Summer Knitting

I wanted to make a skirt, and then I came into some yarn (thank you Jill), so I decided to make a skirt with it. It may or may not end up looking like I am a giant cloud when I wear it. That is, if I have enough yarn to finish it. Here's the start... In this photo it's upside down. I am knitting a little waistband of ribbing, then using a stitch I found in Interweave Knits for the the Farrow Rib Cardigan. I'm just going to keep on knitting with maybe a few increases here and there, and hope when I run out of yarn it covers my butt. It should give me something to do on the looooong van ride to Montana Monday to field camp.

In other news, I knitted up another quick oven mitt at the request of my friend Emily, who says she always just uses towels. We can't have now that can we!? She wanted a hand on it, and that is what she got...with a blue thumb due to limited green supply. It ended up being about the same size as the first one, which was perfect for her little hands!

Lelah

Pattern: Lelah

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease

Needles: US 8 & 9

Start: 5.14.08

Finish: 5.25.08

This turned out pretty nice. I didn't make the elastic at the top quite tight enough, which I could fix, but will I? I think instead I might make some cloth straps for this. I think I would wear it more if it had straps. I didn't really change much: I made it longer than the pattern, which I pretty much do with everything I make because I have a pretty long torso. I also forgot to put in the eyelet row where you were supposed to string a ribbon through for decoration. I think I like it better without anyway. All in all, it was a success. I wasn't sure towards the end - I thought it was going to be too big, but with blocking it turned out great. Its a really fun and pretty easy pattern. It would be a great first lace project.

it's a kitchen kind of birthday....

for a friend who loves to cook.... ...and clean?

Happy Memorial Day!

Despite the weekend starting out with having a root canal, it turned out to be pretty good. I didn't get most of the stuff done that I wanted, but hey, I'm not gonna worry about it! I did make a pillow for my bedroom:

I also (mostly) finished my Lelah top; all I have left to do is sew in the elastic. I'll post a picture as soon as I do that. I hope it fits. Its looking kinda large right now. I also worked on my red baby cardigan which really has become my nemesis because I keep screwing up the lace. I don't know what the problem is. Well, yes I do. Its probably not the best idea to try to knit lace and watch a subtitled movie at the same time. So I put that down and casted on for the Lace Surplice Top.

I don't have a TV and don't yet have a library card so that I can get books on cd... so I have really been getting into the podcasts lately. I couple I really like, in case you might be interested: Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour (bluegrass, folk, Americana, alt-country, blues, jazz; all acoustic. their motto is 'you don't have to be famous, you just have to be good. really good.), e-town (I use to listen to this radio show when I lived in Madison, but I haven't found a radio station that carries it since then... and its a great radio show). Non-music podcasts I like are Cast-On (knitting), This American Life finally has a free podcast (yay!), Terra (environmental stuff), and PRI's Living on Earth (stuff about living on earth). And Dad, you can access these by downloading itunes and going to the 'itunes store' and then searching podcasts for these. I know you would really enjoy the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. Check it out.

Have mom get you an ipod. :)

The last of the fingerless mitts.

This is the last of the fingerless mitts, I swear. I'm sick of them. But I had to finish the pair that I started. I'm giving these to my friend Sarah for her birthday.
p.s. I didn't think this pattern was simple. The pattern didn't tell you (RS) every time (it would have been helpful) and wasn't really consistent with it's directions. boo. I think these two turned out different sizes, because I screwed the first one up. But I was sick of them so I didn't have the energy to go back and figure out how to make them exactly the same.

I used this wool yarn that I got for cheap a long time ago and I didn't do a swatch so I don't know the gauge, but these turned out a LOT bigger and thicker than the ones Jill made for me....

Big Plans

Now that life has settled down a bit and I am getting into a routine again, the knitting queue is piling up. I have three tops that I want to make this summer: Lelah, the Aletia Shell from Spring 2008 Interweave Knits, and the Surplice Lace Top from Nashua Handknits. I am planning to use yarn from my stash, and actually I have started Lelah already:

I am using Lion Brand Cotton Ease (I really like this yarn!) in a color called 'taupe', but I think it is more of a 'coffee'. I am hoping that the bottom will be big enough... Right now it looks kind of small, but I am hoping it will stretch with blocking. It is lace, afterall.

I am also working on a red baby cardigan that I started a while back, but I keep messing up the lace pattern and I'm getting frustrated. It needs to be ripped right now, but I'm giving it a rest for now. The baby's not due until Aug. 6th, so I've got some time.

Otherwise, I have been keeping busy with getting unpacked and everything put away. I finally unpacked my last few boxes last night. I have plans this weekend for painting the kitchen, making kitchen curtains, and working in the garden. I bought a few more plants. Frazier got into the garden this week and dug up the squash plant, so I think it might be done-for. I'm not sure what his deal was. He's not usually a digger. But, I have tomatoes and green peppers on the way, as long as I can keep them alive.

My other plans include staying away from any thrift stores/flea markets/antique stores. You guys, these places are incredible. I could spend hours and a fortune in these places. I am use to Huntsville where you really have to dig for a treasure, but here they're everywhere. And reasonable prices, not necessarily cheap and not outrageously expensive, but within reason. Which is BAD. Because then I want to buy things. But I am practicing self control. Trying anyway...

29!?!

A year ago Molly was in the hospital, my grandpa was sick. I spent my birthday alone, lonely, and worried about my sister. My then-boyfriend brought me a Hardee's biscuit (bacon, egg, and cheese) for breakfast when I told him I wanted to go out for breakfast. (I will never forgive him for that). Life was really, really different and I was a really different person. It's been a long year. But its been a year I wouldn't give up for anything. Among other things, it has been a year of self-discovery, self-analyzation, and self-realization. Realizing that I am a seriously awesome gal (!), that I am 100% capable of being alone (in all senses of the word), that sometimes things don't turn out as I expect, but everything really does end up for the best. I realized how lucky I am to have such thoughtful, caring, loving, special, talented, simply amazing, kindred-spirit friends. And lots of them. Friends I didn't even realize were my friends. For the first time in my life, I feel like I know who I am... I know where I'm going and where I want to go... and I'm happy with where I am right now. Its a pretty incredible feeling. I don't really think there is anything else like it.

So yesterday was a day to celebrate. I moved across the country two weeks ago, but I didn't spend the day alone! I went hiking in the mountains with two of my new co-worker friends. It was beautiful - a gorgeous day, not too hot and not windy at all. There were great views and cactus blooming (check out flickr for more pictures). I hiked 5.5 miles - the longest I have gone in a long time. On the way home, Frazier insisted that I stop at the store to get myself a treat, and of course I didn't really resist, I decided on a six-pack of local brew and a chocolate/hazelnut bar. Little did I know the little man himself went in a got me a treat too, and when we got home he fixed up a wonderful lemon tart with fresh strawberrys and blackberrys. Man, am I lucky to have that dog or what? He's so smart! We were pooped when we got home, so we ate our treats (of course I shared with him) and plopped down on the (new) couch to watched a move and knit and then went to bed exhaused and happy. A pretty darn good day. And I even finished those socks I started last September. We'll call them Jill's longest project ever:

Pattern: Uptown Boot Socks by Jennifer Appleby

Source: Favorite Socks

Yarn: Plymouth Yarns Sockotta

Needles: US 2