Cirque du Soleil

Why is it that every time I have a knitting crisis I am on the phone with Janette. First let me give you some background info. I decided that when I joined the new  yarn I would knit one stitch with both strands held together. This would "anchor" the yarn in place. I've done it before. It shouldn't be a problem.

 Fast forward to Janette and I chatting away and I'm knitting round and round on Soleil. I notice that the stitch where I knit with the two strands held together is very obvious. In fact it made the stitch next to it look funky too. The conversation goes a little something like this...

Me: Ewww I don't like how that stitch looks where I knit with the two strands together. It doesn't look right to me. I think I'm gonna drop down and fix it.

Janette: Oh that shouldn't be a problem.

Me: What the. Uh oh

Janette: Oh no what happened

Me: I don't know what happened but I can't fix. The more I try the more I mess it up. Oh great now I get to tink back like six rows.

Janette: Oh no that would take way to long. Why don't you try this...

Well she begins to explain to me how I could pick up the stitches a row or so below the mistake with a smaller size needle then rip out down to the needle. I was a little hesitant at first but too very little convincing to go for it. Hey I'm always up for a challenge. As I'm picking up the stitches Janette says, "Make sure you are picking them up all from the same row. You shouldn't have a problem because your stitches are pretty even." So I forge ahead slowly picking up each stitch doing my very best to stay on the right row. I take a deep breath and pull out the needle.

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Ladies and Gentlemen boys and girls without the aid of a safety net Stacie will now attempt for the very first time this new ripping technique. And she rips....

[Insert the picture I tried to take but the battery on the camara died. Let down by my camera in a moment of crisis. Typical.]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh something went wrong! I have ripped as far as it will let me and there are live stitches left above the needle! Then for about ten stitches they are on the needle like they should be and then back to having live stitches above the needle! This is really hard to describe and it would have been nice if I had a darn working camera to show you! What it all boils down to is that I didn't stay on the same row while I was picking up the stitches! How do I fix it?!
Let me just say that it is a great thing that I was on the phone with Janette. My redheaded temper would have otherwise gotten the best of me and Soleil would have ended up off the balcony. Janette is great in times of crisis, managed to keep me calm, and Tadah!




Camara's now plugged in to AC adapter
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I fixed it. Don't ask me how, but I did. I can breath now. My stitches are all on the needle, my markers are in place, and I know where I am. Here is a great link that will show you how to do this technique. Please do not let my drama stop you from ever trying it. Have a great weekend everyone. See you on Monday with Show N Tell and Tuesday with Belt and hopefully Angel pics!

Progress Report

I did some knitting on Soleil today. I completed 11 rows this evening. That doesn't sound like too much of a big deal but there are a lot of stitches since this is knit in the round. Did I mention the fact that I love that it is knit in the round? Wahooo! No side seams :) Since 11 rows is hardly picture worthy, I don't have a picture for you today.

I finished my granmother's belt. All I have left to do is fring it and add beads. I had quite a bit of yarn left over. I may just make a belt for myself. Not really sure if there is enough for that though. I just hate to waste yarn. I'm sure that I'll come up with some way to use it.

Sorry for the lame post. I'll make it up tomorrow with a finished belt picture. Hopefully I will add a picture of Angel and another picture of Twist with her new and improved lower neckline before too long. For now it's time for bed!

Slacker!!

'Member when I said that I finished the lace on Soleil, and I could start the stockinette. You would have expected me to get some of that done right? Wrong! Here is poor Soleil waiting for her stockinette. Poor Soleil don't worry I'll get to you soon. I'm off tomorrow and I promise you some quality time.

I had a knitting class on Friday night. It was one of those lucky instances where only one person signed, and I was able give her my undevided attention. She is left handed, so I taught her how to knit continental. I have found that my left handed students pick that up the best. One felt most comfortable "throwing" the yarn with her left hand and that was fine by me. I don't care what style they use to knit as long as their stitches are coming out right. Anyways, Staci (we have the same name that is too cool) did very well and is anxious to start the next class. I've nabbed us another one everybody!

Saturday I actually got paid to sit and knit in the store to promote my classes. How cool is that! I decide to make a drop stitch scarf much like the one I made for my grandmother. I use Lion Brand microspun and size 13 needles. Almost everyone that came up to see the scarf ended up walking out of the store with some microspun. Boy I wish I worked on comission! LOL! Unfortunately I didn't have anyone sign up for a class. Better luck next time.

