Sunday, March 29, 2009

Doing My Part

The gummint says we should buy in order to stimulate the economy.

Buying = Good

Saving = Bad (or at least Not So Good)

And so, yesterday, I did my part. Time to discard the worn and tired summer garments and spruce up the wardrobe. People who know me well know that "sprucing" means Buying New Shirts (that don't have coffee (and other stuff) dripped down the front), mostly.

I confess that I also bought a couple of new dresses (inexpensive, knit, comfy looking) and one of them Isn't Black. Assuming that I keep the stuff after it arrives, I might blog about it. I hate clothes shopping enough to state right here for all to see, that if it fits, it stays.

I'm making good progress on the short-sleeve sweater (see earlier posts for color shots). The sleeves and back are finished, the buttons are chosen and waiting, and I am about 3" into one of the front panels. It's waist-length, so the rest should go pretty quickly.

And in other knitting knews, I have also been working on 7" squares for an afghan project (someone else will assemble).

This was a good opportunity to try out some stitch patterns from 365 Knitting Stitches a Year and other stitch books I have in the knitting library. There are textures, but there is also a bit of lace. Sampling is good. I'm trying things out for the baby blanket fair entry.

The yarn for these squares was stuff that was left over from other projects (100% acrylic) except for the green and the hot pink. They are Red Heart Classic in Artichoke and Grenadine respectively that I got at the TruValu (hardware store--and yes, I get the irony) for free because I have a frequent shopper card and I frequently shop there (for actual hardware). My $10 coupon got me 5 skeins of RH (the only yarn they carry).

Regular readers may have noticed the Lack of Yarn Purchases so far this year. I am on a yarn fast!

I will confess to dropping a hair under a Jackson ($20 US to non-US readers) at the Goodwill store a couple of weeks ago. Piggishly, I bought every scrap of yarn on the shelves (13+ pounds of it). Most was acrylic, though there were a few balls of some pretty nice hair of the mo and 2 balls of a premium white cotton and a huge whack of crochet thread that I will probably use for warp on my loom. I gave away the novelty stuff, but saved the chenille for weaving.

I don't know what possessed me. Maybe deprivation.

I promised myself that if my weight was down 10 pounds by March 31, I would allow myself a little splurge. March 1, I had lost 7 pounds. The end was in sight and the goal attainable. Then, in less than a week, WHAM, every ounce was back. What's up with that?

You don't suppose that the karma of buying all that Used Yarn zapped me, do you?

Nah!

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// posted by Ann @ 3/29/2009 07:31:00 AM 2 comments

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Did I Not Promise?


Top leftish diagonally: Started blankie, started slipper, started afghan square, started sweater.
Not shown: started weaving.
So, do I detect a theme?

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// posted by Ann @ 3/26/2009 04:50:00 PM 0 comments

Where Did the Time Go?

I just realized that I haven't posted in a week. Unforgiveable! (Especially since I am checking through my "favorites" and mumbling nasty things about other bloggers who are behind in their posting!)

Here's what's going on: Nothing!

Here's what I'm working on fiber-wise (for those of you who like lists--if that isn't you, skip this part):

Sweater for me (truly!)
square for a list afghan
baby blanket
scarf on the loom

Pictures soon, I promise.

Here's what I'm planning:

Fair entries (2--or possibly 3--are finished) The fair looms large, since it's only 5 months away.

I really need to get a life!

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// posted by Ann @ 3/26/2009 04:21:00 AM 2 comments

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Please Get In Touch

If Charlotte and Jami whill send me their snail addresses (privately to abmcmanus AT verizon DOT net--make the obvious changes), I will get the yarn and book to their respective homes (that would be yarn to Charlotte, book to Jami).

I'm holding both of you to your promises!

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// posted by Ann @ 3/19/2009 09:56:00 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Same Yarn?

I just finished 2 hats for Ship Support from some stashed Red Heart Sport. Both skeins are the Same Dyelot! and yet, look at that yellow stripe in the hat on the right. Nope. It really isn't in the one on the left. There might be an occasional yellow dot, but nothing like the 3-4 stitch yellow bits in the other skein.

I checked the ball bands numerous times to be sure. Strange, no?

The difference in the width of the stripes is because Left Hat is cast on 100, Right Hat is cast on 90.

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// posted by Ann @ 3/11/2009 12:18:00 AM 2 comments

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Look What I Found!


And then, I found an extra copy of this.

So, would you like a copy of Kaffee Fassett's Family Album?

I will say right up front that some of the styles are very dated, but the colorwork is glorious. You don't get much better than KF!

Think of it as eye candy or inspiration.

Leave me a comment. If there's more than one of you out there, I'll draw a name.

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// posted by Ann @ 3/10/2009 03:46:00 PM 7 comments

Monday, March 09, 2009

Craft It Forward



AnnaSophia has a wonderful crafty blog with all sorts of great ideas, so when she said


"If you want to win a handmade ♥GIFT♥ from me. Be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade item from me.

