even more slippers! (Should I move on to something else?)

With an adequately rested arm, I decided to finish up the crocheting I needed to do on three pair of Sweet Mary Janes I had. (Sidenote: It make take me a while to update the gallery. Posting photos using dial up is very time consuming.)

#1 size small in Lion wool.

#2 size small in mission falls wool.

#3 size smaller (I winged this pair) in Wolly Stripes.

And I cannot believe I forgot to show you all the very cool gift my Mom gave me on Saturday.

She handed me a baggie of labels she ordered for me. Aren't they cute? (I apologize for the poor quality photo. The flash kept washing everything out.)

Guess I should cast on the newsboy cap she's asked for.

I started a broiche hat for my Dad,(Did anyone else learn the broiche technique as shaker rib? There have been so many times I thought I was going to learn a new technique only to realize that it is something I know, under a different name.) and knit about 6 inches of it when I realized he would probably never wear it, so I've set it aside. I just don't feel like making Dad anything. So, I'm back to square one. At least I have a week to come up with something.

Slippers!

Ok, where shall I begin? Let’s start off with another picture of someone else’s Sweet Mary Janes, or as Wendy calls them, her “slice of watermelon heaven”. I have made a SMJ gallery here, for anyone who would like to see. (If you have made a pair of these and would like to be in the gallery Please email me a picture or a link. pinkerbell44 AT yahoo DOT ie Thanks.)

Mine are still needing some crochet work done, but my arm’s been bothering me a bit, so crocheting has been put aside until I can handle it.

It’s been a pretty uneventful weekend. I knitted a bit on my Perfect Pie Shawl.

Saturday I got a request for a pair of Elmo slippers, and I hate to disappoint.

Just your basic felted clog pattern made with red Patons Classic Merino, and the felt faces sewn on afterwards.

She now wants a pair of Cookie Monsters.

I’m still plugging away at my sweater, also made from Patons CM but no pictures, as I’m thinking of submitting that pattern.

I’m also trying to figure out what to make my Dad for his birthday. Originally, I had planned not to knit him anything, since the sweater I made him for Christmas received a tepid reception. But, to be honest, I’m stumped, so he’ll be getting a hat of some sort.

I’ve had to hide my Bartlett yarn for my Rogue so that I will not be tempted. I keep thinking “I can swatch”, but I know if I do I will just end up starting it.

trying to get back on track

ok, the wrist is feeling much better, and onto my recent startitis.

You are looking at some Sweet Mary Janes I need to finish crocheting the trim on, two pairs of socks, a sweater I'm making up as I go along, and some felted clogs,

What is not pictured is the start of my Perfect pie, and the hot lava cardigan, both of which Jess pulled off the needles and pretty much destroyed yesterday. (I'm trying REALLY hard not to take that personally)

At lunch yesterday I recieved a birthday gift from Tara, and I love it!
Thank you! (Isn't it pretty?)

I had planned to head out last night and see a few friends, but I was in a foul mood and not enjoyable company last night. Sorry guys.

We interrupt this knitting blog...

I was going to have a parade of my numerous WIPS today and blog about how Feb 10th needs to come soon because I am suffering from knitting ADD, but due to a very tender wrist, I will not be. Maybe tomorrow I can lug out everything I now have on the needles to illustrate my point. Today my wrist's in a brace and there will be no more "monkey climbing" for Jess for a while, since I inevitably come away injured.

Feeling my age.

Thank you all for the Birthday wishes. They were much appreciated.

Look what I got from Jill! She made me a Sophie bag. I love it, thanks, Jill.

Monday I had used my Michaels gift card to buy some Patons Merino Classic to knit my Rogue for the Knitters Olympics, then Monday night I fell in love with some Bartlett yarn and used some birthday money to order it. In the meantime, I'm keeping honest by knitting a few gifts for the upcoming February and March birthdays.

Last night I was trying to finish all the Sweet Mary janes I have in progress. I'm hoping to finish them up today and have pictures tomorrow.

I think I have found something to make Kid sister for her birthday, but of course I don't seem to have any yarn in the stash to make it. I'm thinking the Hot Lava cardigan. what do you think? 14 year old girl? Hot lava?(psst, Carma, new improved link.)

Lady E pictures

Friday, Jess and I spent the day with Jennnifer and Zander. She took pictures of my Lady E for me. Pattern from Scarfstyle. Yarn is Noro Kureyon color 115, 10 balls.









