Merry Christmas!!

I hope that you all have a blessed and merry Christmas! I'll be compiling pictures of all my creations that I am unable to show right now. Christmas is hard on blogging. Who am I kidding? I hardly blog anymore anyway. Bad me.

Before I go I wanted to tell you about the bestest Christmas gift our family recieved this year. My brother Nick returning safe and sound from Iraq!!! Yay!! What more could anyone want for Christmas!

Swatchin'

Bias Fair Isle Pullover
by Teva Durham
From Loop-d-loop
Yarns suggested Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Free Style
Yarn weight Aran / Worsted
Gauge 20 stitches and 22 rows = 4 inches in Stockinette stitch Fair Isle pattern
Needle size US 7 / 4.5 mm
Yardage 1548 - 2752 yards

Notes:
I am subbing with Cotton Ease

Upclose on Lace Leaf and a New Hat

I love pairing teal with this green. It's a nice color combo. Pink would also be a good color under this. I love this sweater and would probably wear it every day! Also, I bought way too much yarn for the project, so I knit up a hat.



Project info

Pattern: Natty by Wendy Bernard
Needle: US 9 / 5.5 mm US 11 / 8.0 mm
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky
How much? 0.75 skeins = 111.0 yards (101.5m)
Colorway: Leaf

Notes: This hat only took a couple of hours to knit. You gotta love bulky yarn.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some of my notes for this project on Ravelry...

Lace Leaf Pullover
by Teva Durham
from Loop-d-loop
Needle: US 13 / 9.0 mm
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky
How much? 4.5 skeins = 544.5 yards (497.9m)
Colorway: Leaf Green

Notes

I would have finished this a lot sooner, but I put it on a time out after a disaster when I tried to graft the two body pieces together the first time. I had debated on not knitting the sleeve that had the yo's and just make both sleeves the same, but decided against it. I did not make any modifications other than substituting the yarn, which I am very happy with. I bought the button about 3 years ago. I am not usually a button collector, but I fell in love with this one and had to have it. I think I just have a thing for trees. I'm so glad that I finally found the perfect sweater for it.

10/28/07- casted on 11/23/07-finished

Bad Blogger!!

I have been awful! It's not for a lack of knitting. I have been knitting a ton. I am almost done with my Lace Leaf Pullover from Loop-d-Loop. I just have to sew up the sleeves. I have already cast on for Hourglass Sweater and have several more planned for the future. I am just so insanely busy that I just don't have time to blog. Also, I have been having internet issues since Friday evening, but that is all taken care of now. I'm going to post pictures soon and also blog with more detail about all the stuff I have going. I am in a mad rush to knit up sweaters for this winter. After living in Florida for almost 4 years, I don't really have any winter clothes. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Oh Happy Day!

BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!! DC is officially MY horse!! Without a doubt, this is the second happiest day (happiest was my wedding day of course) of my life!!!! I have dreamed of having my own horse since I was a very little girl. Thank you Dad for making my dream come true!!!

1950's Barbie Revisited

I didn't expect to be dressing up for Halloween this year, so I ended up dressing as 1950's Barbie for a recent Halloween party. I was actually happy for the repeat, because I was able to fit in the dress that I had originally wanted to wear last year! I think I was a much more convincing Barbie wearing pink :)

Cats love sweaters...

Have you seen this? How cute! I'm not sure how my cats would feel about wearing a sweater though. I dressed Kayne up one time, and she just fell over. I'd set her back up straight, and plop she fell right over again and just laid there. It was quite amusing, for us not her. She didn't seem very amused. Here is a picture of all three of my kittehs when they are super amused. They love their entertainment center.

Origami Cardi

Final Stretch!!

I'm almost done with the knitting of the Origami cardi! I have both sleeves and the back completed. I decided to knit both of the fronts at the same time. I have about a 1/2 inch more of the cable to knit and then I will start the St st which will flyyyyy!!

In other good news, I have lost 10 lbs!! Here's hoping that 10 lbs will be enough to make me feel confident enough to model my own cardi for the blog!

My First Horse Show!

Could it be?

I have more knitting to show! It isn't much but I think it is pretty cute.





In my opinion, it is a perfect project for an introduction to cables, and you can find the free pattern here.
I am almost to the decreases on the second sleeve of the Origami Cardi! Maybe I'll actually finish a sweater!

Free Burma

Proof I Still Know How To Knit...

This is the finished sleeve for the Origami Cardi from Summer 2007 Interweave Knits. I changed the edging to from the Berry-in-a-Box pattern to the Woven Cable Stitch found on July 10 in the 365 Knitting Stitches A Year Perpetual Calendar. You can see the stitch up close here.

The Cutest Thing Ever!!

I couldn't help but share this...