Sunday I just worked and didn't do a darn thing crafty. When I got home Rob and I went shopping for dinner and then went on our walk. I am really getting into this walking thing. I even jogged a little bit and was surprised that I didn't get all winded. I'm seriously starting to see the benefits of not smoking now. I love my new lungs! Inspired by my renewed interest in physical fitness, I joined a new Yahoo! group called Knit 'N Fit.


Since our beloved obsession involves a great amount of time sittin' on our booties, I think this is a great idea to inspire and support fellow knitters with physical fitness. Now someone needs to come up with a Crochet N Fit.

Speaking of Crochet, have you ever tried Tunisian Crochet? Do you realize that you can create a knit stitch with this method? I was just looking through my bookmarks, and I came across this. That sure does look like knitting to me! Make sure you check out the other tutorials they have on Tunisian Crochet. This website is a wonderful resource.

Well my eyes are trying to close on me. I'm off tomorrow (or today however you look at it. it's 1am!) so I plan on getting some knitting done. I'm also getting together with my grandmother, so I'm hoping that I'll get some pictures of Angel. See you soon :)

Show N Tell: Nancy's Entry

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Nancy made this American Doll pattern after she found the link on my poncho page. Isn't it adorable! I like how she put the fork in the picture to show just how teeny this poncho is. Great Job Nancy!!

Jennifer aka Major Knitter made the pattern. She's a great lady and an excellent knitter. Stop by her blog and say hello. She just got back from vacation.

I'm So Jealous!!!!!

Just in case you don't read the comments on this blog I had to make sure you read this one post so I'm not the only one crying in ENVY!!!! Join me now in my pain.

Yvonne writes

Can we talk stash enhancement? Yarn is the last thing I need, but: Holy cow. My daughter's band held a rummage sale today, and someone there pointed out to me that there were two garbage bags full of yarn. So I mosey over and look inside. There were skeins and skeins of Phildar Pronostic (acrylic/wool blend), Phildar Pegase (acrylic/wool blend), Nessi cotton/rayon/acrylic, Pinguin Pingora, Andean Alpaca, Reynolds Fleur de Lis, Patons Cotton Top, something called Slicque which is a metallic shiny novelty yarn, some without labels that are ribbony/shiny, a huge HUGE bright red lace-weight mohair which must be 1500 yards at least, Bernat Cott'n Silk, Phentex Mohair, and a bunch of other regular dept. store kind of yarns that I gave to my daughter. The only thing in there I couldn't find a use for was some crewel yarn, so I took that stuff out. So I go to pay for it. They say, "What do you think?" So I go, "Um...I'll take both bags out of here for......$15.00?" I paid $15.00 for all this. Don't you just wanna KILL me?? I want to see if that red mohair will work for making the Tie One On pattern from Knitty. Gonna go look, drool and check my gauge.....

In the immortal words of my friend Janette, Un-Buh-Lievable.

Moving Right Along

I managed to sneak in some knitting before I went to work today and after I got home this evening. The lace part of Soleil is finished and I'll begin the Stockinette tomorrow. I totally enjoyed knitting the lace on this top, and I'm almost sad that it is over. I wish I were a speed knitter, because I really can't wait to see this top finished. I think it is going to be beautiful. Did you know that the designer has another pattern available for sale that uses the same yarn! I will definitely be buying it. I love getting patterns for free, but it is very important to support our designers :) Here is the link to her site and the pattern I want to buy. Go check it out. It's very cute.

Twist

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 Sorry about the lack of a head. I was not happy with my face in this shot. I'll try to get a better picture for the gallery. Overall I am happy with the top. I am super happy with the seaming. I have the most anxiety over that. You can click here for a look at the seam if you want. I'm actually thinking of undoing the straps and making them an inch or more longer. I'm not sure if I will, but it is a possibility. I'll see what Janette thinks when she sees it on me. I would like to have a second opinion. Now on to Soleil :)

Show N Tell: Birdsong's Entry

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The purses are made with Cascade 220, which feels wonderful while you are knitting it and felts up beautifully. I am in the process of finishing my second clog to felt using Lambs Pride worsted, which also f elts wonderfully and has mohair in it adding fluff to the appearance. Doubled and felted, it makes a very dense fabric. I am making a few red and purple purses like the red and black one (as soon as I get through a few things on the needles, LOL) to sell at our local crafts cooperative, where they have a Red Hat Society table going. We get a lot of tourists through our area late spring through fall, so I am also whipping up fun fur trimmed flip flops for the Red Hat ladies. You can find the pattern for these purses in Pursenalities: 20 Great Knitted and Felted Bags.

