I Won Something!!

Hey you guys I actually won something! One day I was checking my email and this is what I see!

Stacie! You've won a prize -- two hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, color denim stripe -- in celebration of my new nephew, Big Mack! Please send me your mailing address so I can get them in the mail to you!

Happy Fourth of July!
Vicki

http://knitorious.typepad.com/knitorious/

I was totally surprised! I have never won a blog contest before. Thanks so much Vicki! The yarn is beautiful and feels so wonderful. It will sure make some comfy socks!

Isn't it pretty. This picture isn't very good unfortunately. Vicki has a much better picture of it on her blog. She also sent this really cute mini sharpie in the package. Thanks again Vicki you made my day.

PS. Don't watch BoogeyMan right before you have to go to sleep. In. The. Dark.

Show N Tell: Josh's Entry

  
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Here are some wonderful pencil sketches created by my cousin Josh. I especially like the one he did of Angelina Jolie. The second picture is of one of his dogs that unfortunately passed away, and the third picture is of a highschool friend. Great job Josh! You have some real talent there. Keep up the good work.

Russian Crochet Patterns

I saw a link to this site on a couple of yahoo groups I belong to. This site has tons of free crochet patterns in Russian. Someone also kindly gave a link to a page that has the translation of Russian crochet terms. You really ought to go check out these patterns. They are Sexaaaay. Ooooh and there are some beyooooooteeeeful shawls and wraps. I think it would be a great challenge to translate and crochet one of these patterns! There are also knitting patterns available and the translation site has the knitting terms as well.

I'm sure you are wondering where the heck is my One Skein wonder and what the heck happened to my X back. Well, I haven't picked up my needles in two days. Unfortunately life has a tendency to get in the way of crafting. Life being a pile of laundry that is growing exponentially and a house that is in a shambles. How does this house get so dirty?? There's only two of us living here! Is someone coming in here while we're sleeping and slinging stuff all over the place? Well I wish their crazy clean freak cousin would come instead. What the heck did that shoe maker do to get those elves to come and make shoes for him while he was sleeping? I have cookies!

I did pick up the needles for a knitting class today. The group consisted of three ladies I had in previous classes. This was a very productive class, and I feel like they are well on their way to becoming bonafide knitters. One of them expressed an interest in knitting a shrug so I gave her the link so that she could buy the One Skein Wonder pattern. I think it would be a wonderful beginner pattern. When I told her about it, she got so excited. Now she has even more motivation to practice her knitting!

Well I'm off tomorrow and I don't feel like cleaning. Hopefully that means I'll put the edging on One Skein Wonder and make a bunch of progress on XBack. I'm also going to be making a trip to the post office to send some faeries to their new home :) Have a great weekend everyone!

And The Winner Is...

Diane!!! Hi there Diane! Send me your address and the faeries will be on their way to you :) Thanks to everyone that participated. We have enough Show N Tells to keep us going for a little while longer, and I'm sure I'll offer new incentives in the future. Congrats Diane! I hope that you will like them :)

I Just Don't Understand...

Why this kind of thing happens. I don't even know what to say. I felt the need to write something, anything about this tragedy, but words fail me. I am not the best writer, and I don't have the vocabulary to express the sadness and the outrage I feel. When I saw the headlines I immediately felt the same sinking feeling in my stomach that I did on Sept. 11th and then again with the attack in Madrid. How could people do something so heartless and so horrible? I can hardly squash a BUG and there are people who can squash human life just as easily as they squash a cockroach. How is it that in the year two thousand and freaking five such barbaric and inhumane things can happen? Let's not forget the terrorism in Africa. Terrorism affects them every single day, we just don't see that on the news every time it happens. Don't you wish you could just close your eyes and wish it all away? Don't you feel helpless? All I know to do is pray for all the people affected by this tragedy and offer my deepest most sincere condolences to the loved ones of those that perished.

Last Chance To Enter

Today is your last chance to make an entry for Show N Tell and be included in the contest. All entries recieved up until 11:59 on 7/6/05 will be entered in a raffel to win some cute little beaded faeries like this one.

