For year's end, a contest

Okay- the other day I went yarn shopping (I know, I didn't need to) but I got some neat stuff. (I also ended up being asked to autograph the shop's copies of Knitter's, but that's a long and embarrassing story.) Anyway, while sorting and rearranging my stash, I realized that the count I had been keeping was WAY off (oops.) So now, a CONTEST. Answer me these questions 2- the closest guess in each category gets a swell prize of 6 skeins of yarn, either Cotton Ease or miscellaneous from the LYS- no garbage or partial skeins, don't worry. The first winner to get back to me gets first pick. I'll announce the winners by the end of the day on January 1st, so get your answers in before then, okay?
1. How many skeins do I have in my stash?
2. How many knitting projects did I finish in 2005?

Good luck!

Apres-Christmas Report

Well, Santa didn't stop at the yarn store (how odd...) but that's okay. My husband ordered me the new Jordana Paige bag but they haven't come in yet, so I got a picture of it to open. Emma got too many toys as usual, so now the task is to make room for them. Yesterday we just laid around in our pajamas watching DVDs, eating junk food, and knitting (well I knit, at least.) It was very decadent and nice. I finished the swatches for the Great Wall of Yarn, which I will mail today, and made some headway on that scarf for the knitted gifts magazine. I have also been entirely off my diet for the past few days and am TRYING to get back on track starting today (wish me luck.) Now, off to get a hair cut and to Barnes and Noble to blow my gift card on knitting books!

Secret Pal Strikes Again

My final SP 6 gift arrived today- I was being spoiled by Elizabeth. Thanks Elizabeth!

Reason #602 for naming this blog as I did

This yarn. I got a ball of it for making a Great Wall of Yarn swatch, and I can't leave it alone (if it could sue me for harrassment, I'm sure it would.) It's an upcoming yarn called "Yin" from Interlacements. It is so soft I can't stand it- 50% merino, 50% silk. It has this beautiful sheen from the silk that I'm sure you can't tell from the picture. It even comes in a big honking ball of 218 yards. If only you could reach into the screen and see for yourself.

Anyway, I've gotten pretty distracted by the swatches in general, so who knows if I'll get one more gift knitted or not. When I went through my pile of stuff to wrap I discovered something else I forgot I made awhile back so I think I'm done, anyway. Today the UPS man is bringing the Karaoke for that project I'm doing for that quick gifts magazine, so you know what will happen then.

Enjoy your solstice-related festivities (or not, as the case may be.) Cross your fingers that Santa is stopping at the yarn shop!

Instant legwarmers! (almost)

I finished my legwarmers (I may make more, who knows?) for the Cover Your Ankles knitalong. These were super quick and just took an evening to finish. I used leftover SWTC Karaoke that I had in my stash, one strand each of Intensity and Bloom held together on size 10 needles. I made these quite a bit smaller (only about 12" long) than the pair I did last year (for wearing under pants), which were out of Kureyon and came halfway up my thigh (great for wearing under skirts when I take my class out to recess in the winter, I'm telling you.)

Xmas FOs and other stuff

Look, I finished some presents (don't worry, intended receipients do not read this as far as I know):

Cute little mittens in Cascade 128. I made it up as I went along, quick and used only 1/2 a skein.


Cabley wrist warmers in Karabella Aurora 8. Only takes 1 ball! I am so in love with this yarn. Found the pattern here. It was very quick and easy- perfect for a last minute gift.

The other thing I want to finish is something out of the single skein of La Luz silk I have in my stash-- either the lavender eye mask from Handknit Holidays or the little hat from Alterknits. I'm still debating...

Look what appeared on my porch this morning!

My yarns to swatch for the Great Wall of Yarn at TNNA next month. Basically, PDKG members have an opportunity to swatch for the show and get to play with new yarns and new colors- fun! (Plus there's always leftovers...) In the summer I got yarns from Rowan and Moda Dea, this time I got yarns from Colinette (have never bought since SO EXPENSIVE), Trendsetter, Interlacements, and Skacel. You make swatches and send them back with your business card attached and all the yarn info on the back. At the TNNA show they are all displayed for the store owners and such to peruse.

Yay!

I got a phone call last night letting me know that my submission (a scarf)for the much-discussed on the Knit Design list "Quick to Knit Gifts" magazine was accepted! I know some of those on the list felt the offered fee was a bit low (yes, less than "regular" knitting magazines but still way more than any online mags) but c'mon people, they want simple, quick projects- not a huge investment of design, knitting, or pattern writing time. Anyway, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, look for it next year at your grocery store checkout.

In other yay-worthy news, school is out for Winter Break! I have to work today to finish some loose ends from the big move, but after that...no papers to grade, lessons to plan, meetings to attend, or getting up early for 2 whole weeks!!

Knitting-wise: Determined to finish front and back of Level 3 Aran ASAP. Plugging along on the Christmas knitting (scaled WAY back this year- just 2 projects.) No "paid" knitting going on this week or next (time for my own stuff!)- some things on the horizon though.

New books! Alterknits and Knitting Vintage Socks- thanks Barnes and Noble gift card!

Knitting Lair Meme

I learned from Lolly that Scout is looking to see where we all knit. So I oblige:

I got this fabulous chair from my grandma a few weeks ago- it doesn't match her new furniture. Not bad, eh? It comes complete with my two lazy boys, all my knitting books, the requisite can of Diet Coke, my Ott Lite, and the little hat I'm whipping off today out of Lamb's Pride (yes, I'm using up stash yarn. Go me!) Not shown is the scary closet full of yarn, the computer which I mostly use to watch DVDs while I knit, and my other toys, both yarn-related and non-yarn-related.
If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged-- expose your lairs!