Birdsong
http://burrobird.blogspot.com Small town life and politics, lots of knitting,
and travels with and without my five burros

Super quick post

I am finished with Twist. I just have to weave in the ends. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Pictures will be coming soon! Yippeee!

**Update**

Twist is officially finished. I tried her on and she fits!! I am very happy with the side seams. It took quite a while to weave in all those ends. Berroco Cotton Twist's hanks are only 98 yards and most of them had breaks. This means more ends than normal for a small top like this. Pictures will be posted on Tuesday. See you on Monday for Show N Tell. Have a great weekend!!

Where was I...

Yesterday when I was at Sip and Knit, Donnie and I chatted for a while as my grandma looked for yarn. She was telling me how she has a locked shoulder and she may have to go in for sugery. This is seriously bad news for a yarn shop owner. She has comissions and samples to knit, and surgery isn't exactly conducive to that. I told her that I would be happy to knit some samples for her store if she needed me to, and she said she would probably take me up on it! I'm soooooooooo excited!! I left my phone number with her, and I hope she will call soon. She said that she has some new yarn coming in and that there are quite a few people interested in Felted projects, so she might need me pretty soon. Now if it isn't already awesome enough that I get to knit without paying a dime, I get yarn for my "trouble". Life is good!

Later on we went to Target and I finally saw the knitting kits everyone has been talking about. I must say that they are actually pretty cute. They come with a learn to knit DVD, needles, yarn needle, pattern, and yarn. The most expensive one was only 19.99. They had a bikini, halter top, yoga mat holder, dog toys, a dog bed, ummmm cell phone holder, scarves, and a shawl. I am sure that I left something out. Most of the yarns looked like cotton, but I think one was Paton's Brilliance. I couldn't tell for sure, because they don't package it with a wrapper. For those of you that are beginner knitter's, I think that these kits would be perfect! You should go and check them out.

At the end of my great knitty day, I sat down and started working on my grandma's belt, and I knit a few inches of the coordinating scarf yarn. They look pretty cute together if I do say so myself. I have already knit about 36 inches or so on the belt. She wants it to be 52" long so that she can tie it and then  have the ends hang a bit. I'll knit make the belt 40" long so that it will allow for the 6 inch fringe I am going to put on it. I'll probably bead the fringe as well. I'll be finished with this tomorrow I'm sure. I just love instant gratification projects! They can be so refreshing, but they are distracting me from sewing up Twist. I really need to stop procrastinating on this project. Anyone else ever have this problem?

Yarnin' Again

Don't you just love those wonderful knitting-centric days? It's a lovely kind of day where every nook and cranny of it is crammed with knitting goodness! Today was one of those days, and I happily soaked it all in!

I began the day by adding the finishing touches on another scarf for Grandmommy. You didn't even know I was working on that one did you? Remember when I bought the Berroco Crystal FX on ebay? Well last night knowing that I was going to get together with Grandmommy, I decided to whip up the scarf for her as a surprise. She knew she was going to make her one with that yarn but she didn't know when. This afternoon when I went out to her car, I was sporting a very pretty drop stitch scarf that I decided to call Angel (it is a lovely white sparkly yarn and the sparkles create a nice halo look) around my neck. She says, "Don't you mess up my scarf!" and promptly took it from me :) I think it is safe to say that it is a hit. She promises pictures of it very soon.

After I finished the scarf I went downstairs to check the mail and I found the latest KnitPicks catalogue. What is it about a yarn catalogue that gets me so excited?! I swear I think those and knitting magazines are a knitter's equivalent to, heehee you know! I slowly page through them drooling over all the beautiful pictures. Um I mean I get them for the articles. Yeah that's the ticket! Anywayyysssss inside this yummy drooliness (omg is that a word) I found this!

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Yarn samples! They included samples to four of their yarn lines with enough yardage to knit a small swatch! How cool is that! I haven't swatched them yet, but I can tell you that they all feel wonderful and the colors are gorgeous. I especially love the feel of the Andean Silk and the Andean Treasure. You'll have to forgive me if I stray from my diet. I think this temptation may prove to be more than I can handle.

Since Grandmommy had a new scarf, you know what had to happen. We had to go yarnin'! Oh darn! Twist my arm why don't ya! Here is the bounty of today's yarnin' adventure.