Then gave me presents!

Sparkly knitting needles, mesh laundry bag, a bling bling ring, Oscar stickers, a hello kitty notebook, and candy. We cannot forget the very pretty card. (Ann's gift is next to it, as I could not find my camera to photograph it when I blogged about it.) Jessie also got some candy and a little lion she renamed, "Molly" after she realized the she had already named one of her stuffed animals "Neenee".

The predicted snow storm that threatened to cancel our family get together this weekend never really came about, so Saturday we had my family over to celebrate my birthday a bit early.

I got a much needed humidifer, the muppet show season one, some baskets, arrested development season one, a funky frog, and some gift cards.

It was great to have everyone over...well, not everyone made it, but it was still a good time.

Sunday Nate and I celebrated our five year anniversary. Actually we didn't do anything special, but we had a very lovely day.

Onto knitting, kid sister nixed the vest idea, so I'm trying to think of something else for her. She's turning 14, anyone have an idea? I'm dying to start on rogue, but a requested pair of socks is keeping me true to the olympic rules.

Today I'm off to spend my gift cards. Don't forget to hop over to the Blue Blog for sockapaloooza sign ups tomorrow!

short post

My Lady Eleanor is finished, well, I have two ends to weave in, but it's done. No picture until I locate the camera and have someone to take the picture for me.

Onto the bergamo vest, which I have ripped out to start over. I was making it a size too big. I also need to swatch for another Salt Peanuts, buy my yarn for the knitters Olympics Rogue, and we can't forget the perfect pie along.

Jess doesn't have school today, so we'll be going to visit Jen and Zander. She's pretty excited.

Me? Weird?

I went to the Stitch n Bitch last night, and Ann gave me an early birthday gift.

I would be putting a picture here of the cute little lady bug pillow, book mark, journal yarn, and valentine hearts I got, but damned if i could find the camera today.
Thanks, Ann. (Jen and I both got one.) Lesa brought cupcakes. They didn't last long enough to be photographed by me. Jen took her camera last night so, hopefully she'll have pictures

I think I may have a little girl-crush on Veronik Avery. I've recently finished Salt Peanuts, (Which I am contemplating making again. I live in mine.) I'm working on the Cache Bergamo vest In Weekend Knitting, gearing up for the Perfect Pie Shawl KAL, and I've been comtemplating Zigzag for some time.

I may need to expand my interests a bit.

Onto the weirdness...

***Ground Rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yours" and people who get tagged need to write a blog entry about their 5 quirky habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names.***

Um, yeah I'm not tagging anyone, but feel free to lift this and leave a comment to we can find you.

1.) I refuse to wear very pointy shoes. I cannot think of any situation that would persuade me otherwise.

2.) When I laugh, I sometimes snort, but that's not the weird part. If I start laughing REALLY hard, I make a sound that can only be described as a "hee haw". When I was little my brother used to pin me down and tickled me until I hee hawed.

3.) Toast crumbs in the butter cause me a great deal of woe. My rational side forbids me from making this an issue so I suffer in silence.

4.) I have a system for organizing CD's/DVD's etc. Granted my methods of organization change from time to time, but I get irritated when someone messes up my system.

5.) I talk to myself. A lot. Sometimes in different voices. It keeps me entertained.

Have I left anything out? Please feel free to add...

D'oh!

okay, are y'all ready to laugh, I mean really?

I realized today that even though I have entered the Knitting Olympics, I am not actually going to be able to watch it.

You see, we do not have cable, and we only get half of the network channels. Unfortunately, NBC is not one of them.

This being said I still plan to knit on and abide by the KO rules. Maybe we'll set up some Olympic events in the living room...

Knit alongs

Ok, so far Rogue is winning by a landslide.

I'm gearing up for the Knitting Olympics, and my "training" will include my Kid Sister's birthday gift. (Her birthday is in March, but if I don't finish it now, well, I'll be thinking about it through the Olympics.)

So I got some Cork in a shade that will be agreeable with her red hair.

What do ya think? It's going to be the Bergamo vest from Weekend Knitting.

Speaking of Weekend Knitting, Jen's Perfect Pie KAL now has a page and a button.