 Any craft is elligible for Show N Tell, and even if you have a blog you can still enter. Also, you can enter more than once. There is no limit on the amount of entries. Just email them to me at faerycrafty at gmail dot com. There have been some wonderful entries so far, and I love seeing all the beautiful things that everyone has made :) The winner will be announced here on Thursday July 7th. See you then :)

Show N Tell: Veronica's Entry

I am a bear maker and have also begun making dolls this past year. I spent some time this winter just "surfing" around as I was house-bound after carpal tunnel surgery... guess what I did then? Stumbled on Norm's sweet little needle felted bears... I had seen them last year..but lost track of them for awhile. I bought a few... but, then..decided I had to learn to make my own. So...now I also needle felt bears as well as stitching up the mohair type....so much to do and not nearly enough hours in a day hey? Here is my latest little guy ...I want to share him with you for Show and Tell...he is barely 2.75 inches... just over 2 sitting....

   
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His name is Bluebeary Ice.... He is made from lovely soft New Zealand wool that is actually a hank of tri-colour roving... I carefully separated it at the colour change so I could get a one colour bear... then the white is bits plucked from the white mohair that I use for my Poodles and Bichons. I needled it in for the toes and a bit on the ears and other areas where I wanted to add a bit of fuzz or get a softer look. His eyes are onyx beads, the nose is embroidered and he is fully string jointed like my other tiny bears. Hope your readers enjoy meeting the "Iceman" !!

If you would like to see some of my other "stuff"...I do have a Picturetrail site... http://www.picturetrail.com/bumblebearies
Cheers..
Veronica Philion
Calgary, Canada

It's Hard Coming Up With Titles Sometimes

I have been doing a little tweaking to my sidebar between knitting this evening. I updated my project list and made it so you can click on each project and it will take you to the gallery picture or blog entry of the project. I don't know why the heck I didn't do that sooner. Man I'm such a lazy blogger!

I'm almost done with OSW! Yay! All I have left do is pick up and knit the stitches for the edging. That shouldn't take long. I could honestly see this project being done in one day. Not that I'm going to finish it in one day. I just think it is possible. I'll probably have it finished tomorrow. What's that? A three day project!? Lovin' it!

I didn't knit on X Back this evening. Poor little thing. I hope she isn't jealous. Don't worry little X Back, I'll pick you back up when I finish OWS tomorrow. I figure I should be done with X by the middle of next week, so I'm already auditioning the next project. I'm trying to decide if I want more cute and easy or something more complicated. I guarantee you that another OSW will find it's way onto my needles. Can you say three day project? I know you can ;)


Well that's all I have for today. Oh wait there is this...



I found this link on Bethany's blog and decided to participate myself. I made some science everybody! Whatcha think about that :)

What I'm Up To

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What you see here is the X Back and the One Skein Wonder. Let me just say that both of these patterns are super easy, and I'm sure they'll be done in no time. I wish I had time to post more, but I'm really short on time tonight. It's already 11:17 and I have to get up in the morning and run. I got so into knitting tonight I forgot to blog, and I threw this together as fast as I could.   

Show N Tell: Helene's Entry

A few finished projects. The girls were sewing again last weekend, and we finished two projects. First we made some sort of apron using plastic covered fabric. The front and lower parts of the sleeves are made from the plastic stuff, the rest is regular cotton. Nice for baking, painting or other messy activities. It has two sets of ribbon for closing in the back. The plastic wasn't the easiest thing to work with. At least the feed dogs of my sewing machine were not so thrilled, they had to work really hard to get a grip at this thing. I think it turned out pretty well anyway. And if you're not baking, painting or doing other messy activities, it can also work as a doctors gown. Next was this summer dress. We had enough fabric over for a matching coif. Lilja was very happy with this one, she loves wearing dresses, but she still can't stand still, and I worked very hard to get a not so blurry picture of her. The french market bag is also done. After I finished I found out that many knitters have made the handles longer. I'll do the same if I make another.