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That is the beginnings of a belt made from Lana Grossa's India. It's a beautiful ribbon yarn that we bought at my favorite LYS, Sip N Knit. It is 100% Microfiber Nylon and it feels devine! We stumbled across the Red Heart Tiki at Walmart. It was a steal at 4.97 a ball, and it just so happened to match the belt I was making her perfectly. Don't you just love it when things come together like that :) Know what else I love?



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I love the extraordinary ebony needles that she bought me! How could I not!? I have always coveted a pair of these needles, but couldn't bring myself to spend the money. Now I know why they cost as much as they do. For one they are made from wood recycled from musical instruments. The romantic in me loves that they once created beautiful musical art, and they will now create beautiful fiber art. They found their way from one type of creative hands into another. Don't they sound fabulous when you think of it that way. Secondly they feel wonderful. They are light as a feather and warm with the touch of your hands. Donnie told me that as you knit with them the oils of your hands absorb into the needles "seasoning" them, and that is when they really show their worth. The more you use them the better they become. I say they are worth every penny and if you have ever wanted to try them, you should just splurge and get them. You won't regret it.

This isn't all that happened today, but I seriously need to get in bed! Six am comes early especially when it's less than five hours away. I'll save the rest for tomorrow. Have a great Wednesday!!

Show N Tell: Linda's Entry

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The ChicKnit's bucket hat on that adorable girl up there was made by one very resourceful woman! The navy blue wool she used came from a sweater she bought at a thrift store and recycled, and the brim of the hat is knit in Crystal Palace's Squiggle. I have always wanted to try sweater recycling, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll put that on my list of things to do :) If you would like to try sweater recycling here is a link to a wonderful tutorial. Great job Linda! Thanks for participating in Show N Tell.

I have really enjoyed Show N Tell, and from the looks of the poll so do you. If you would like to participate, all you need to do is send in a picture of something you made along with a description. It doesn't have to be something knit or crocheted. It can be any craft as long as it is made by you. All skill levels are welcome as well. You do not have to be an expert and if you don't feel comfortable writing the entry give me the specifics and I'll take care of it for you. I hope that I will have enough entries to keep this going for a good long time. I think it is too fun!

It's Happy Dance Time!

Cause the new Spring Knitty Issue is out! If you haven't seen it yet, go!! Don't even bother reading the rest of this blog entry! It will still be here when you are done. You're back? So soon?  Hi there! Let me just say that I loooooooooove this issue! I think that this is my favorite Knitty issue ever. First of all I love the home page picture. It reminds me of something you would see on the cover of Vogue or Cosmo, and the header and color scheme are so very refreshing, so Spring!

The articles are informative as usual. If you ever wanted to knit socks but were afraid to try, check out Socks 101. You will be knitting socks like a pro in no time. There is even a basic sock formula to get you on your way to designing your own!  I really liked the tutorial on how to chart images using Photoshop 7. This would have come in handy when I was making my sister's cherry scarf.

Last but not least, holy mother of pearl the patterns are absolutely fabulous! (did anyone every watch the bbc series absolutely fabulous? I loved that show! sorry had to go there. back to knitty)  There are at least five patterns that I want to make. Two of them will end up on my future project list for sure. Soleil and Branching Out are so very pretty, and I already have yarn in my stash for both. As a matter of fact I have the exact yarn that Soleil calls for (in two different colors no less), and my good friend Dale gave me a skein of lace weight yarn that will be perfect for Branching Out. Here is a list of my favorites. What are yours?

Branching Out
I do
Ribbon Xback
Soleil
W

The Magic Scarf That Ceased To Be

So here I am talking on the phone to Janette and trying on the magic scarf.

Me: Oh Janette this is sooooo cute! She's gonna love it.
Janette: That's great!
Me: Ooooooh let me try it on like a hood!
Janette: How does it look?
Me: Oh wow this is sooooo cute! Now I'm gonna make it a dress!
Janette: laughing
Me: Oh this is too funny! She's gonna get a kick out of this. Hey wait what is that?
Janette: What?
Me: Oh darn I just found a dropped stitch.
Janette: Uh Oh get a crochet hook
Me: No worries I got it. Hey! Wait! There are more dropped stitches!! What the heck is going on???

Well the conversation kind of deteriates from there as I find numerous dropped stitches. The culprit? All the tugging and pulling you do to change the scarf into it's various stages pulled out the ends where I added the new balls of yarn. I didn't tie a knot when I did this. I just wove in the ends which is what I always do.