SNOW DAY!

I love being a teacher. Tonight I'm doing a tap performance, so now I have time to practice (good thing!) and finish up a few design submissions.
P.S. Thanks Secret Pal! I especially like the Hello Kitty notebooks.

Like it or not...

Winter Knitter's is here. Yes, I feel special (page 86, baby!) Rosalie is proud of me too.

She loves it, enough said

I mentioned the other day that South West Trading asked me to take a dress they had made and use it as a basis for creating a new sample with a pattern. I ended up changing a few things-made it a top down raglan, took out some crochet, and changed colors less frequently-but of course used the fuzzy and very soft SWTC Pagoda yarn they were after. Now, I'll admit that using this yarn for a dress would not have occured to me independently, but look at my daughter's face while trying on the sample (they just happened to want it in her size):



She didn't want to me to pack it up. I guess I'll have to make another one of these days.

My little cover girl

The new Mag Knits is up! (With my pattern and my daughter on the cover!)

Yet another One Skein Wonder

I started this in the airport when I was coming back from Louisville almost 2 weeks ago and finally got around to finishing it- it's in Noro Kureyon, obviously:



Also Cathi sent me this nice package- pretty stitch markers, knitting notecards, and m&ms, which I let my daughter eat before I did:



Thanks Cathi!

Don't forget to put yourself on my map!
P.S. 25 pounds!

Winter Knitter's Preview is up!

and I'm in it!
Edited to add: As a bonus, my first official public snarking! (Do people have anything better to do?)

Showers of Flowers Fashion Show

Recently, the apparently huge yarn store Showers of Flowers had a fashion show featuring designs from various yarn companies. The pictures are up now on their site, but there are so many I decided to steal some of them to show you:

My Twize Tank (I didn't do the shawl)- You can't really tell from the photo but it has seed stitch straps, lower edge, neck line, and armholes, as well as a stripe of it up the center. The front and back are each done in one piece with no picking up stitches. It also has waist shaping.

My Charlotte Cabled Pullover- This is done in the round with raglan sleeves in my beloved Karaoke yarn.
I'm so proud of my little yarny children!

Additional bandwagonism

First a little update- almost done with yet another OSW, and about to start another project for SWTC- well, not really a design per se- I need to figure out and write the pattern for a dress they have as well as knit a new sample. They're sending the existing dress and a pile of yarn. Should be fun detective work. Also, despite a 2 week (almost 3) foray into drive-through, dessert, and other forbidden items I have gotten back on the wagon and am down 23 pounds on South Beach- I have lost 6 since Wednesday (3 new plus the 3 I gained back- and no, I'm not hungry.)
And the additional bandwagonism:

Your Birthdate: March 18

You are a cohesive force - able to bring many people together for a common cause. You tend to excel in work situations, but you also facilitate a lot of social gatherings too. Beyond being a good leader, you are good at inspiring others. You also keep your powerful emotions in check - you know when to emote and when to repress. Your strength: Emotional maturity beyond your years Your weakness: Wearing yourself down with too many responsibilities Your power color: Crimson red Your power symbol: Snowflake Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Not very accurate except for the weakness part. Speaking of which I have about 6 hours of stuff to do for work today (I did manage to see Harry Potter last night though!) plus I want to finish the OSW. And clean the house. And maybe have clean clothes to wear tomorrow. We'll see.

Always on the bandwagon

Decided to get one of those Frappr maps.

Fuzzy Feet Frolic

The Fuzzy Feet are done- I've felted them severely, but they're still a bit big. I may try to felt them some more. Here they are, done in festive Noro Kureyon:

I had a pretty good time at the conference- I definitely ate foods I'm not supposed to. Today I have the day off to recover and finally get some swatching done. I put together a few little numbers for Amy Singer's new book- we'll see what she thinks.

Guess what? I finished something

...and all after working, oh, I don't know, like 85 hours last week. Believe it or not, as of Friday evening, I had only 1 1/2" of the back done on the tank I just finished for SWTC. Today it was handed over to my friendly neighborhood UPS man. Clearly I opted not to sleep this weekend, especially since I worked Saturday AND Sunday lifting and toting my classroom furniture to its new (and charming) location. Now, for the first time in months I have no projects for someone else going, so I can knit something for me! I want to finish my Fuzzy Feet and I may whip off a One Skein Wonder while at the gifted education conference I'm going to tomorrow after school (until Sunday).
Super-secret extreme close up of the yarn I used- SWTC Twize (it's bamboo- ooh!):

See you when I get back!

Can't...post.........working.......

Sorry I've been totally absent all week. We are in the middle of "officially" moving to the new campus and I've been putting in some very long weeks and weekends. Right now I am totally hurty from hauling too much furniture yesterday and about to go back for more! (Fortunately, our head of school keeps taking us out to dinner. Juicy steak heals the pain.) I desperately need to finish my current project for SWTC- so I've been getting up at 5 to squeeze in a couple hours of knitting before work. Speaking of which, I've got to go there now.

Sigh... and something good

Apparently the all-bags (with my design) issue of Magknits has been moved up to next month :(. Have to keep waiting.

In good news, my Sock Yarn Swap package arrived! Amy Hamilton of Toronto sent me some nice Kroy and Regia- I don't know her blog, unfortunately. Thanks Amy!!