Horsing Around...

One of the main reasons that I haven't been blogging as much, is that I have been spending all of my spare time at the barn. For the first time since we moved here a year ago, I feel like I have found a place where I fit in.

I have been in love with horses ever since I found out what one was. I would play with toy horses, draw horses, read books about horses, dream about horses, and even pretend I was a horse. When I was 4 1/2 years old, my mom and dad brought my baby sister, Misti, home from the hospital. My reaction?

"Take that baby back! I wanted a horse not a sister!!"

True story. As you can imagine, working with horses is a dream come true. I keep expecting to wake up at any moment. I remember how green I was on my first day at the barn. I didn't even know how to put a halter on the horse's head, and my first real riding lesson was probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I asked the owner of the barn how I did after my last ride, and she said, "You had some moments." I jumped up and down doing the happy dance shouting, "I'm getting better! I'm getting better!" You see, "you had some moments" is way better than "you're doing everything wrong". Haha!

On October 6th I'll be competing in my very first horse with the awesome horse you see in the picture above. His name is DC, and I must tell you that I am in love :) That camera phone picture does not do him justice. He is absolutely stunning in person, and I need to get my real camera out to the barn to get better shots. I'll be sure to have it with me when I show.

I don't think I will ever have the words to tell Rebekah how much I appreciate her letting me be a part of the barn. I really admire what she does for her rescues. I just didn't realize I would end up being one of them :)

So much going on...

I have so much going on that I have very little time to blog. I cast on for the Origami Cardi from IK. I am using a different stitch pattern for the edgings. I've been working,playing with horsies, taking care of my zoo, working out almost every night, helping a friend with a website, and on and on and on. Marco was just diagnosed with asthma, so I've been dealing with that, poor baby :( My knitting classes have picked back up again, so that's one less free night a week. It's no wonder that I'm up at 3am blogging. When else do I have time?? I'm just going to stop sleeping. Who needs it! For now here is a slide show with some random pictures. I hope to get back soon with a better entry. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Go to ImageShack® to Create your own Slideshow

Luciano Pavarotti 10/12/1935 – 9/6/2007

Your voice will never die...

Janet Martin Square

Kiss Our Butts Cancer!!!

Terry's radiation worked!!! Praise God!! Cancer you can kiss all of our butts!! Get on out of here! Congrats on your clean bill of health Terry! We love you!!

It's Caturday!

Smoldering

A big thank you to all you commiserators out there. It helps to know I am not the only one that had this *expletive deleted* problem. I am just going to channel this energy into cleaning my house and try to forget about it for now. In the words of my dear, oh so helpful hubby, "It's around here somewhere." That has always been his answer to...

"I have lost my..." "Hey have you seen my..." "Do you know where so and so is?"

I'm sure you can guess my usual reaction. I am a redhead through and through after all.

So Mad I Could Cry

I actually lost the back of the Adrienne Vittadini top. Can you even believe it? I have torn this place apart looking for it, and I can't find it anywhere. Any volunteers to come help me look!? Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Susan Rainey Square

**Update** I'm sorry I didn't explain this one better. This is a square from The Great American Aran Afghan. This individual square was designed by Susan Rainey and won first prize.

Chain Maille: not just for Re-enactors Part 2

This necklace is made using a European style of mail called Helm/Parallel Chain. It is a much more simple weave than the bracelet, but still quite beautiful. Here is a great website with amazing Chain Maille weave patterns. It is a wonderful resource, if you are interested in learning this yourself.

Chain Maille: not just for Re-enactors Part 1

The bracelet above is my first attempt at Japanese style Mail (Kusari). The Japanese 6-in-1 (Hana Gusari) was used by the Samurai to link together plates of armor. Isn't it amazing how something used for war can so easily transform into a beautiful piece of jewelry. I can't tell you how long I have been wanting to learn this art, and I am very pleased with the way it turned out. A girl can never have too many hobbies right?

Poor Pups

My friend and I found these two little skinny little puppies in our neighborhood. We searched and searched for the owners, but we had no luck. *A big group of kids said that they had been dropped and had been wandering around for TWO WEEKS!! Now why would anyone let puppies wander through the streets for two whole weeks and not do anything!? I just don't get it. The bad news is we never found the owners, but the good news is we found them a home!

*The kids had asked their parents if they could keep the puppies. The parents told them no and made the kids leave the puppies to fend for themselves on the streets :(

Knitting and Ravelry

While Ravelry is an amazing idea and website, it can also get you in a lot of trouble, and by you I mean me, and by trouble I mean 20 balls of Plymouth Encore and the pattern book for The Great American Aran Afghan.

Beading Project Reveal

I finally get to show you the amulet bag I made! It is being modeled by Helena, who also happens to be wearing my wedding dress :) I'm pretty proud of this piece, as I designed it 100%!