Great job Helene and Lilja is just too cute! You can visit Helene's blog here and check out her other wonderful creations. She selected a five to show on Show N Tell. That means five faery entries for you Helene! Remember there are only a few days left to enter. Email all entries to faerycrafty at gmail dot com.

Cotton Ease Hoarders Unite!

I just joined a yahoo message group for other hoarders of Cotton Ease. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that went on a major Cotton Ease binge. There are at least 65 others just like me <grin> Now that we have this big ole stash we need to start figuring out what the heck to do with it. My first suggestion would be to go to ChicKnits. Several of her knitting patterns use Cotton Ease. My favorite is ChicKami. What a cute little top! I bought the pattern a while back and one should find itself on my needles soon.

I had another knitting class tonight. There were six people which is more than I have had in a long time. I find it so interesting how some people pick up the needles and fly and some people can't get past casting on in the first lesson. It's amazing how each individuals mind works so differently. To teach knitting you have to be pretty flexible and learn how to bend with each knitter's needs. You may have to try different ways of holding the needles or yarn, and it is a good idea to know how to knit both English and Continental. Some people can't knit English to save their life but pick up on Continental in a heart beat and vice versa. Some people may pick up English just fine but they need to hold the yarn a completely different way than you do. Make sure that if you ever teach someone to knit that you tell them there is no right or wrong way to knit as long as the stitches are coming out right. Like I always say, "We are knitting for World Peace and noone's life is hanging on the balance if we do not make the perfect stitch. This is all supposed to be fun!" I may not know all there is about teaching a person to knit, but these things are important lessons I have learned over the past couple of years teaching.

Well I'm off to bed. I have to get up at 6:30 am to run with my hubby! This a whole new thing for me, and I'll tell you all about it soon. Let's just say for now that joining Knit N Fit has made me some great new friends and positive changes in my life. Have a great weekend everybody!!

Thanks!!

I just wanted to say thanks to all the sweet sweet people that left such wonderful comments about me and my bolero. It really means a lot to me! You guys ROCK!

Now that I have finished the bolero I started a new project. I am now working on X Back from Knitty. I managed to score some Katia Ola on ebay and I'll have a bunch left over that I will probably sell. Why should I have all the fun. This way someone else can knit the top too. This ribbon yarn is pretty neat. I haven't seen anything quite like it before. It is white with blue pin stripes. Check it out...

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Pretty neat huh. I thought so too :) This should go pretty fast. I can't imagine it taking too long with big ole whoppin' size 11 needles!!! This is progress from about an hour or so of knitting. Not too shabby. You can see that I do a lot of blog reading and chatting as I knit. This is my usual knitting layout. I'm not happy unless I'm doing major multi-tasking! Anyone else like that?

(Not So) Fiery Bolero

Fiery Bolero
Pattern from Summer 2005 Interweave Knits
Knit with one skein of Bernat Baby Softee on size 6 and 4 needles
Pattern was super easy to follow. The only thing that might be hard
for someone would be picking up over 250 stitches.

Well here it is...

The only good picture to come out of a 2 hour photo session.

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I literally tried for two hours to get a good picture of me in my bolero, and I was completely unsucessful. Outside is way too dreary with all the rain and cloud cover, and I have horrible lighting inside my apartment. I'm going to try again tomorrow and see what happens. I'm hoping for some sun. Isn't this supposed to be the SUNSHINE STATE??

Show N Tell: Janette's Entry

I have been spinning since November, 2002, learning how to spin on a spindle first to make sure I enjoyed spinning (which I most definitely did) and purchased my Lendrum DT Complete in 2003. I love my wheel! Although I am not a fast spinner, since I love to knit, I have quite an assortment of merino yarns stockpiled I thought I would share with you.

The multi-colored hot pink merino was purchased from Paradise Fibers. It is the wonderful handpainted roving "Rhapsody in Pink." I didn't realize instructions were posted on their website on "how to spin your own self-striping yarn" before I started spinning my yarn, but I like mine anyway. I have approximately 600 yards so far with more left to spin. It is destined to be either socks or fingerless mitts for my daughter, or maybe both!