Socktoberfest, Fuzzy Feet and actual pictures!

I haven't actually finished a PAIR of socks, but I have finished some singular ones.
Behold! One of my Socktoberfest socks in Trekking:

I also joined the Fuzzy Feet Along. I'm making mine in Kureyon. One is done (though obviously not felted yet:

And last but not least, the moment you've all been waiting for. What my husband bought at String (he met Ivete too:)

(He left the price tag on to explain why he only bought one- it's Supercashmere by Karabella, $47!! He wanted to be fancy.)

Right now, my husband is buying me yarn

He just sent me this picture:

to prove he walked down to String to get a present for me from New York (never mind Tiffany's and all that crap, he knows what I like!) He'll be back late tomorrow (with my camera too, by the way!) so I can offer photographic evidence of the spoils.
P.S. Thanks for the nice comments about the possible Interweave Knits business-- I am holding my breath!

Still no pictures, sorry

Still really busy, so I still haven't finished anything :( The Hubbo (I almost typed Hobo) went to New York on business and took my camera, so even if I had I couldn't show it anyway. He's supposed to bring me something back from one of their many yarn shops (!), so I can forgive him.

I got Handknit Holidays- what a cute book! I like all the little quick projects- I might actually have time to make some of those!

The tank top for SWTC continues unabated. I have to finish it before I got to Louisville for a conference on November 9- even though I'm working weekends to pack for the big move at school I think I can make it- no sleeves, right?

One little potentially exciting thing-- I got an email from Pam Allen the other day- Interweave Knits saved the design I sent for Spring 2006 for the summer issue instead- she says it's lovely and she'll let me know in a week or two if it makes the cut. I'm totally holding my breath!

Little mini-update

I didn't get very far on the Trekking sock this week for 3 reasons:
1. Had too much to do at work
2. Spent a lot of time working on the new project for SWTC (the Twize yarn is soft and pretty)
3. Started a new sock (in Karaoke, more of a thick cozy one)
I'll show and not just tell once I get a bit more done-- maybe later? We'll see how much housework I can avoid doing first.
P.S. South Beach news = 19 lbs!

At last

A ring just for me.

Socktoberfest progress! I have almost finished the heel gusset- next stop- the foot.

Thanks Secret Pal!

Pictures of something knitted

to appear very soon. Like hopefully tomorrow. Today we have no students (it's parent-teacher conferences) and I have to work until 7:30 but by some odd twist of scheduling I have 1/3 of my class today and 2/3 next Friday- allowing me (hopefully) some serious sock knitting time (I find it completely impossible to get ahead on lesson plans and stuff on conference days- it's stressful, okay? I need my yarn-- so like long, stringy Valium.) And after conferences? An actual date with Hubbo. Believe it or not, grandma has taken the girl for the night. Too bad we're starting packing (to move the school) tomorrow! I'll still have to get up early.

And the winner is...

Samantha! Look for your goodies to arrive soon! Thanks to all who entered.

A contest for you, plus new project for SWTC finished

I finished my newest project for South West Trading, and while I can't show you the whole thing, I am going to show a closeup peek of the stitch pattern, just for Cathi, who is tempted to get some Karaoke (I say get it- I have used it thrice now and love it.)
Behold!


Edited to add: There is a picture of the whole purse up now at the SWTC blog.

Plus I am announcing a contest (my very first)!
At least where I live, summer has just now ended and it's time to pull out the cozy handknit socks. In honor of Socktoberfest (as Lauren is calling it) I have two lovely new balls of Fortissima Socka Disco (variegated denimy blues with silver sparkles) to send to one lucky blog reader. Just leave me a comment letting me know how much you love to knit socks and your email address. My charming daughter will pick the winner, and let me know if you'd also like 2 nearly complete but labelless balls of Opal too- I'll throw those in for the heck of it. Good luck!

Edited to add: Emma will randomly select the winner Tuesday 10/11 after school.

Socktoberfest, and a review

Okay, so this is pretty much all for Lauren. First, my official Socktoberfest socks, done in Trekking, though just in their beginnings:

That's my beloved Knit Knack Sack, which I use for sock projects.
Also, per Lauren's request, a quick review of Sally Melville's new book Color. If you liked The Knit Stitch and The Purl Stitch, you will definitely love this one. Even if you didn't (or felt the patterns were too easy) you will still love this one. It has a slew of gorgeous designs (some of which I fondled at Stitches Midwest) in a wide variety of skill levels, though on the whole they are too much for beginners. Every type of colorwork is represented, from Fair Isle to intarsia to slip stitch patterns. There is also a lot of information about using color effectively, color theory, etc. as well as good technical info regarding the techniques themselves and things like matching stripes and handling color changes. As a bonus, it's about 50% thicker than the first two books. I only wish I wasn't so busy designing myself, or I would knit up a few of these beauties!

Been preordered for so long...

And now it's here! The new Sally Melville book in the Knitting Experience series- COLOR! I'm way too lazy to take a picture because I'm going to read it. Right now. This minute.

New WIPS

Over the weekend, I actually BOUGHT yarn- haven't done that much lately since I've only been knitting projects that aren't for me- at that new yarn store that's dangerously close to my in-laws, The Knitting Den in South Lyon. They had some nice stuff. I bought some Trekking for me for socks-which I started and for the first time I'm doing the Magic Loop, some chunky wool to make a hat or something for Emma, and some Kureyon for my Secret Pal. Speaking of Kureyon, it's one of Emma's vocabulary words for Japanese this week- it means crayon, just like it sounds! Besides that, I started one of my new projects for SWTC- it's for their new purse kits. They have a sort of plastic canvas form that fits inside to give them support, which is pretty handy. I'm doing this one is a mosaic pattern with the 2 colors of Karaoke I showed the other day, with a bit of Fur Real at the top (yes, like most things, fur is okay in moderation, and this fur is nicer than most.)

