I haven't seen my husband in a month and a half! I'm picking him up at the airport tomorrow around 4, and I'm about to lose my mind with anticipation! I have all this nervous energy, and I can't sleep for nothing! I had to harness that energy somehow, so here's what came of it...
This is a sample of the lace stitch I learned from the Russian lady at my LYS and this is the yarn...
My friend Debbi bought me some Russian yarn for my birthday. Yay! It's very pretty fingering weight mohair in this beautiful teal color. The neat thing is that a Russian woman that goes to my friend's yarn shop taught me a really cool lace stitch. I figure it would be really neat to make a shawl with Russian yarn and a lace stitch taught to me by a Russian woman :) (Speaking of her, she is an incredible knitter and she can just look at a sweater and recreate it. I'm sooooo jealous of that ) Anyways I have some more laceweight yarn that is longing to become a shawl, and Doni taught me a really cool lace stitch last night. So I bought two pairs of size 10.75 Addi Naturas (i like the way the yarn looks on that or a size 11 addi natura didn't have an 11) so that I can begin two shawls. As hard as both lace stitches look, they are actually very easy, and I think that the shawls will go pretty fast on size 10.75's. The only real challenge will be finding the time to knit them.
Here are some links that I thought I would share with you...
Rob comes home in a week! Yay! He will get to stay for a week and a half and then it is off to Denver for more training. I'm so excited I can't stand it, and I'm betting this will be the longest week of my life. I know that I haven't been posting much lately, but there has been a lot of stuff going on in my life and a lot of stress. I wish I could vent it here, but it is stuff I am unable to post to the world. Let's just say that it has been a pretty scary time for me. It just figures that things like this would happen while my husband is gone. Not to worry though, I'm totally fine and things are getting better. I haven't been knitting a whole lot unfortunately. I did make a sample for one of my beginner classses though.
This yarn is made by Mango Moon. It is recycled rayon, and it has a very interesting look and texture. I fringed it with beads and shiney ribbon yarn. It is a simple garter stitch on a size 10 needle. I think it is only 8 stitches across. This is an excellent project for brand new knitters. The thick and thin yarn is a little hard to get used to, but it is not so hard that a newby couldn't handle it.
Good luck to all the knitters involved in the Knitting Olympics. I would love to join but that would be absolutely impossible. I think an acheivable goal and challenge for me would be to post more than once a week and squeeze in at least one hour of knitting a day.
Just a quick note to let you know that I'm finally working on a gallery of my finished projects. You can find the link on the sidebar down on the right. This is loooooong overdue.
Lately I have been in a knitting slump. I haven't really gotten excited over anything knitting related. This is mostly due to the fact that I don't have any darn time to knit the multitudes of things that I want to knit ie. the lacey wrap from Vogue, Butterfly from Rowan 37, Apricot Jacket, Ab FAb throw.... I could go on and on and on! So anyways as I was saying, I've been in a slump. Then tonight I learned a new knitting stitch, and that got me all excited!! I'll be knitting up a swatch really soon and will use this stitch to make a rectangular shawl. When will I find the time? I'm not really sure, but I'll at least get a swatch made so that you can see this stitch. It is so cool!!
Rob's been gone for three weeks now in Arizona. I was doing ok for a while, but it is really started to get to me now. I don't know how my friends and family in the military handle their husbands being gone for 6 months to a year. I have 4 more weeks to go, and it seems like an eternity at this point. I'm usually ok during the day since I work quite a bit. It's the night time that I have a hard time with. Eating alone really sucks! Four weeks can't go by fast enough!! I'm like a little kid. Are we there yet?? Are we there yet!!!???
Here is an addition to Sue's Show N Tell back on November 14th. These are the shrugs that she mentioned making and altering using Diane Langan's patterns. I think they all turned out great! My favorite is the one in browns. Great job Sue!
Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. They were all wonderful. After much consideration, I decided to go with Helena! First of all I thought it was so cool that someone else had even seen that movie other than myself. That movie is so twisted and weird!! For those of you that are going "huh???" right now, the movie is called Boxing Helena. It is about a doctor that becomes obsessed with a woman and eventually cuts her arms and legs off to fully posess her. At one point he has her all displayed on a table or something with flowers all around her. Freaky!!! When I read that suggestion I just cracked up lauging and said, "That's the one!!". Thanks Elspeth! Send me your snail mail address and I'll send you a little somethin' somethin' to show my appreciation :)
Birdsong tagged me...