The Ashland Bay dark purple merino is my most recent spinning endeavor. With 2 lbs in all to spin, it is slow going. It is earmarked to become my first, originally designed sweater - for me! Let's see if that happens! (My daughter is my best customer!)

The brown yarn is also Ashland Bay merino….not a clue as to what I will knit with it! I'm waiting for inspiration. The sage green is also Ashland Bay, but merino and silk. A joy to spin!!! I have 1500 yards and hope to knit a shawl with it one day.

Unlike many spinners who try new fibers, I pretty much fell in love with spinning merino. Maybe one of these days I will branch out and try something new!

My goal is to spin lace weight yarn. I am close but not quite there yet! Self taught from online websites such as www.icanspin.com and www.joyofhandspinning.com, I now belong to a spinning guild that meets once a month. We not only enable each other, we learn from each other. If anyone is interested in learning how to spin, my recommendation would be to look for a guild in your area. It is an invaluable resource!

My Dirty Secret Revealed

This is proof positive that my husband is an absolute saint.

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This is the end result of the great search for the sadly discontinued Cotton Ease.
Zoe looks on in disbelief. Yes I actually did leave some out there, somewhere.

You Know You've Been Knitting Too Much When...

Your poor cat sits next to you and presses her head on your knitting hand so that it will pet her while you are knitting. She's quite resourceful that kitty cat of mine. Don't worry the knitting is done and the side seams are getting sewn. I may not have finished it in time for last weekend but it will be finished in time for this one :) Of course I don't have this weekend off so I won't be going anywhere to show it off. Ah Murphy we are such wonderful friends. One day you'll cut me some slack :P

Bolero Update

I almost made my weekend deadline. All I have to do is put the ribbing on the sleeves then sew up the seams and I am done! I will more than likely finish tomorrow. I didn't really get to knit today unfortunately. Life sometimes just gets in the way I guess. It's hard to find time to knit or blog sometimes. I did a little (little HAHA) shopping over the weekend. Pictures of the extravaganza are coming soon :) I have to get up way early so I need to head to bed.

Remember if you want to win some cute beaded faeries send in your Show N Tell entry to faery crafty @ gmail dot com.  Feel free to email me with any questions.

Show N Tell: Diane's Entry

These are my versions of 2 of the patterns in your free bag pattern links :) The Fleuri bag by Julie Holetz I love, but i got a bit carried away when I came to do the petals. I also added a couple of crocheted flowers to the handles, and then I thought because I had used the dark loganberry colour yarn that I'd add a varigated pink butterfly that I crocheted with Coats mercer(which i inherited in a stash from my late nan and i know she will be smiling in heaven because she was the crochet queen and she taught me!)





The other bag was a first....the plain yarn is the before - the varigated is the after of my first attempt at dying yarn!:)the pattern is Coats and Clarks "It's in the bag"andI know the handles are different but they are the nearest I could get :) I suppose it's artistic license? The dye i used was Dylon cold water powder dye and I painted it on to form a varigated yarn,then zapped it in the microwave.I wanted to get darker shades, but as you can see the colours are more muted. I was pleased with the overall outcome, and for a first attempt I must admit I feel quite proud of myself :) Thanks for all the brill stuff on your blog!!

Diane

Not So Fiery Bolero

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Here is the progress so far on my Not So Fiery Bolero. I mean the bolero in the picture is quite fiery. But mine, not so much. It is however all that I wanted it to be. I need a white bolero for all the cute sundresses I recently bought (My husband also bought me two dresses and shoes to match each for our anniversary. Yes I know I'm lucky), and my husband thought this one would be perfect. He picked it out from the bazillion patterns I placed before him. It doesn't look like much progress, but it actually is if you think about how small a bolero is. I have been knitting every chance I can get trying to finish this thing by the weekend. This may be wishful thinking, but I'm still going to give it a shot.

Soleil

I wish I had a better picture of Soleil for you, but the weather here has been really yucky. Maybe one day the sun will come out and I can take a better picture. For now I have this...