Yarn P*rn

I finished my second project for Creative Knitting today, and as much as I long to show it to you, I'll have to settle for a pic of the yarn I used (and will be using for my next 2 projects for SWTC)-had to use Hello since Blogger wouldn't upload my photo today! :(

Big purple one is SWTC Twize (bamboo)-using that for a tank top design, little one on the right is SWTC Amerah (silk, but with a raw silk feel- I used it for the Creative Knitting project), 2 in front are SWTC Karaoke (wool/soysilk)- using that for a purse design.

Arigato Gozaimasu, Secret Pal!

Upon checking my email today, I found some treats from my SP! A copy of Crumpets (I know, I'm always the last one on the bandwagon, but I do have a little girl and a huge pile of Cotton Ease) and a nice e-card- ironically enough, the same one I sent to the person I'm spoiling the other day!
Speaking of the person I'm spoiling, I sent one little prize right away, and I have some other things coming in that I ordered for her (yarn, stitch markers, and a pattern she wants). I also found out that there's a new yarn store right down the street from my inlaws in South Lyon- so now there's a reason (I mean ANOTHER reason- wink wink) to visit. We're going there Sunday, and the shop will be open. I already told the Hubbo that we're making a pit stop! Apparently there's ANOTHER new yarn shop a few miles past them at the edge of Brighton, and one of these days I have to get out there too. (It's a compulsion, I know!)

The Triumphant Return to Knitting

Well, it's only been since Sunday night, but for me that's a long time! I don't know if I mentioned the obnoxious car trouble I had last week, but let's just say it involved begging rides home from coworkers. Believe it or not, we had a little reprise of that situation today, when the same thing broke, presumably from the work of mechanics who are incompetent, clueless, or smoking too much crack. The Hubbo insists all is now well, but I'll make that decision next week.
Anyway, tonight I start work on the second project for Creative Knitting. It's little (for their fast project July issue) so it won't take long. That's nice since I also want to finish the other 2 (now it's 2) projects for SWTC before I go to Louisville Nov. 9 for the NAGC conference with the girls from work. The rest of the week so far I have spent on my other favorite thing (no, not work!)-- tap. The Hubbo got me a nice big sheet of plywood to put under my porta-floor (I love this thing) so it won't wobble on the carpet and I can leave it out all the time. We're doing "Bye Bye Blackbird" from Fosse for this semester's performance. So far, so good. I'm even getting dangerously close to justifying a 4th pair of tap shoes (I made the mistake of checking out Discount Dance Supply last night and saw some cool ones I think I need:

Of course, I'd want them in black. I know, I don't need 4 pairs of tap shoes, I don't even need 3. You're talking to someone with over 200 sets of knitting needles here! (Yes, I love to buy things.)
Okay, now I'm rambling. Time to put Emma to bed and then to get out the new SWTC Amerah to knit my project and use this computer for its more practical function, showing DVDs.

Sweater for Knitter's FINISHED!

And just in time! (The deadline is this Friday.) I'm sending it out today. I think it turned out pretty good- a little hard to tell since it doesn't have buttons on it yet (they are going to select and add those.) As soon as the next issue comes out I guess we'll find out how it (really) looks. My lesson plans for this week aren't quite done, so I'd better get busy before I have to leave for work- till later!
P.S. 14 pounds now! :)

Frantically knitting

Sorry I've been pretty absent lately, but I spent the week maniacally knitting the toddler sweater for the next issue of Knitter's- I have to ship it Monday. Right now, the pieces are blocking so tomorrow I just need to do the finishing- I hate that part but at least I'll make it. After that I can take a little break, then I need to finish a NEW design for South West Trading Company and the one for the July 2006 Creative Knitting (a super quick project, won't take long to knit the sample.) One of these days I'll get back to my own projects and then I'll have pictures. Until then, we all must suffer, I suppose.

It's here!

Behold Cheaper Than Therapy. Why do I have 2 copies? Because I wrote 2 things in there, silly! If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

SWTC sweater finished!

Well, I finally finished the sweater I designed for South West Trading Company (in their wonderful Karaoke yarn.) I don't think I should show you, so I won't-- basically it's a simple raglan turtleneck with a cable design and LOTS of sizes. I'll let you know when it's up on their website, okay? Now on to finish the sweater for Knitter's, then the other Creative Knitting project and 2 others for SWTC...(My own projects are gathering dust!)

Secret Pal Delights!

My final SP5 goodies arrived today! Here we see an array of enchanting Asian delights (the little one is a coin purse and the wooden one is a mirror) elegantly paired with a duet of Knit Picks sock yarn...


...and the lovely brocade shoes! Thanks Pal!

Wow!

10 days...10 pounds. This South Beach business is really working. Even though I am normally a sugar freak, once I got past the first few days it's been pretty easy (mind you, if it wasn't for artificially sweetened stuff I would have caved. Right away. Seriously.)
Almost done with the Karaoke sweater for SWTC, and am partially done with the one for Knitter's. Both need to be done soon, so I'm knitting every spare moment. Joe bought me some Kids in the Hall and Degrassi Jr. High DVDs(I loved those shows when I was a teenager/very young adult)and that keeps me company :) The house is a wreck though. Oh well!