4 jobs you had in your life.
Knitting Teacher
Vet. Tech.
Bartender
Receptionist
4 movies you could watch over and over
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
Steel Magnolias
Groundhog Day
Airplane
(I love goofy movies)
4 places you have lived
Allegheny County
Newport News
Hampton
Central Florida
4 TV shows you love to watch
Dead Like Me
Sopranos
Carnivale
Deadwood
4 places you have been on vacation
Maine
New York
Florida
North Carolina
4 websites you visit daily
Bloglines (which leads me to all my favorite blogs)
Haloscan
Yahoo mail
Blogdrive.com
4 of your favorite foods
Korean food
Sushi
Bread
Chocolate
4 places you would rather be right now
Phoenix, AZ with my hubby
Virginia with my friends and family
New Zealand
Hawaii
4 bloggers you are tagging (first 4 that popped into my head)
Lanie
Bethany
Pioggia
Diane
Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes. They really meant a lot to me. You are all awesome I tell ya, awesome! Here's a big huuuuuuugggggggggggg from me to all of you!!
The scarf above was knit with Frog Tree Alpaca on a size 10 needle. I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn, except for the fact that it shed a little bit. I think that the shedding would stop, or at least lessen, after a while though. The yarn has a wonderfully soft hand, the halo is just beautiful, and I love the way it drapes. If I were to do another one of these scarves, I would start off by casting on only 100 stitches instead of 200. That way the scarf wouldn't come out quite as long as it did this time. After all the increasing was done I had 2000 stitches on my needle. Casting off took a while, hahaha! This pattern recommends casting on 90.
pattern details:
Pattern: Shish-Ska-Boobless Panta by me, inspired by a Free People headband Yarn: Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece in Tea Rose, held doubled - 79g Needles: Denise Interchangable - US 10 1/2
Notes: i am still working on the increases in the rib pattern. i tweaked the increases in the diamond shaping, using the central double increase, and using lri & rri for the side increases in each diamond. i am absolutely thrilled with how the pattern is looking - clean, and booble-less. the needles could be sized down to US 10's & work well. i was looking for a wider band across the top of my head, without adding to the pattern.the extra long tails add a bit of versatality with the added ability to use them to tie your hair up in a ponytail or just under the hair, with a long tail down your back. the yarn is wonderful. it's soft & blockable. warm & comfortable. so far, no ill effects from the 20% merino content in it.
I knit this headband as a sample for my LYS. It is knit with one skein of Royal Cashmere, which was an absolute pleasure, and a little bit of frou frou yarn. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what the frou frou stuff is on the edges. I figure you could use any fuzzy yarn or skip the fuzz all together and just edge it in garter stitch. If you want to knit this here's what ya do...
Cast on 66 stitches on a size 8 circular or DPN's, join
K 3 rows with fuzzy yarn
Drop fuzzy yarn
*P 3 rows (with cashmere or other worsted yarn)
K 3 rows*
You will repeat this (between *'s ) until the headband is as wide as you like it. (I repeated it 7 times)The last 3 knit rows will be with the fuzzy yarn. Bind off :)
I updated the pattern for the Paillette Purse. If you have any questions feel free to ask. This is going to have to be a short post. It is pretty late and I have to get up way early. Rob and I thank you for all the kind words. He is currently training and will be gone for the next 7 weeks. He said he may be back sooner but who knows. I'm on pins and needles right now waiting to find out where the heck we are going to live. He is trying really hard to keep us here in Florida since I have a job that I love and so many friends. We better find out soon or I am going to die!
I took pictures of the cashmere headband finally. I'll put it on her tomorrow. I am also about to finish my ruffly scarf. I need to bind off a few more stitches (i had 2000!!) and weave in the ends. Next I think I will either do the Ab Fab throw or Butterfly. I may have to flip a coin or just do both. What do you think?
He got the job!!!! All the hard work and sacrifice has paid off! My husband is an airline pilot!!! Thank you for all the positive thoughts! We are so very blessed!!! He leaves tomorrow morning for 7 weeks of training, so I'm getting off of this thing and celebrating with my man!!!!!!!!