I think the top turned out pretty good. I wish that I had made it a little longer, but there is nooooo way I'm ripping and reknitting. If I were to knit this one again, I would knit the length to the large size measurements and the width for the smallest size. I have already worn it twice and it looks pretty darn cute and overall I really love this top. I love her so much I made her a bracelet.



I am sorry about the bad picture. I think my camera is slowly dying. Everything is coming out all blurry. I think it might be about time for a new one. At least they are cheaper now then when I bought this one. It won't hurt too bad to buy one.

I was planning on starting X Back but decided I just HAD to have a shrug to go with all my cute little sundresses I have bought. My husband picked out Fiery Bolero from the last Interweave Knits. I'll probably jump on the One Skein Wonder train as well. I'm so jealous of all of them flying off the needles everywhere I look!!

Show N Tell: Regina's Entry

    
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Hi Stacie,
It's been a while since I have emailed you regarding your show n' tell. My daughter did not want to wear the dress until we were in Japan. We literally arrived today (13 hr flight non-stop from Chicago to Nagoya). We spent five days in Tokyo (but it was too cool for this dress). Then we spent the last five days in Kyoto (nice and warm). I made this dress from a current Vogue pattern. It's an updated version of the kimono and roomier. It's suppose to have a tie around the waist, but she is always undoing them, so I decided to omit it. That's all for now. I bought a lot of Japanese yarn in Tokyo. I hope to get knitting soon!

Very, very jet lagged,
Regina




Regina the dress is beautiful and so is the model!! Thanks so much for sharing! I hope to see more and more entries to Show N Tell. It has been such a blast. To show my appreciation and to inspire more entries, I have decide to have a little contest. Every entry into Show N Tell until July 6 will be entered in a drawing to win this...



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and a couple of her friends. It is a cute little beaded faery that I made just for you! She is 1 1/2 inches tall (she looks big in my hand but I have seriously small hands) and her little arms and legs can be bent to pose her in all kinds of ways. You can get creative with them and add as a charm on a necklace, attach as a zipper pull, wear as dangly earrings, use as stitch markers... Just use your imagination and have fun!  To enter email your Show N Tell entry (even people that have a blog can enter)to faerycrafty at gmail dot com. All past entries will be included and the winner will be announced on the blog July 7.  I'll be waiting!

Our Anniversary

Here we are seven years and fifteen pounds later heehee...

Here's a couple Rob took of me...

Happy Anniversary Baby

Seven years ago today I married the best man in the world. I know in my heart that we will truely live happily ever after and make all the Faery Tales real. Rob, you will always be my Knight in Shining Armor, and I love you with all my heart and soul.

If you would like to view a few of our wedding pictures click here.

Technical Difficulties...

Will Return Soon :)

Update

Hi Everyone. I just wanted to let you know that all I have to do on Soleil is the crochet part. With any luck I'll have a picture for you on Wednesday. I went shopping aaaaalllllllllll day long with Grandmommy, and we had a fabulous time. We made a mandatory stop by the bead shop, and we bought enough beads for me to make us matching bracelets and a bracelet to match Soleil. I am on this total kick of making a bracelet to match every outfit. Why not right.

While we were shopping in Petite Sophisticate a girl admired the bracelet that I was wearing. She asked where I got it and I told her I made it. She totally freaked and said she wants to buy one. My friend Janette has also ordered a bracelet from me. I'm thinking I could make some extra money with this. Too cool!! I'm trying to get a good picture of the bracelet I was wearing in the store, but I'm having a hard time. You can't see the facets in the quartz beads. I'll try taking one in natural light outside tomorrow. Here is a picture of the bracelet I made my mom. She absolutely loved it!!

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I used 6mm Emerald Swarovski Bicones and 14K gold findings. My mom love Emeralds and I though that she would appreciate a more simple bracelet. I was right. She'll be getting earrings to match soon.

My 10mm round Swarovski's finally arrived today so I can start on Grandmommy's set after I finish Soleil. She will be happy about that. We have been waiting for these for a week. Too bad I didn't find the new bead shop before I ordered them.

