resulting flower is quite a bit fuller. I decided it was ok to have 2 flowers that weren't identical because how many real flowers look just like their neighbor (see, I'm really not that anal).
However, I was cutting it kind of close on yarn. This is how much I had left after I put the second flower together:
Yeah, that's it - about 2 inches! It's a good thing I didn't want matching flowers!
Today I'm knitting up a dog toy for Rebekah's charity drive (nothing like waiting until the last possible moment) and I'm going to felt everything tonight. I'm really excited, but keeping my fingers crossed just to be safe. Tomorrow I'm going to the fabric store to find some fabric for the lining and the handles should be coming in the next week or so. I'll have a finished bag before you know it. After this project I'll focus my time on Butterfly and the long-neglected Trellis.
Today promises to be hot and dry and the sky this morning is crystal clear - not a cloud in site.
July 11, 2006
Giant Flower
Lately I find myself wishing that I had as much desire and motivation for all areas of my life as I have for knitting and spinning. What is it about knitting that motivates me? Is it the act itself? Is it the finished projects? Or is it the blog that motivates me to knit so I have something to talk about? Maybe it's a combination of all of those things. But, I really wish I could translate whatever it is into work and exercise and the ever-exciting laundry and house work. Maybe recognizing that I should is half the battle, or maybe I'll just keep thinking about it and not do anything.
I finished the first flower for the Rather Huge Felted Carpet Bag
And as you might imagine - it is also rather huge. But I suppose that makes sense so it looks right on the huge felted bag. I started the second one and will hopefully be able to finish it in the next day or so. And then felt! I am excited to see how this all turns out. Then it's on to lining and pockets and handles.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:11 AM | Comments (16)July 10, 2006
Skirt?
I'm not at all sure where the weekend went. I had big plans, but for the life of me I can't think of what they were or what I did this weekend. I know what I didn't do though. I didn't knit on Butterfly, I didn't sew, I didn't spin (well, I did spin for about an hour, but not as much as I wanted to), and I didn't finish my laundry. I did finish knitting the Noni carpet bag.
And it is indeed huge.
With the bag completed, I'm now working on the flowers. Because every very large carpet bag also needs a couple of very large flowers.
I'm almost done with the first one - I have 2 more small petals and the bobble center. I modified the pattern a bit. The directions don't have you wrap the short row stitches, but I just couldn't handle large holes in the center of the petals. I know they're going to be felted, but I'm anal and I just couldn't stand it. So there.
I did some more baking this weekend, but I've decided to spare you all more baked goods' photos. There was Irish Soda Bread (my first attempt at it and it's quite tastey), banana bread - a low-fat recipe with applesauce that is super moist, and some caramel hazelnut bars that Travis determined were "rich and good." High praise indeed.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:23 AM | Comments (21)July 6, 2006
This Much Baking Will Make You Fat
Besides washing the fleece this weekend, I also baked a lot. I'm not sure what got into me, but I was on a baking kick. Friday night I made cinnamon rolls
And I sat out at the barn and knit on the Noni bag while Travis shod some horses. Our horses were less than enthused with the company
Saturday I made oatmeal raisin cookies (but forgot to take pictures - sorry, but they look just like oatmeal raisin cookies). Monday I got a new cookbook (thanks, Bakerina, for the suggestion - it's a great cookbook!) and Tuesday morning made scones.
Bakerina made scones for us in Estes Park and I have to tell you that they were by far the best scones I've ever had. She recommended this cookbook and while the scones I made weren't as good as her's, they were the best I've ever made. There may be hope for me yet.
And finally, on Tuesday I made an apple pie.
Because really, what's the 4th of July without apple pie? This was the best applie pie I've ever made too. This cookbook is already my favorite and I've only had it a couple of days.
Let's see, what else... Oh, I worked on Butterfly. I finished the first repeat on chart B (but I only have about 8 inches total)! I'll take a picture this week after I get a bit more done.
And spinning! Look at my finished yarn
I'm really happy with this skein. Most of it is 3-ply, but I ran out of the red towards the end and finished up with the remaining two singles. There is still room for lots of improvement, but I really think I'm getting better. The singles were much more even and the yarn seems to be quite usable.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:55 AM | Comments (33)July 5, 2006
Washie, washie
I love long weekends. Even though I never, ever get as much done as I plan to, I still love them. There's just something so wonderful about not having to put make-up on and dry my hair and get dressed up for work. It makes me really unhappy about coming back to work, but such is life. This weekend was filled with baking, knitting, reading, movie watching, and spinning, with just a touch of yard work thrown in for good measure. But, the highlight of the weekend was washing the fleece I bought at Estes Park (if you don't give a crap about fleece washing, stop reading now and come back tomorrow for the baking report).
To start, I laid the fleece out on some towels on the patio and shook the worst of the vegetable matter out (and this fleece really didn't have very much).
Then I separated it into lingerie bags - I really could have packed a lot more fleece into each bag because while they looked full, once they were wet each bag was only about half full.
After that I went to the guest bathroom and laid out all of my supplies and reread the information I had on washing a fleece (for about the hundredth time - I was really nervous about this whole process). Maggie Casey gave us some information in the packet we got for our class, plus there is some information in a couple of books, but everyone seems to do it a little different. In the end, I went with Maggie's instructions and kept my fingers crossed the entire time.
I filled the tub about 3/4 full and added a bunch of Dawn dishwashing soap and put all the bags in to soak.
And man was the water dirty after the first wash
I repeated the wash process once more and the water wasn't as dirty the second time
Then I rinsed twice - once with a "glug" of vinegar and once without. Then the bags took a spin in the washing machine to get some of the water out (I turned the water off on the washer just to be sure) and then I laid them all out on the bed in the guest bedroom to dry.
I am very happy to tell you that I didn't felt any of it! I'm not sure if it was that I did things right, or if I just got really lucky, but whatever the reason - I'm very relieved. I see that I missed some vegetable matter initially, but it shouldn't be too hard to pick what little there is out when I'm carding it. All in all, a successful first fleece experience. The entire process took me about 3 1/2 hours just because there was a lot of soaking time, and I got my spinning time in while I waited.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:20 AM | Comments (31)