Speaking of KAL's, I'm on the 25th tier of my Lady E. I'm afraid to stop now, because I'm afraid if I put it down so close to the end, I won't pick back up for a while.


It's pretty. It's got a lot more red in it than I though tit would, but that's not a bad thing. It's just a surprise when you buy a bunch of skeins that look like this:


Also, Alison's Sockapaloooza is due to open for sign ups next week.

Keep it coming

Well, so far Rogue has the lead on Zigzag. I plan on making my final decision on Friday, so please keep your votes coming.

I considered doing a lace project, but I cannot work lace with Nate and Jess at my elbows. That means the only time I would have to work on it would be while Jess was in school, and it doesn't seem right to choose a project for the knitting olympics that I would not be able to work on during the olympics.

I'm cruising knitpicks trying to decide on colors I would like to use for whichever project wins. In the meantime...

Lady E 21 tiers done.

My version of We Call Them Pirates, in progress.


ADDED LATER:

Tracy emailed me a picture of her completed Sweet Mary Janes. They are super cute. Thanks, Tracy.

Which one?

First off, a Happy Birthday to Jen.

I have a bit of knitting progress to show for an uneventful weekend. Although I do not yet have pictures to share. I have 16 tiers of the Lady Eleanor shawl done, which puts me just under halfway. I also started my own version of the We Call Them Pirates hat, but again no picture.

I Read the Harlot's post about the Knitting Olympics, and I am so on board. Now I only have to decide on a project.

I've narrowed it down to two, and this is where I could use your thoughts. Should I Rogue, or should I Zigzag?

Bootie Call

The phone rang today. It was Amy. She was desperate. She was getting ready for a trip out of town Saturday morning. A trip, she had just found out, was to include a baby shower.

Could I possiblly make her a pair of booties for a little girl and have them ready in the morning?

Sure, no problem. (Yeah I was cocky, I know that now.) I even put it off until after I got Jess to bed. A piece of cake, I mean, really, I've made dozens of these.

Aren't they cute? I mean look at them. The little right shoe and the little right shoe. Wait.

Fortunately, I just needed to unsew a seam and flip the slipper inside out and sew it back up.

But all of this hubbub has detracted from my work on my Lady E.

Random thoughts

My niece's socks. I've hit the ribbing and now that are a strictly tv sock.

I've pulled out my perfect pie shawl and I am awaiting Jen's Perfect pie along.

I've hit a stroke of luck. I've had some kureyon, but not enough for this wrap. I went down to sheep's and they have plenty in the right color and dye lot. They are holding some for me. So, I can now make my Lady Eleanor for Jillian's Lady E along.

The silk corset is not forgotten, but Jess likes the little booklet form of the pattern, and keeps walking away with it.

I really want to make hello yarn's We call them Pirates hat (And now matching mitten pattern, thanks for the info, Cassie.)

As always, I have some sweet mary janes to make. I can't make these fast enough (and I can make them pretty fast) to keep up with the demand around here. I've decided that they can wait until i get to them, or learn to knit and make them themselves.

I have a couple free patterns to share, but i want to go throught them again, to make sure they are right.

I've decided to break this year into quarters. At the beginning of the quarter, I first tend to knitting obligations and then move onto things I just want to make. Oh, and every quarter I have to make something for myself.

more socks

I finished Nate's anniversary socks last night. (Well, technically, a few hours ago, but I won't have this post up until the morning.) I just went ahead and gave them to him. He likes them a lot and I guess that's why I make them. At some point along the second sock, I always regret that I promised him socks, but in the end it's all worth it.

With that I moved onto my last January knitting obligation, my niece's one skein wonder. I had finished the main part and had started working the sleeves, but it just wasn't right. The pattern was good, it was something the recipient would love, but the yarn was nothing special, so I tore through my bins of yarn and UFOs to see what else I had. Low and behold I had found these forgotten things.

Trekking socks, toes knitted, that I started for my niece last October. I had completely forgotten about them. So she'll be getting socks instead, which she'll be excited about because she has already asked me for a pair.

Nature v. Nurture.

The scarf for grandma is finished. I really like the way it turned out. This would be gorgeous in some actual Lopi-lite, but I only had white so I opted instead for some Patons merino classic. Pattern is in the Weekend Knitting book for those interested.

Now time to finish those pesky anniversary socks.