Secret Pal 6 Questionnaire

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I am a total snob, thank you! :)
2. Do you spin? Crochet? Not really—I’ve played around with spinning a bit and used to crochet, but now I just knit, mostly.
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) I don’t like smoke or strong perfumes.
4. How long have you been knitting? 5 years
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I have a little one on Froogle.
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I’m a teacher, and get boatloads of scented candles, lotions, etc. every Christmas. I have more than I could ever use—please, no more!
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes, but only sugar-free. Please.
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I’m really just into knitting right now, plus my beloved tap dance.
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Yes, I can do MP3s. I mostly like the same things I did in high school- my favorite band is the Pixies.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? Favorites are pink, purple, teal, and black. I strongly dislike anything “autumny.”
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I’m 31, Married, one little girl (in kindergarten). I have 2 cats.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To design all the time- no day job required (not realistic, I know)
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Noro, Koigu, Karabella Aurora 8, South West Trading, anything luxurious
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Acrylic- not real big on cotton either. I also tend to avoid novelties, in general.
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Small projects that I have time for- hats, purses, etc. No scarves. I love Fair Isle, though- all types of colorwork.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Same as above.
17. What are you knitting right now? Stuff I designed for SWTC, Creative Knitting, and Knitter’s, my long suffering Level 3 Aran for TKGA, and some other stuff that I don’t often get around to.
18. What do you think about ponchos? Can do without them, but they’re not always horrible.
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular all the way, baby! Though I do like fancy straights if they look cool, and I use dpns a lot.
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Addi Turbos!
21. Are you a sock knitter? Yes
22. How did you learn to knit? Taught myself
23. How old is your oldest UFO? About 6 months or so
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Hello Kitty
25. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas- though I am totally nonreligious- I like the “family and presents” aspect.
26. Is there anything that you collect? Cool looking knitting needles, funky stuff with sushi on it
27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? You name it, I got it- but not Knit n’ Style (don’t like it)
28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? I have a ton of books, I buy them, I preorder them- so it’s hard to say what I’d want. However, I have an almost perfect collection of the Vogue Knitting on the Go series, except the newer one about crocheted hats or something. Even though I rarely crochet I still want it.
29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? I could go for Crumpets- I do have a little girl, you know!

First Day of Kindergarten

Yes, I know it was almost a week ago, and I know that she was in Pre-K at the same school last year (independent elementary/middle school), but there's still something about the first day of kindergarten.

More reasons to hate my guts

I'm back, having survived the first week back to school with my adorable pack o' kidlets. I have been officially notified of the impending arrival of my final secret pal goodies, which of course delights me to no end. But that's not the part that will make you "hate my guts" as per the title.
I just got off the phone with the charming editor of Creative Knitting, and lo and behold the other submission I sent them has been accepted! This one is for the July 2006 issue (I mentioned this possibility a while back- just took longer to find out than expected.) So yay! Even though Knitty (love them anyway) has rejected every design I've sent, I'm batting nearly 1000 with everyone else. Guess I just don't have that Knitty style. Oh well, I can live with that.
In South Beach news, I haven't cracked yet, though I nearly came close- last night I was at a little get together with many a sweet and tasty and/or alcoholic treat. Believe or not, I held it together and drank water. Really. This is pretty wild for me because I didn't gain 50 pounds by having good self-control. I've lost 6 in the first week, which totally rocks (obviously).
As soon as my Secret Pal goodies arrive, I'll let you know!

More Teddy News

I was looking around a bit and discovered that the teddy I designed for SWTC has been made into kits with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina victims! They are available at
Full Thread Ahead

Incognito

The combination of back to work + lots of knitting deadlines + getting sick = no time to blog. Taking a week or so off-- hopefully I'll have something finished to share by then.

In other news, I got the yarn for the Knitter's item- they changed the brand and fiber but left the rest as is. Got a bunch of papers today to read through for that too. I'm pretty much ready for school to start Tuesday but was at work until 8:00 today finishing up. The teachers and the Head of School have decided to go on the South Beach diet together-- if anyone has done it and has any useful tidbits of info let me know. We had a last hurrah of pasta and rich sugary desserts today to make it official.

The new MagKnits is up, I see. Look for my design in either the next one or the one after that-- last I heard Kerrie hadn't decided which. I guess it will be a surprise!

EZ Stash Reduction

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I joined the Preemie Project since it's been a while since I did any charity knitting. Once upon a time I did some hats for Stitches From the Heart. (Interesting sidenote- at Stitches Midwest, in my Bohus class, I sat next to Kathy Silverton, the woman who started that organization.)
ANYWAY, I'm working on some preemie stuff, but since I have all these deadlines in the next month for Knitter's and SWTC it's going to take me awhile. To that end, I decided to clean out some stash and send a nice yarn donation in the meantime. So some appropriate yarny goodness (has to be washable and soft) is on its way.

Meme!