Rob goes on his first interview with an airline tomorrow. This is what we have been working so hard for. Please send some good thoughts his way. Here is a video of Rob in his "office". i don't know about you, but I think his office is pretty darn cool. He also wanted to share a picture of Miami from the air at night. Soooo pretty!
Hi Stacie,
I very much enjoy visiting your Faery Crafty blog, and would like to submit an entry for your Show N Tell.
I took this picture on the way to my friend Suzy's Christmas Eve party. Rob was driving, and I wanted to play with my new toy. I think the car may have hit a bump which caused the camera to move and make the lights do that really cool thing they did. Interestingly my face didn't get blurred with the bump. It kinda looks like Tinkerbell is flying laps around my head. I just though it was a neat picture and wanted to share it with you :)
Happy New Year!!!!
Be Safe!
Click To Enlarge
This is the pattern for the purse or at least the closest thing to a pattern I can muster. I didn't count the darn bangles/paillettes so I don't know how many to tell you to get at the moment. This will be added later. If you have any questions about the pattern feel free to contact me :)
Materials
Size 8 needles
Paillettes with large holes about 182
1 hank Cordé by Judi & Co.
Bag
This bag is knit all in one piece and sewn up the sides.Before you cast on, string your paillettes onto the yarn.
Cast on 29 stitches
Rows 1-5 K1, P1 across
Row 6 K1, P1, *insert needle as if to knit and slide a paillette up to the needle, complete the knit stitch, P1, repeat from * across row to last two stitches K1,P1
Repeat rows 1-6 six times
K1, P1 for five rows.
This completes one side of the bag.
Repeat the entire process for the second side and bind off.
Strap
Make a 4 stitch I cord for the strap in whatever length you desire.
Closure
You can use any kind of closure for this bag that you like. I crocheted a button and then crocheted a small loop to fit around the button. To crochet a button you chain 5 then single crochet around twice. Break the yarn then use the tail to close the open end. Tadah! A crocheted button!
Finishing
With RS facing, sew up the sides of the bags, attach i-cord, and sew on your choice of closure
Here is the purse that I knit for my LYS. I didn't have my camera with me, so I just took a picture with my phone. I think it came out pretty darn good though don't you. I am now in the process of writing the pattern and I will post it here when I am done. This is the first official pattern that I have ever written, so Doni had to help me out with it. I knew what I did I just had a hard time figuring out how to write it.
As you can tell from the previous picture (thank you so much for the compliments) I have a camera in my possession. Not just any camera though! My hubby bought me a new Nikon for Christmas! Yay Rob! You rock!! This thing even makes movies. Now I just need to figure out how to post movies here! I'm not sure if I can or not. Wouldn't it be awesome if I could? Think of the possiblities! See you soon with more pictures! Have a great Wednesday :)
You know Christmas kinda snuck up on me. I can't believe it is actually in two days. You know what else snuck up on me? Dec 18 which is the second anniversary of my blog!! It's now two years old and being seriously neglected the last couple of weeks. I just haven't seen the point in blogging lately. I mean honestly a blog just isn't a blog without pictures, and my camera cord is still missing in action. I finished the purse with the bangles, my friend Debbie and I made a bazillion crocheted snowflakes, I am halfway finished with a ruffly scarf, and I have some beading that I have been working on. I can't show you ANY of this because I don't have a bloody camera cord!! This is seriously frustrating. Rob and I are going to hunt for it tomorrow since we're both off. I'm hoping to get my blog back in order and start posting regularly again. At least I'll have a bunch of pictures to show ya!
Well I'm stuck at home due to the lack of an automobile so I decided that I'll work on my baby pattern list. Speaking of babies, Donna over at Yarn Tomato just had a beautiful baby boy named Miles. Pop on by and see the cutey.
How hard it is to drive a car in stop and go traffice WITHOUT a clutch?? It's kinda hard! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
I'm still alive everyone. No worries! I can't get over how hard it has been to adjust to this new schedule. I have been knitting quite a bit though. I'm almost done with one of this potato chip ruffly scarf, and I'm making one of those purses with the shiney bangles on them. I'm not using a pattern but basically making it up as I go along. If you want to know the "recipe" so to speak, let me know. I have pictures but I can't find my camera cord at the moment, and I have to go to bed. Figures right.