I leave you with a picture of Jess in her new favortie shirt. (*sniff* I'm so proud. For those of you who do not know, I own quite a few pink panther shirts.) Is the love of all things Pink Panther conditioned, or is it genetically engrained. We may never know. :)

socks aside

ok, after a morning that consisted of a steady diet of weak tea, toast and chicken broth, I am feeling much better.

So now I need to share with you what happened on Friday.

See we have a running gig on Fridays. Jess spends a good part of her morning with one of her Grandmas, then Grandma takes her to school. Last Friday, while waiting for Grandma to show up I had pulled out the retro rib socks I've been working on for said Grandma's birthday (the 20th). I had hoped to sneak a few rows in before she showed up. She showed up sooner than expected and caught me trying to stuff the socks under a throw pillow as she came in.

She asked me what I was working on. I told her they were socks. She was totally unimpressed. (I KNOW!) Then she laid down a pretty big hint for a new scarf.

Last year I had made her a scarf that my baby sis promptly claimed as her own. So this morning I set the socks aside, and started looking for scarf ideas. I've decided on this one.

meme

No knitting prgress to report. Yesterday I came down with something and spent to whole day feverishand sleeping. Since I have nothing to report, I lifted this meme from Jen.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 4am, then promptly fell back asleep until 8am

2. Diamonds or pearls? hmmm, i guess pearls (but really garnets)

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Harry potter and the goblet of fire

4. What is your favorite TV show? arrested develpoment

5. What did you have for breakfast? nothing.

6. What is your middle name? Michelle

7. What is your favorite cuisine? italian

8. What foods do you dislike? meatloaf, salsbury steak, that kind of crap.

9. What is your favorite chip flavor? salt and vinegar

10. What type of car do you drive? nissan altima

11. Favorite item of clothing? jeans

12. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? ireland

13. What color is your bathroom? mostly white

14. Favorite brand of clothing? don't have one

15. Where would you like to retire to? some place where I can go outside and NOT see a neighbor

16. Favorite time of the day? night

17. What was your most memorable birthday? 24

18. Where were you born? Merrillville IN

19. Favorite sport to watch? football

20. What fabric detergent do you use? tide

21. Coke or Pepsi? coke (but really dr pepper)

22. Are you a morning person or a night owl? night owl

23. What is your shoe size? 4

24. Do you have any pets? an outdoor kitty and an indoor hamster

25. What did you want to be when you were little? a dancer

26. When is your birthday? January 24th

shawl? what shawl?

Remember my leaf lace shawl that I posted the othe day? You know, the one I had planned to do 8 repeats of the lace and then the border and be done? The one I was on the 6th Repeat?

Yesterday, I found and error in it. A misplaced YO about 5o rows down. It mocked me. I set it aside. The misplaced YO would somehow rise to the top of the heap and stare at me. I could not bear it.

This is my shawl now. I've decided that yes, I could reknit it, but I'd rather knit the silk corset.

Note to self: Cut back on the coffee. Last night I was at the Stitch and Bitch, helping Tara weave in some ends, and I had a caffeine tremor. Seriously. (Of course, getting a new coffee maker for Christmas has caused my coffee consumption to triple lately.)

The squirrel story

A conversation from Christmas Eve.

Big Brother: "I drove by the old house today."

Me: "uh huh."

Big Bro: "Erin, you might want to sit down, I have some news for you."

Me: (perplexed) "okay."

Big Bro: (pauses dramatically) "They chopped down your home. Your family has been displaced. I don't know if we'll ever regain contact with them. I'm sorry."

The biggest running joke. This all stems from when I was maybe five years old, and my brother convinced me I was not actually his sister.

My mother had started school again and my brother had a regular babysitting gig with me. We lived in a house that had a large picture window in the living room that gave an excellent view of an ancient tree across the street, which had a large empty space at the base. We were inside, and bored senseless.

Big bro: (looking out the window) "You know, days like this remind me of the day Mom found you."

Me: "huh?"

Big bro: (a look of horror washes over his face.) "Oh no, I wasn't suppose to tell."

Me: (anxious) "Tell what? Oh please tell me!"

Big bro: "Well...okay, but you have to swear not to tell Mom. Do you swear?"

Me: "Oh yes, I swear not to tell Mom."

Big bro: "Okay then...You know, you're not ACTUALLY my sister. You see, when you were a baby, you lived in the tree across the street."