Well it's off to bed for me. I have to get up in FIVE HOURS! Argh! Hopefully I'll have the strength to finish Soleil tomorrow! Have a great day!

Show N Tell: Vicki's Entry

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Hi I would like to show off my socks. The pattern is the blueberry waffle. I don't like to knit in just one color and strips make it work up fast. These socks were donated to the senior center in my area so they can sell and they use the money for repairs,supplies. I make for them about 15 pairs plus 15 fur hats, sorry i don't have a picture of them. My socks and hats were a hit, they sold them in one day, and even had orders to get more.

Right now I'm working on more hats and socks for them and I also want to add other kinds of items like scarfs,mittens, and shawls. This will be a September surprise for them. Then they will be all set for winter. I already have 10 pairs of socks, 10 hats, 2 pairs of mittens, and only one scarf. The scarf is Wavy from knitty.com.

During the hot summer months I hope to get some shawls done. I know the older ladies would love them. I found so many good patterns at your site. Thank you so much. tI was like christmas for me to be able to find and make it up for them.

Happy Knitting
Vicki

Oh Boy!

Almost done! Can't post. Have to go to work....

Comments

I have started a new commenting system that will allow me to email each person that comments on my blog. I think it is a more personal way to answer my comments. Unfortunately this made all the old comments disappear. They aren't gone forever though. All I have to do is take away the Haloscan comments and the old ones reappear. I'm just testing this out to see how I like it.

I feel bad, but I haven't knit in two days. I am almost to the end of Soleil and I have stalled on my progress. Do any of you ever do this? Get almost to the end and just set the thing down. Sometimes I just don't feel like knitting, and I never want to force it. Knitting is supposed to be fun and I don't want to make it more of a deadline thing and an obligation. It's not like I have had idle hands. Beading has just been getting my attention the last couple of days. Don't worry though, I feel my knitting urge coming back. I knew it wouldn't be gone for long :)

Say Hello

to my latestest addiction...

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It started out innocently enough. I wanted to find jewelry to go with the dress (omg wait till you see this dress!) I bought for our 7th anniversary. A lot of thought (from at least four sales ladies, Grandmommy, and indecisive me) went into this dress, and I wanted the perfect accessories to top it off. I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere. Then it dawned on me. Hello you know how to make jewelry you goofball! This sent me running to the bead shop where I found the perfect beads to go with the perfect dress and not to mention the perfect shoes!!

Well I ran short about 4 Light Rose Swarovski Crystals, and both the bead shops I knew of didn't carry have them. I was afraid to chance Ebay, so I had to find another source. Luckily I found a bead shop in my area that I had no clue about, and they had them!

Well they had those and a whole lot more. I was like a kid in a candy shop people. I was just going to buy my four beads and some beads to make a bracelet for my mom's birthday present, and I ended up spending three hours (I take longer to pick out beads than I do to pick out dresses) in the shop and sixty dollars!!! I can't reveal the specifics of my mom's present at the moment and my set is not quite completed so you'll have to wait to see them.

I almost ended up buying more but managed to somehow get a grip on myself and get out of there. I can still hear the beads I left behind calling my name. Stacieeeeeeeee

I have the coolest friend!

My friend Rhonda was surprised by her husband with a trip to the Sheep and Wool Festival. Before she left, she asked if anyone would like a signed copy of Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee AKA Yarn Harlot's book. I immediately began begging for a copy. I never thought I would have the opportunity for a signed one!

Well I'm over at the bead shop ( the one I teach knitting at sometimes) working on a bracelet, and my phone rings. Rhonda says, "Here I want you to talk to someone." Next thing I know I'm on the phone with Stephanie. I got so excited I started blathering like a total idiot! Let me just say that Stephanie is super nice, and if you don't have her book or if you haven't read her blog then stop right now and goooooooo. I also chatted with Cassie from Too Much Wool  and Mamacate who were both very nice as well. They probably all think I'm crazy now hahaha! I can't wait to get my book when Rhonda gets back. Now however will I be able to return this favor!?