Saw this on Lauren's blog and thought I'd give it a try, since I've never done one of these before, so here we go...
10 years ago
I was 21, almost done with college. I got married (eloped) to my high school sweetie in (scenic?) Toledo, Ohio. Our honeymoon consisted of having the breakfast bar at Big Boy's and going to the zoo. I worked in a toy store, substitute taught, and took way too many classes. My new hubby and I lived in a crazy little apartment on top of a travel agency in the very small town of South Lyon, Michigan, and parades went by our window all the time, always featuring this old nut showing off his antique tractor. Back then I didn't knit, I crocheted.
5 years ago
Emma was 6 months old, and I was enjoying my year and a half stint as a stay-at-home mom. By then we had long since moved away from South Lyon and were living in a different apartment in Northville. I was also a new knitter! (If you read this earlier- sorry I seemed to have forgotten how to subtract. 5 years ago was 2000, not 2001. So Emma wasn't 18 months and I wasn't going back to work or grad school yet. Oops. But I did knit then. At least I was right about that!) Here's a picture of Emma at that time:


1 year ago
We had just bought our first real house, in Livonia- in the same subdivision where I lived as a baby, oddly enough. I passed Level 2 of the Master Knitting program and bought two baby kittens, Rosalie and Pinecone II. Emma started "real" school (no more preschool for her!)
Yesterday
Spent the day getting ready for the new school year--planning units, cleaning my classroom, etc. Went out to lunch with the other teachers. Stayed late to get a bit more done to maximize weekend knitting time. Debated getting a class pet.
Today
Went to work again. Suffered through a long boring workshop with the copier man who was showing us how to use our fancy new copier. Went out for sushi with the teachers but the sushi chef was on vacation. Had to have Chinese food instead. Was sad. Came home and found a check in the mailbox for the Creative Knitting project. Was happy.
Tomorrow
Hubby is in Put-in-Bay for a volleyball tournament, so I can knit all day guilt-free. Want to finish both sleeves of the SWTC sweater. Emma plans to lay around and watch DVDs (she had a VERY active week this week at daycamp and is exhausted, so I don't blame her one bit!) Kitties plan to pester us both.

Better make some time for yarn- huge news!

I'm in total shock- I mean, getting those designs accepted for SWTC was big, having a design chosen for Creative Knitting was also big, but now- you may want to sit down for this- I have a design coming out in the Winter 2005 (yes, that soon) issue of Knitter's! I'm going to have to haul some major ass to get that done and the sweater, but it's doable. Luckily it's a baby sweater. Luckily I got the Creative Knitting one done in just a week. Luckily I still have another week and a half until school officially starts.

No time for yarn

I went back to work yesterday, and am very busy getting ready for the start of the new school year. As much as I like getting the room ready and such, all the cleaning and furniture moving has left me too tired to knit so far this week. So sad, so very sad. I'm still determined to finish the SWTC sweater before Labor Day, even though I *technically* have a bit more time than that.
I joined Secret Pal 6, even after all the horror stories I heard about people not getting prizes from their pals in SP5. SP5 is almost over (duh)- I recently sent my last package and REVEALED myself- I'm looking forward to hearing from my pal and finding out who she is (she once mentioned a bizarre coincidence that I'm eager to get the details on!)

I finally got a...

issue of Keito Dama! I know very little Japanese but there's hardly any writing in it anyway. For some reason, I just wanted one. I had the hardest time (we have a Japanese bookstore but they did not have it) but finally found it here. I was also able to get Emma a stuffed Totoro (from her favorite movie).
In other news, I finished the item for Creative Knitting and sent it off! Now to finish the sweater for SWTC and hopefully my Level 3 Aran one of these days. I'm dying to start my Red Palm sweater that I got at Stitches, but I told myself I had to wait until I sent out Level 3- otherwise I'll never finish. I am playing with La Luz a bit though.
Today is my last "no work" weekday, so Emma and I are going to live it up! (For us, that means going to Olga's for lunch, having a swim and playing on the climber/knitting at the Rec Center, and topping it off with some Maggie Moo's, our new favorite ice cream).

The Scoop on Stitches, Part 2

The biggest knitting-related market I had been to before coming to Stitches was Knit Fest in Toledo, which was nice but MUCH smaller. I needed a plan. I arrived Friday at 1:00, checked in to the Hyatt, and went straight for the Market. I was hungry, but I didn't care. I spent a few hours just looking, figuring out what I was going to get. I needed some size 0's for my Bohus class, so I bought some Addis, and I also got a Kimmet Croft Fibers Bohus sweater kit- "The Red Palm." I think there's a picture of it on their site. I chose it because it's my colors and I would actually wear it and not look scary- my favorite is "The Wild Apple" but I just can't wear those autumny colors without looking ill. After that it was about 4:30, and I was starting to feel a bit faint. I wanted to flop for a bit, so I trudged down the LONG, ICY tunnel to the hotel, laid down, and ordered some room service (I know, very naughty!) After watching some TV and eating, I felt much better. I went for a swim and knitted before turning in early to be ready for Saturday.


Here's some stuff I bought- the Bohus kit (angora/merino blend- so soft!), lots of Kureyon (20% off, how could I resist?) and a skein of new Lily Chin yarn to play with and a much-coveted skein of La Luz silk, which I always pet but never buy at home- it was 30% off!

On Saturday, I got up early to pay way too much for a little plate of fruit and some coffee (iced mocha latte- my favorite!) and chatted with some nice older ladies. One of them thought I was in high school, which made me happy since I'm really 31 and have ever-increasing amounts of grey hair. They liked my sushi knitting bag.
I went to the Bohus class, where I ended up sitting next to Kathy Silverton whose charity I have knitted many a preemie hat for. Small world! At lunch break, of course my primary interest was shopping, so I grabbed a quick piece of pizza and got started. I bought more Addis, the Kureyon pictured above, and the La Luz. I talked to Lily Chin for a while and bought one skein of her new yarn to try since it looked and felt like Aurora 8, which I love. I saw Bonne Marie Burns and many a designer, which was fun. Someone actually recognized me from my Knitty article (my brief movie star moment).