Winners must post this giveaway on your blog, meaning that you will {Craft it Forward} too, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway! The gift that you send can be any price range and you have 30 days to make and ship your item(s).

Now do you see why I thought this idea was genius? How fun is this gonna be? Remember, it’s the spirit and the thought that count! When you receive your gift, please blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Please start your own {Craft it Forward} chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same. "

I mean, how could I resist?

My craft it forward arrived today. Thank you, AnnaSophia. I love this sweet little notebook! It's just the thing to tuck in my purse so I'm not writing Notes About Important Stuff on the back of receipts from the Tree or Ollie's!

So, now it's my turn, and yours! If you'd like a little something crafty from me, leave a comment. I'll draw three names at random (thank you Random Number Generator). If your name is pulled among the 3, I'll contact you for your snail addres, then I'll make you something and send it along. Remember that you need to post when it arrives and Craft It Forward to 3 more bloggers.
So, what else do we have in the giveaway bin?




I went NUTZ at Goodwill on the weekend and came home with many pounds (like 13) of yarn that I will use mostly for weaving. These gems were among the haul, and since I'm unlikely to use them anytime soon, I thought that I would offer them up.
Any takers?? Tell me what you would do with 5.5 balls of LB Fun Fur (black, lava, and denim), 2 balls of Patons Allure (one is so purple that it's almost black, the other garnet red), a ball of black Chincilla Light, and that bit in the middle of Yin.

Best answer wins the yarn.

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// posted by Ann @ 3/09/2009 03:08:00 PM 3 comments

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Another Finished O



With the little yellow buttons in place, I declare this one officially finished, though I may add a yellow i-cord border.

No intended victim recipient yet. This might become a fair entry.

I think I'll make another, though a solid will show offthe pattern better.

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// posted by Ann @ 3/08/2009 07:00:00 PM 2 comments

Saturday, March 07, 2009

How We Know


that it's March.

Pistachio nut muffin from the Amish Bakery. I have been assured that it is very good. (It's my breakfast for Monday.)

Don't you just love the brown parchment?

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// posted by Ann @ 3/07/2009 06:55:00 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 06, 2009

The Work of the Weavers



The Other Half reminded me of this old folk song. You can hear it here. And if you'd like to sing along (or play it on your penny whistle) the music and lyrics are here.

We have it on a really old Clancy Brothers vinyl that we're converting to CD while that's still possible.

And you can see what prompted the memories of that old song on the left. I warped my rigid heddle loom (That makes it sound like I have more than one kind of loom, doesn't it? Okay, believe what you want.) with Patons Classic Merino.

Then, I waited for my backordered smaller (shorter) stick shuttles. They came! And so, I started weaving.



I was shooting for plaid, which sort of didn't happen.




But I'm kind of fond of what is happening. Even if it isn't exactly what I expected.

I'm not beating the weft (same yarn, by the way) as tight as I did the last one. I think I like this a lot better, and since it's wool, it will bloom a bit more than the Roma did (not at all).

The selvedges are still messy, but I think they'll look better after the wet finish. (I can dream, can't I?)



Baby shower was today. There were lots of green and yellow things (I guessed right--no red!) and the mom-to-be loved the little (green) sweater.

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// posted by Ann @ 3/06/2009 05:23:00 PM 2 comments

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Okay, Bring On the Baby!




I finished the teensy green sweater on Saturday, gave it a soak and spin in my salad spinner, patted it out flat, and voila!

It could pass for store-bought!

With days to spare.

So, I wrapped it in one of those cute gift bags with a pack of newborn Huggies on the bottom--because, as we discovered with the Tiny Prince, sometimes, you just need the stuff to fit!!!




Wanna see a close-up of the "lace?"

Here you go. Sort of neutral, not too lacy.

It's called "gull wing" and is the same pattern stitch that's featured in Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Sweater.

Buttons from JoAnn's, though I swear I raided my stash first--there was nothing suitable, at least not in 4 of a kind. These were on sale--50% off.

Baby gift giving is this Friday. I made it.

(Okay, you're wondering about the other sweater--admit it! I have the first sleeve about 1/3 finished. It's possible that I will have it done by Friday also.)

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// posted by Ann @ 3/03/2009 04:46:00 PM 1 comments

Sunday, March 01, 2009

I Am Too a Kitten


I think I may have commented that Sparky the Bob-Tailed Wonder Cat does not play with yarn.













This morning, while I was checking email, I noticed a characteristic thump/bump/thump/ thump that generally indicates that she has caught and killed something.

(Since Princess Sparky is afraid of mice--don't ask--I was pretty sure that her prey was inanimate.)




Yep! She caught and killed the dreaded ball of ack. On the hoof, so to speak.











It never had a chance.













And as quickly as it began, it was over.














In knitting news, I have started the sleeves. I will finish in time, barring major Cat-astrophies. This yarn is under lock and key when not being directly supervised.

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// posted by Ann @ 3/01/2009 07:01:00 AM 1 comments

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