Silliness last week at 1:30 am

Poppy (1:30:26 AM): Alpaca yarn, which is one of the world's rarest natural fibers, has outstanding qualities that make it ideal for the production of high quality knitwear.
Me (1:30:37 AM): rare??
Me (1:30:48 AM): hahaha
Poppy (1:30:51 AM): that's what a sales thingy for a sweater says
Poppy (1:30:53 AM): HAHAHAHAHAHA
Me (1:30:53 AM): are they serious
Poppy (1:30:58 AM): yep
Poppy (1:30:59 AM): dead
Me (1:30:58 AM): lololololol
Poppy (1:31:02 AM): lololol
Poppy (1:31:11 AM): *Link given here...we won't embarrass the store*
Me (1:31:13 AM): crikey! it's the elusive rare alpaca
Poppy (1:31:29 AM): HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Me (1:31:36 AM): hahahahahahahahaha
Me (1:31:43 AM): one of natures oddities
Poppy (1:31:46 AM): oh look! what's that? oh! it's the rare alpaca and its mate
Poppy (1:31:50 AM): shhh
Poppy (1:31:53 AM): be vewy quiet
Me (1:31:52 AM): rarely seen in nature
Me (1:31:57 AM): hahahahahahahah
Me (1:32:03 AM): the alpaca is very dangerous
Me (1:32:07 AM): and deadly creature
Poppy (1:32:13 AM): HAHAHAHAHAHA
Poppy (1:32:25 AM): they will charge at you for no reason
Poppy (1:32:35 AM): which explains why they are so rare
Poppy (1:32:36 AM): hunted
Me (1:32:38 AM): and bobs your uncle they will bite off your head
Poppy (1:32:40 AM): to near extinction
Poppy (1:32:47 AM): hahahahahaha
Me (1:32:46 AM): lolololol
Me (1:32:59 AM): yeah that and the fact that they are invisible
Me (1:33:04 AM): magical
Me (1:33:06 AM): creatures
Poppy (1:33:08 AM): HAHAHAHAHAH
Poppy (1:33:16 AM): live only in the vicinity of unicorns
Me (1:33:19 AM): hahahahahahhaha
Me (1:34:10 AM): and the blood cures disease!
Poppy (1:34:15 AM): lololol
Me (1:34:20 AM): lolololololololol
Poppy (1:34:34 AM): there are whole communities that have been wiped off the planet
Poppy (1:34:43 AM): from the wild alpacas
Me (1:34:42 AM): HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAA
Poppy (1:34:46 AM): roanoke
Poppy (1:34:49 AM): it's a theory
Poppy (1:34:50 AM): you know
Me (1:34:49 AM): oh yes
Me (1:34:51 AM): i heard that
Poppy (1:34:56 AM): lololol
Me (1:34:57 AM): lololololol
Poppy (1:35:00 AM): omg
Poppy (1:35:01 AM): blog it
Poppy (1:35:03 AM): lololol
Me (1:35:08 AM): lolol ok
FaeryCrafty (1:35:15 AM): i am so blogging this

My Room and More

I'm so happy that you all liked my room. I looooove it. I would probably live in there if the futon were a little more comfy. The coolest thing about my room, in my opinion anyways, is the fact that very little money went into it. Everything in the room was recycled, re purposed, gifted, bought for a pittance on eBay, Craigslist or a yard sale, or handed down over the years. Even the 1941 Life magazine was a yard sale find. If you look close you will see a pair of red white and blue knitting needles attached to the frame. You can read about them here. They were found along with a matching stitch holder and dpn's at a yard sale in a big box of knitting notions that Grandmommy bought for next to nothing. The desk belonged to my father and was handed down to me when I was a kid, all the sheep pictures and sheep doodads (3 bags full) were $15 from another yard sale, the cool knitting/spinning plaques were only 10 bucks on eBay, and my cool hubby made the yarn shelves. I made the wreath :) Maybe we can get a job with Design on a Dime :D

This is one side of the Adrienne Vittadini Diagonal Stitch top that I am knitting. I had to rip the armholes six times to get it the way I wanted it. AV patterns tend to say, "Keep in pattern and decrease and oh yeah do the neckline too, but I'm not going to tell you where to start/stop your yo's so that it looks nice and uniform on both sides. You are a genius. You figure that one out"

I am very pleased with the way it is turning out so far. I just hope I remember what I did when I get to that part on the other side, 'cause you know I didn't write that down. That, my friend, would just be way too easy, and we can't have that now can we.

I'm alive!

I have just been lazy. I'm working on a post slowly but surely though. I have actually knit something! Yay! See you soon :)

My Room!

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