(Both look out the window at the tree across the street.)

"Mom looked out the window one morning and saw you as a baby in that empty space in the tree. She took pity on you, and brought you home."

Me: (disbelieving, and a little smug) "No way. babies need lots of care. I couldn't have lived in the tree by myself."

Big bro: "But Erin, you weren't alone. Don't you see? You lived with the squirrels. They took care of you, but Mom didn't think that was right and brought you home. Boy, did THEY get mad."

Me: "They?"

Big bro: "The squirrels. They were mad. They wanted you back. We had to pay them off...Still do."

Me: "What do you mean?"

Big bro: "Well, you know how everytime Grandpa comes to visit, he brings a big bag of peanuts and feeds the peanuts to the squirrels? That's all part of the agreement."

Me: (eyes wide, because it's all starting to make sense) "I'm asking Mom when she gets home."

Big bro: "Oh no, Erin! Don't do that! Mom will get mad that I told and she'll send you back to live with the squirrels!" (looks again at the tree.) "I don't think you can fit anymore."


So, I never told. I'm not sure when I stopped believing this, but I know it was long before I told my mom about it when I was 13.

Mom was living in Florida, and I was down for a visit. We were driving back from the grocery store, and stopped at traffic light. I was staring out the window, and came upon an ancient looking tree with a big empty space at the base. I remembered the story and just erupted in laughter.

My Mom wanted to know what the heck was so funny, so I told her the whole story. I expected her to laugh. She didn't. When we got home she went straight inside and dialed up my brother. When he answered the phone she started yelling at him.

Big bro was obviously very confused as to why his mother is calling from a thousand miles away to yell at him...and then he pieced it together...and just busted out laughing. Then Mom realized she was attempting to yell at Big bro for something he did like 8 years ago, and starts laughing at the absurdity of it all.

It's been a running joke ever since.

socks and lace

Thanks for the compliments on Salt Peanuts. Overall, I'm pleased with it.

I've been working on socks lately I have two pair to finish in about two weeks. (Nate's and some retro ribs) Luckily, I have one of each pair done, and they shouldn't take long, the problem is that they no longer hold my attention which of course equals knitting project death around here.

So, I'm forcing myself to stick with them both while I search my stash (It has to be stash yarn, I'm forbidden to buy more. My birthday's coming up....send yarn.) for a yarn to make my seven year old niece a long sleeved one skein wonder. (Thanks for the suggestion, Jillian.) Ok, so maybe a knit a few rows of my lace leaf shawl too. It's also begging to get off the needles.

Salt Peanuts

Are you ready to see my very bad impression of an IK model? (please disregard my excess girth. I was the queen of overindulgence this holiday season.)


Salt Peanuts is done. Any advice for this cardigan? Keep notes. Especially when working the collar because you are doing a lot of shaping simultaneously. Also, use a yarn you can get gauge with. Unless you're a seasoned knitter, I would not recommend picking a yarn in which you don't get gauge, and continuely adjusting the pattern, as I did. Also, cork grows A LOT in blocking. I had to throw this in the dryer for a little bit.

Ok, now that Salt Peanuts is done, I need to finish Nate's anniversary socks, and 3 other January birthday gifts.


Hey, anyone have any suggestions for a 7 year old girl?

What I did on my Winter Vacation.

Let's see...where did we leave off? (Sorry, I'm a little shaken by the fact that Carma actually POSTED) :)

We set off on Wednesday for dinner with some of Nate's family. We stayed in Gibson County and began to go through the "leftovers" of the homestead. We had no room to take anything big with us, so I took a few shoeboxes of vintage buttons.

I should not be so entertained by sorting through these.

I've knit up Salt Peanuts, but I have not finished piecing it together.


I've made progress on Nate's anniversary socks.(I have 19 days to finsh them.)


One of my Christmas gifts, I recieved some alpaca sportweight from a small farm in Ohio. I've made a wristlet out of it so far. It's far prettier than the picture portrays it.

On Thursday, we drove from Evansville, Indiana to Oxford, Ohio. (By way of "Florence Y'all". Carma, we almost stopped to ask your dad if Jess could use the bathroom.)

We spent the remainder of our time in Oxford, and returned home on Sunday. I have since been endlessly trying to clean up pine needles and cheering on West Virginia (Mountaineers win!)