I decided the only thing left to do is rip it all. It was just too big of a mess to fix. This is fun fur we are dealing with here. I then find that I wove in my bind off end so well that it can no longer be found. Usually I would not be complaining about this. What does a highly irritated knitter do when she can't find the darn end to start ripping?

She grabs the scissors! That's right folks I cut the whole bleepin bind off edge off! That'll teach this stupid scarf! Hah! Take that! I must say that it was pretty satisfying to hack away at this flippin' thing, but it sure did make a mess! So in the course of let's say 15 minutes I went from a modeling session with this super cute magic scarf to this....

So what is the moral of this story?? Tie knots in this stupid stuff when you add a new ball of yarn. Tie knots and tie 'em tight!  Knots! Knots! Knots! Hahaha! How can I laugh at a time like this? I'm laughing to keep from crying!

Good News!

I went back to my doctor today and he said he was very impressed with my healing. My inflamation is 100 times better and my ulcers are healing nicely. I will have permanent damage on my cornea from scar tissue, but it will not affect my vision. Thank God the ulcers were on the sides of my eye and not the front. I am very very blessed! He gave me the ok to open my eyes, and I can go back to work on Wednesday. I don't have to use the dilation drops, and I'm down to using the antibiotic drops three times a day until Thursday.

It was really strange using my eyes after having them closed since Saturday. My left eye is still dilated so my vision is still very funky. The funky vision combined with the realization of how close I came to losing sight in my eye made me a little dizzy and a lot queasy. I had to lay down and take a nap. I'm feeling a lot better now and I'm sure everything will be back to normal soon

Thanks so much for all of the good thoughts and prayers. See how well they worked :)

Eyeball Trouble

It's been quite interesting here the past couple of days. I went with my brother and his wife to MGM Studios and Epcot on Friday. WE had a great time, but all day long my eye just didn't feel right. The contact in my left eye was driving me nuts and I couldn't do aything about it. I didn't have my contact lense solution or case with me.  I put up with this aggrivation all day long, but around six I coiuldn't take it anymore. I bought a bottle of water and took my contact out. I put it in the cap with a little bit of water but the relief I was expecting did not come. My eye just began to hurt worse and worse no matter what I did knocking me out of going to dinner with my brother. To top it off I started getting a migraine. I gave up and went to bed. I didn't really sleep though because my eye felt like it was on fire. By morning I couldn't even open it up. Those with weak stomaches look away now. My eyelashes were glued together with yellow/green puss! Ewwww! Needless to say Rob took me to the doctor We were lucky to find someone that was open on a Saturday and had an appointment slot available. I went in convinced that I had pink eye, but after the doctor looked at it he said that I would be lucky if it were pink eye. My stomach sank. He went on to say that I had two Corneal Ulcers and my eye was severly infected. This is not good news. If left untreated, this could lead to permanent blindness. He sent me home with strict orders for my care. I was to stay in complete darkness and keep my eyes closed. My husband had to put antibiotic eyedrops in my eyes every hour on the hour, and he also had to dialate my eyes twice a day for the next two days. My doctor said he would call on Sunday to check on me. He said that usually if the infection was going to take a turn for the worse it would by then and I would have to go to a specialist. Fortunately this is not the case. Even though my eye still hurts it has not gotten worse and I think I'm out of the woods. Can I just tell you how boring it is to not be able to open my eyes for this long. I am going nuts. I can't check my blog. I can't check my email. I can't knit anything because my projects are too complicated. I can't sew up Twist! I'm going looney tunes! i have earned a deep appreyiation for people who are without sight, and have learned to never take your sight for granted. The only reason I'm able to type this entry is because I can type without looking and my husband is standing over my shoulders fixing my errors. Say hi Rob....HELLO!!!!!! You can blame him for any spelling errors or typos. I go back to the doctor tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed for me. I hope this was caught in time and no permanet damge was doen to my eye.  Ok I just mess that sentence up royally and Rob is laughing and saying he isnb't going to fix it! He stopped editing after I said I was going to blame him for the typos. He is now gigglling  over my shoulder like a bad little boy. If I could see him, I might five him a little smack! Ok he's laughing again so I must have messed that up. I would like to see him type blindfolded. All kidding aside, Rob has been wonderful and taken better care of me than I could ever ask for. He is the best husband ever. He just told me no amount of kissing up will get him to go back and fix my typos. Haha! I'm hoping that after tomorrow I will be allowed to open my eyes and life will go back to normal. I just might miss all the pampering. I will let you all know how the monday appointment turns out. Keep your fingers crossed.