More stuff I bought- a cute little Lantern Moon bag, a ball winder (been dying for this!) more turbos, and a gorgeous dichroic glass button for my Sitcom Chic, whenever I get to make it. Also, and not pictured, I renewed my subscription to Knitter's since you got a fun pink rubbery knitting bag with that.
After shopping, I finished up my class, ran back to the market for a few minutes, then to my room to change for the banquet. At the banquet I ended up sitting next to someone who used to live in my neighborhood! How weird- the usual "where are you from" conversation got down to street level. I had me some drinks, and enjoyed the student fashion show and copious amounts of prizes. Believe it or not, EVERYBODY ended up getting something. Here's what I got:


Yes, a big pile of Addi Turbo type stuff- needles, crochet hook, embroidery scissors, needle gauge, row counters, etc. etc. etc. How cool.
Sunday I went to my class with Maggie Jackson, took one last look around the market, checked out and sat at the airport for a couple of hours (O'Hare is so awful- cramped, grungy, and boring. I guess I'm spoiled- when I was waiting for my flight out from Detroit I window shopped in all the stores, everything is open and airy, it's almost fun to be there.) On the flight back the flight attendant actually threatened to pull over the airplane if some idiot didn't put away her laptop before take off and had to ask people to sit down more than once! There were some seriously obnoxious passengers, the likes of which I've never seen before.
Now to finish up these projects for other people so I can work on something for me- I'm itching to use my new yarn!

The Scoop on Stitches, Part 1

I had a great time at Stitches Midwest, needless to say. I've decided to break up my report so as to avoid it being huge. So today I present, Part 1- classes.
Bohus Stickning
The best class I took was Bohus Stickning. For those who are not familiar, Bohus was a group of women who designed, knit, and sold very complex and distinctive sweaters and accessories from the 30's to the 60's in Sweden. They are somewhat like Fair Isle, except can have as many as 5 colors in one row (stranded) and use purl stitches here and there on the right side to add texture and depth of color. The teacher was Susanna Hansson who knew what she was talking about. We had a great slide show, a lecture, and got to see and touch her collection of Bohus sweaters, hats, gloves, and scarves. These were knit in fine gauge yarn (usually angora/merino blend- yum!)with little (think size 0) needles. We made a swatch of one of the designs at 9.5 sts/in. Yes, my hands were cramped. I have pictures!





And finally, I present the Bohus swatch I knitted. The design is called "Scilla." For availability and cost's sake, we used regular old Shetland Jumper Wt. (very stiff at this gauge) and a bit of white angora.


Designer Irish Knits
The other class I took was with Maggie Jackson. Once I was able to understand her (being Irish and all, it took a minute!) it was great. We learned how to knit in her style, with the "splits and tubes" and had fun playing with her linen yarn and a variety of "fancies" (as she called them). Here's what I finished in class, bear in mind it hasn't been blocked or anything so it might seem a bit misshapen.

Hitting the road...

...well, in the morning. But I thought I'd sneak in a post mid-pack before I leave for Stitches Midwest first thing tomorrow. Knit-wise, I've been working away on the seamless cabled sweater I'm making for SWTC, and today my friendly neighborhood UPS man brought the yarn for the Creative Knitting project, some pretty variegated SWTC Karaoke (lavendery) and matching SWTC Fur Real (I don't use fur yarns, as a rule, but this is nicer than most-very soft and nice). I'm doing something entrelac-y with it. Hopefully I can crank it out next week, it would be nice to be done before I have to go back to work.
When next we meet I'll have the full report from Stitches- until then!

Shameless!

I know. But I'm excited. Looks what's on Amazon! There's an essay and 5 poems in there from me (limericks, to be precise). I'm big on limericks.
Want to see what I designed for South West Trading? There's already a picture up on their blog.
Now that I'm done obnoxiously showing off, I'll go back to my knitting. :)

It's bigger than your head!

What is it you say? The yarn I'm using for my next project for SWTC- behold, the lovely Karaoke (this is one of the solid colors, mind you.)

Fun, yes, but all is not well. I got called for jury duty, in creepy old downtown Detroit, a place that creeps me out to drive in since I don't know where I'm going and am afraid I'll end up in a bad neighborhood, which isn't too hard to do. The worst part is it's the week before school starts, so if I get put on a jury I may lose out on my setting up my new classroom in our new building time, which could lead to a horrifying and panicked Labor Day weekend. Wish I could set up early, but they're not done remodeling yet. Sigh. The worst part is the list of things you CAN'T bring in to the court building is a mile long and eliminates pretty much anything but a book to amuse oneself during the inevitable long waits. Sigh again.

First SWTC project done!

Well, I decided to stay up late last night to finish my first design for SWTC- the sample is all knitted and I'm putting the finishing touches on the instructions. I can't really say much about it since I've already given them the rights to it, but suffice to say it's a cute stuffed animal made of 2 of their new yarns, Bamboo Feather and Pagoda. Totally unbelievably soft! My daughter gave it the "hug test" and it passed. The yarn for the Creative Knitting project (coincidentally also from SWTC- I happened to do a few submissions with their yarns after I got some samples back in the spring) is on its way and I hope to get it started right after Stitches. In the meantime I am swatching and working out the math for the sweater I am doing for SWTC out of their new Karaoke yarn, which in the variegated colorways looks like Kureyon except it's SOFT!! (Half wool and half soysilk). Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff.