Show N Tell

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I am really excited to have our first Quilting Show N Tell. This is a jacket that Nancy's sister made by quilting onto a sweat shirt. I think it is wonderful!! I would never have thought to make a jacket this way. Don't you just love how crafty people are!? I have such talented Show N Tellers :)

Remember if you would like to participate, email me at FaeryCrafty1 at yahoo dot com. Just include a picture and information about the project you are showing off. All entries (including past entries) will be entered into a drawing. Once I can get the darn stuff to make the prize (can you tell I'm just a little frustrated) it will be revealed. Have a great Monday everyone!


PS. One of my friends did something so cool for me!!! I'll tell ya all about it Tuesday <grin>

Soleil Progress

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Here is a picture of my progress so far on Soleil. I am amazed out how different the color of the yarn looks in each picture I take of it. It looks really orange in this one. What you see here is the back of the top. Once the back is completed, you finish the front. Right now those stitches are on stitch holders. I have the weekend off so who knows, I may finish.

I feel bad because I know I'm not exactly a prolific knitter, and I wish I had more finished projects to show you. Thank goodness for Show N Tell or you would all be bored to tears with this blog. Speaking of Show N Tell, I'm running low on entries! Oh no that is no good! If you would like to send in an entry, email me at FaeryCrafty1 at Yahoo dot com. I for one would love to see some bead work. We haven't seen a lot of that in our entries. Any beaders out there? Come show your stuff :)

PS. Plans for a Show N Tell contest are in the works. Right now I am trying to get all the supplies together to make the prize. I'll keep ya posted :)

I think it's time for me to flyyyyyyy

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I flew off of it! My husband took me flying ! I got to take off, land, and everything! We even made it back alive!!! One of our friends ( he was visiting from out of town. another reason for my absense) was along and got pictures and video of it. I don't have a way to get his pictures on my computer, but he said he will email them to me soon.

I am making good progress on Soleil. I have divided for the neckline and armholes and I am working on the back at the moment. I hope to be finished with it soon. I have decided for my next project I will knit X back from Knitty. I have 11 balls of Katia Ola and all I need is 3 to make the top. I think that I will sell whatever is left over once I knit my top. I don't think I'll have a problem selling it, since it is nearly impossible to find now and many people are wanting to knit X.

Since I am being totally lazy and do not feel like taking pictures (houseguests can really take a toll on you) I am going to give you a few free pattern links from my bookmarks in no particular order =)

Crocheted Stuffed Hello Kitty
Knit Cap Sleave Raglan
Crocheted Felted Draw String Bag

Crocheted Frogs

Crocheted Duffel Purse
Knit Lousie Felted Handbag

Hand Knit Felted Purse Generator
Crocheted Girl's Purse
Knit Special Companion Bags

Knit Bolero Top
Crocheted Timeless Tank
Knit Summer Shell
Crocheted Sherbert Tank Top
Child's Funky Knit Hoody
Knit Lelah Top
Knit Lelah Skirt
Sheila Mohair and Lace Knit Capelet
Knit Sarah Tank Top
Crocheted Cocoon Sweater
Crocheted Square Neck Tank Top

Show N Tell: Birdsong's Entry

The shrug is made from yarns I purchased off Ebay a few years back, although I didn't get back to finishing it till just after Christmas. The teal is Horstia Mogador, which is thick and soft. The little squares are made from a cone of unidentified rainbow thick and thin yarn from Ebay, and they have little bobbles made from some leftover scarf yarn I got at Ben Franklin on closeout this fall. The pattern for the Shrug is from the book The Knitting Goddess.

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

Angel

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More Info On Angel

Sorry about the lack of information on Angel. I was so pooped yesterday it was all I could do to post the pictures. I knit Angel using Berroco Crystal FX in Titanium. This yarn is so neat! It reminds me of the Angel Hair that you put on Christmas Trees hence the name, Angel. I casted on 15 stitches on size 13 needles and did a simple drop stitch pattern.  It was very easy and very quick. Thanks for all of the great compliments on the scarf, belt, and Grandmommy :) We can't get her head through the darn door anymore! Anyone got any butter??!