Today was my 14 hour day, and I have very little time to get anything done. I hope I can even sleep since the floors are vibrating from the LOUDEST NEIGHBORS EVER!! Apparently noone needs to sleep at 11:30pm. What the heck am I thinking? Please bear with me. I know it isn't much fun reading a blog that doesn't post often and doesn't have pictures. I'll get it together soon.
Things To Do In No Particular Order
1. Post the links I have for baby clothes.
2. Find my stupid camera cord and post pictures!
3. Take pictures of the cashmere headband and scarf.
4. Set aside a time to blog and stick to it.
5. Find time for exercise. Getting off the booty is goooood.
6. Sleep?
Well I started my new job yesterday, and I love it! There is a HUGE amount of stuff to learn, and I am mentally wiped out when I get home. I am working the new job, teaching three days a week, and I have an hour commute in heavy traffic, so I think it's going to take some time to adjust to my new life. Inevitably my blog is going to suffer over the next few days. I'm still going to check in but I definitely won't be able to post a bunch. I am sure to be late answering back comments and reading my blogs as well. I am getting knitting done though. I have a whole hour for lunch now, and I knit during most of it. Some of my coworkers have expressed interest in it, and I think that is fabulous! Maybe we could get a little lunch hour knitting group going :) I hope you all have a great day. I have to go to bed so I can wake up and fight traffic in the morning. Waaahoooo!
I had a wonderful time yesterday! Rob took the day off and we went to MGM Studios and Epcot. His aunt had given us free park hopper passes for Christmas last year, and we have been too busy to use them until now. We started the day of at MGM studio and rode The Tower of Terror. It wasn't quite as terrifying as I thought it might be. After we left there, we basically ate our way around Epcot. This was all my idea I should add. We had dinner in Morocco and watched this awesome belly dancer perform. While I was taking a video on my camera phone she came over and grabbed me! She had me do some of the belly dancing moves with her in front of the whole restaurant! I was a little embarrassed, but it was too fun! Someone taping asked my husband for his email address so that he could send him video of me dancing. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.
In knitting news I just finished a headband/ear warmer made with 100% yummyyyyyyyy cashmere! My silly butt forgot to take a picture of it before I dropped it off at the shop. Don't worry I'll get one on Tuesday. Even though this was a very simple project it was one of the most pleasurable knitting experiences ever! This yarn was like spun clouds, baby bunnies, and satin sheets all spun together. Since I wasn't really following a pattern, I had to rip out the headband a couple of times before I got it right. Oh darn, right? What a horrible thing! I had to knit with the cashmere more!? Perish the thought. I'm halfway through a ruffly scarf in alpaca silk for the shop, and then I am going to try to get that Vogue wrap finished by January when I go up to VA. Well it's time for bed. I hope you all have a great day! I'll be working. Yay!
PS Go get cashmere!!
PSS The new Magknits is up. Go check it out!
Hello,
I enjoy your site even though I don't knit. Some I have tried to convert to crochet and some to weaving. I do have a show and tell a little out of the ordinary. I am a weaver. I make rugs, handbags, scarves, table runners and placemats.
Here are some of my favorites...
This is the loom I make them on.
This handbag was woven with Lion Brand Chenille (Burgundy) It was lined in purple silk. This was a one day project and I gave it to my daughter who added the beads and buttons to make look more bohemian.
This is a 5 foot runner made from bed ends. When they make sheets the trim all the ends and then ham them. They sell those ends to weavers. This fabric was a very mish mash of colors. It is one of my favorites. Using a loom is a test of your patients, but it pays off when you se the finished product.
Thank you,
Judy Oneacre
www.celticyarn.blogdrive.com
I can't divulge why I need luck tomorrow (Friday) let's say around 1pm, but it is surely a good reason! It is something that will change my life for the better, and I'll be praying tonight for good news to tell you tomorrow! I'm sorry I have been so slack on blogging. I need better time management!! Thanks :)
Crochet stuff will come one of these days...
I offer my sincerest most whole hearted thanks to all the Veterans alive and to those who are no longer with us. Both of my brothers and my Pops are Veterans and I am super proud of them :) Big hugs to you Nick, Chris, and Pops!