Additional bonus post- even more good news!

Okay, I'm going to freak out. I am going to have a design in the May 2006 issue of Creative Knitting!! I may ALSO have one in the July 2006 issue but won't know for sure until next week. I can't believe all of this- too cool!!

ONLY ONE MORE WEEK

Until Stitches Midwest! I am so excited. I finished the little strange socks, which though potentially tacky, I had to make. I used an imperceptible amount of Koigu leavings from Charlotte. Here is Exhibit A, the right foot:


Why no left foot? I don't know. If you want the pattern, it's here. Anyway, I have an "issue" with the mail--if I think something interesting might come I check it constantly, assuming I'm not at work, which since it's early August I am not (the start of school looms ever closer though.) It's the same with the UPS man, who is supposed to come today, to bring the yarn for my first design for South West Trading Company. I keep looking out the window and listening for the siren sound of squeaky truck brakes.

Despite the time I am spending blogging, I have been productive today. I have not knit (believe it or not) but instead did some work on unit plans for the upcoming school year and had fun setting up my new lesson plan book. Trying to get something done now so I don't freak out later, I suppose.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my corset!

Corset finished

Ok- I really like this pattern. It turned out nice. It fits perfectly. If I weren't so godawfully boobular I might actually wear it out of the house. Behold! The Silk Corset.

I made it out of Debbie Bliss Cathay, which is such a wonderful yarn. With the exception of my WIPS and the stuff for South West Trading, though, it will be my last in non-Cotton Ease for a while. Got to do something about the size of that pile before buying more (except for what I'll buy at Stitches next week-shh!) I pointed out to my husband that the money I've earned (or will receive soon enough) for the patterns I've sold and the Knitty article and the Cheaper Than Therapy stuff more than pays for the classes, hotel, airfare, and food for Stitches--even some for shopping, so he shouldn't get bent out of shape if I go a little nuts. This was my goal, after all, to earn enough to support my habit. It's working out, fortunately.

Bonus post- good news!

Guess what? I sold two designs to South West Trading Company (makers of fine Soy Silk yarn). Sorry, can't divulge the details yet. I feel a frolic coming on!

52 1/2 skeins...

Well, it only used up half a skein of Cotton Ease. Just 52 1/2 to go.



Cute, yes? It's a Bucket Hat. It only took a few hours to knit, and my daughter loves it! She asked me if I could knit her a sweater today and another tomorrow (in her world, that's apparently possible.) In actuality though, I'm mainly focused on finishing my corset, since I'm getting close. Hopefully in the next day or two, we'll see how many other responsibilities I can avoid in order to maximize knitting time.

I got my contracts and stuff for Cheaper Than Therapy yesterday. I hear it's supposed to come out in September or so, so look for it and my writings within. I'm excited, obviously.

Coming clean

Step One- Admit you have a problem.



It went down to $1 a skein! What was I supposed to do? It makes the best kid sweaters. My daughter actually LIKES orange. They don't make it anymore. It's so close to Rowan All-Seasons Cotton, but cheaper. (How many more excuses can I make?) Even though I traded Amy my 5 skeins of bubblegum pink for some of her cool Amyville stuff, I still have an embarrassing 53 skeins of Cotton Ease. I'm starting a Tivoli soon, so that's a start. I actually have some black! I bought pretty much all that what left at the creepy old Joann's in the old deserted mall(as opposed to the nice new one) near my house, leaving behind the gross (and plentiful) mint green and yellow- which my daughter wanted me to buy but I drew the line at orange. I'm done. Really. (At least I thought I was- I had to update this post because I decided to run up to the old creepy Hancock Fabrics (there seems to be an old creepy and a new nice version of most stores in my area)and they had MORE black and pink. So I got some more. Now I'm really done.)

A home for the patterns

I've decided to start a second blog for all the patterns I come up with and don't know what to do with (mostly for quick things, not "big" enough to submit anywhere). So I did. I also moved all the links for patterns of mine that are elsewhere (like Chiagu, Spun, etc.) there. I put two patterns up this morning, so if you have some yarn leavings you want to use up, check it out.

One Skein Wonder #2

Well, I finished my second One Skein Wonder, this time in leftover Knit Picks Andean Silk (I really like that yarn, by the way). I ran out close to the end so the body ribbing is in some scraps of Noro Cashmel (discontinued I think, cashmere but not as soft as some). Good stash-busting, at least. Here's a picture:




One sad thing- I submitted something to Knitty that they don't want to use for the Fall issue. :(

UFO Smorgasbord!

I think I spelled that right. Anyway, since I haven't exposed my non-Aran projects recently, I thought I would-

The teal thing is my corset, the wine-colored thing is another One Skein Wonder, and of course the sock is the third item.

I'm starting to get ridiculously excited about Stitches Midwest. I've even started thinking about how to minimize what I'm packing clothes-wise to leave maximum space for more meaningful items (such as the yarn I'm certain I will buy-the one downside of flying being limited luggage!) I'm hoping to finish the corset (and hoping it will fit nicely!) to wear to the banquet thing there on Sat. night. I'm taking the Bohus class and one of the Maggie Jackson ones, I forget which but it's on Sun. morning. Once I get back it's only a few days until I have to report back to work- and we're moving to a new building- so I will have much more to do than usual getting ready for the new school year. In the meantime to hell with all the housework I should be doing, I'm going to enjoy as much knitting time as possible!