Tagged :)

I got tagged by Pioggia. This one seems really interesting. You're supposed to pick five and then fill in the blank. Here it goes...

If I could be a scientist…
If I could be a farmer…
If I could be a musician…
If I could be a doctor…
If I could be a painter…
If I could be a gardener…
If I could be a missionary…
If I could be a chef…
If I could be an architect…
If I could be a linguist…
If I could be a psychologist…
If I could be a librarian…
If I could be an athlete…
If I could be a lawyer…
If I could be an inn-keeper…
If I could be a professor…
If I could be a writer…
If I could be a llama-rider…
If I could be a bonnie pirate…
If I could be an astronaut…
If I could be a world famous blogger…
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world…
If I could be married to any current famous political figure…

If I could be a scientist I would be hard at work trying to discover either a cure or a vaccine for HIV. Then mass quantities of this cure/vaccine will be distributed around the world to the many people who are suffering from this horrible epidemic.

If I could be a musician I would play the violin and piano. I have always loved those instruments and have often played them in my dreams. I do a really good job too! Maybe I was a musician in a former life :)

If I could be a chef, my husband would be ecstatic. This would mean he didn't have to cook dinner every night. It's not that I can't cook, it's that I don't like to cook. I pretend to be incompetent in the kitchen so that he will do the cooking. Hahaha! You know it's usually men that do that!

If I could be a doctor, I would volunteer for Doctors Without Borders. I have always admired the doctors that are so giving and most often brave hostile environments to help their fellow man.

If I could be a gardener, I would grow all of my own organic veggies. This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but I'm stuck in an apartment. However, I did plant some tomatoes in a pot the other day, and I got little sprouts coming up!

If I could be a llama rider, I would be riding a bald llama! You know I'd have to spin it's hair! Well I guess it wouldn't be bald all the time. I would have to let it grow long enough so that it will spin Haha!

India Ribbon Belt

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India Ribbon Belt

Materials:
Lana Grossa's India 1 ball
Size 13 needles
12 Not So Plain Jane Beads 

Cast on 7 stitches

K1,P1 repeat for all rows until your belt reaches the length you want.
Remember to allow for the length of your fringe.

There are three fringes on each end of the belt made up of one strand
of yarn 12 inches long folded in half.

Slide two beads over each fringe and tie a knot to hold in place.

Trim the ends evenly.

Notes: This ribbon snags very easily. It's a good idea to make sure that
your fingernails are filed while knitting with it. The fringes may fray at the ends as well.
Although I didn't treat the edges of this belt a dab of clear fingernail polish may stop
them from fraying.

Show N Tell: Claudia's Entry

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I knit this set for a friend in Paris who's just had her first baby. As it happened, I also had two other babies to knit for, so I knit two additional sets, one in purple and one in watermelon pink. The socks are my own pattern and it was the first time I ever wrote a pattern for anything. No one was more amazed than me when they turned out so cute! The pattern for the beret is from Knit Baby Head and Toes, the beret yarn is Elann's Endless Summer. The sock yarn is Elann's Esprit. To do the three hats. I bought one skein each of the white and green, and three different colors for the crowns. Same for the socks, I bought one skein of white for the ruffles and three different colors for the socks proper. It made the three baby gifts very inexpensive to knit!

Cheers,

Claudia
http://healmyhands.com

The Belt

Here is the belt that I made for my grandmother. The angle I took this picture at makes the fringe look way longer than what it is. I'm just too tired to try and get a better one tonight. (I had to unload the truck at work today, and it took four hours!!! Then I got to spend another five hours putting the freight up. Yuck!) I'll be getting up with my grandmother tomorrow to give her the belt, so hopefully I'll get pictures of it in action. One good thing about the picture is that the color came out just right. I'm pretty happy about that :)

Knit Club

The first rule about Knit Club is you don't talk about Knit Club...

I saw this link  at Yarn A Go Go. Hahahahahaha!

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.