I am sorry that my blogging has been so sporadic, but I have been super busy lately. Let me say that I'm very happy to have all the things going on that make me busy (I'm finally making the best of living here in Florida), but my blog tends to suffer for it. Usually I'm not walking in the door until after 7 or so, and then I have to clean, cook, pay bills, etc. By the time I get to really sit down at the computer to check my emails, reply to comments, and read my blogs I look up and it's after midnight! Where does the time go? Then I wonder if I should blog or get some much needed sleep. Here lately sleep has won out. I haven't forgotten about the list of baby clothing pattern links, I just haven't had the time to sit down and do it. I am going to start doing a couple a night, and hopefully I'll have you a list soon :) To save on time tonight, here is what I have going on in nutshell...
This is a great picture of Rob with his favorite plane, a P51 Mustang! Doesn't he look happy!? Not to mention he looks pretty H-O-T I must say! <grin> He took some pictures during his flight up to Maine and back and I'll share those with you too when I get them.
I spent the evening in tangled yarn hell!! I am knitting a scarf for a yarn shop and the helpful wonderful pattern says, "Wind skeins of Eros and Electra on a ball winder and pull from the center and the outside for 2 strands." The lovely pattern didn't say how big of a pain in the butt it is to use Eros with a ball wander (it's super slippery), and how much trouble you can get yourself into when it doesn't work. I figured I would have the scarf completed this evening but instead spent the whole evening untangling Eros. I must say, this is one of the coolest novelty yarn scarves I have seen in a while, and the colors are fantastic!
Before I tell you the news, I want to tell you about the poll results. Baby Clothes won by a landslide! There are literally hundreds of baby clothes patterns online, so I'm not going to post every one I come across. It's still going to be a pretty large list of links, no worries.
Now for the good news. I always liked good news first. I got my replacement battery in the mail! It works great and I can take pictures again. First and foremost I owe you a picture of me and my pretty blue shawl. Don't think I have forgotten. Hard to forget something so beautiful especially since I curl up with it almost every night.
And now we have the bad news. I CAN'T FIND THE STUPID CORD TO MY CAMERA!! You know the one you have to have in order to put the pictures ON THE COMPUTER! Yeah that thing. It's gone. Of course it's gone. But in the famous words of my husband, "It's around here somewhere." The hunt is on people. The hunt is on!
Here are pictures of the jewelry that I made Grandmommy. I am still sans camera and Terry was nice enough to snap some pictures for me.
Before I say anything, I must mention the horrible earthquake that happened recently and say once again the people affected by yet another horrible tragedy are in my thoughts and prayers. Something's gotta give. Right?
I bought a battery for my camera on Ebay. Hopefully it will get here very soon! It is driving me crazy that I can't post pictures of what I am doing. I started a really cute felted bag in Purple Lamb's pride with Mulitfizz mixed in. It is going to be super cute! I am also going to make a matching felted cell phone case. These are samples for future beginner knitting classes. There is nothing better than felting for a beginner class. Uneven stitches?? What? Who cares! It will all felt out! This is great for the self esteem of a new knitter and eases a lot of frustration. If you teach crochet or knitting I highly recommend adding felting to your classes.
I am having camera issues. My battery no longer charges and now my stinking ac adapter has a short in it or something. Now I can't even plug the darn thing in to take pictures. If I could, I would show that I am halfway finished with my Lacey ChicKami. Insert mental image here. Haha! I am currently trying to track down a replacement battery which isn't easy or very affordable. It is at least a bit more affordable than buying a whole new camera. Hopefully I will remedy this situation very soon. What is a knitting blog without pictures?
Well there are always the links :) That is one thing I can do that is very helpful, and doesn't take a camera. What I want to know is what links would you like to have next? The holidays are rapidly approaching and I'm sure that there is something you are looking for. Give me some requests and we'll vote on the next hunt.
Hi everyone! I have some good news. Show N Tell is going to resume. I have received some new entries, and I have also been informed that some entries were sent in and apparently lost. If you have sent and entry in to me, and you haven't seen it posted. Please contact me a faercrafty at gmail dot com. I apologize for any misplaced entries, and I am working on a more organized way to store them. Hopefully, they will keep flowing in. Remember that any craft is eligible for Show N Tell, and you can participate even if you already have a website or blog. You may get some new visitors and make some new friends. Thanks again to everyone who has participated. I have greatly enjoyed seeing and reading about your creations.
