I will open up Knitters’ Coffee Swap Three at 12:01am Central Time.
I’ll also announce our three Sow the Seeds winners tomorrow night! Thanks again for all the donations! You guys really do rock…
Monthly Archives: September 2007
Two Days Left!!!!
Wow, we’re getting there!! You have a mere two days left to get your contest entry in and have the chance to win some beautiful handspun from Jess, some Cherry Tree Hill, Spunky Eclectic or Fleece artist. Now, I know you don’t want to pass that up, right? $5, $10, $20, $50….whatever you can give, every dollar is helpful to those wonderful farmers. Help keep a small farmer in business and win some yarn. See sidebar for details. You’ve got until midnight Saturday (central time) to get in on the goods. Now go and sow those seeds!!
I should get a job for public radio.
Knitting, you’re here for knitting, right?? Okay, I’ve got knitting.
I present the Embossed Leaves Socks:
You may all collectively “oooohhhh” at them right now.
Yeah, I know. I didn’t block them yet.
The stitch pattern is a bit lost in the yarn, but I still love them. They are the most comfortable and best fitting socks I’ve knit. The toe is incredible and I might knit them like this always: circular decreases, no kitchener stitch, lots more room for my toes to wiggle around in. But I forgot to take a close up. Bummer.
I dig the garter stitch edging on the heel. I did use reinforcement thread to protect this precious yarn.
The details:
Yarn: Louts Toes in the Chocolat Cheries colorway, by Zen String. I notice she has a sale right now…..
Needles: size two, Clover double points
Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks.
Comments: Easy lace pattern. I highly recommend this one!!
Have a great weekend everyone. Remember, the coffeeswap opens up Monday. I’ll post a link to the new blog on Sunday.
The Final Stretch
So this is the final week for the Sow the Seeds fundraising contest, and have I got a treat for you!!
Jess has very generously offered up a couple of more prizes to the choices. Look what we have here!!!
The first is a skein of her very own handspun, the second is Cherry Tree Hill. Add that to the choice of either Spunky Eclectic or Fleece Artist that I originally offered and now we’ll have three winners!!!
Remember, all the contest info is over on the sidebar. I’m hoping we can get to at least $300 to help out our farmers. The final day to donate and enter is September 29th. Every dollar makes a difference and gets you an entry for some lovely yarn. And don’t forget to spread the word!
In other news, Knitters’ Coffeeswap Three will be opening up on October first. I’m off to set up the new blog after this post, so I’ll put up the link once it’s ready. I’ve decided to have some hostess help this time. The last swap was just too overwhelming and a lot of work, but I know how much people have enjoyed it so I’d like to keep it going. Keep your eyes open and be ready to sign up. I expect that between the five of us we’ll take about 120 swap members, and those spots will go fast!
I’m so bummed, I had a great sock/hat photoshoot this weekend with Knittybaby and my camera connector is nowhere to be seen, so until I figure out which certain small person has taken it I can’t show you my now completed Embossed Leaves socks.
Did I mention that I picked up this book? Wrap Style and Lace Style didn’t jump out at me as much as Folk Style has. I think it’s the colors; they are just amazing and so beautifully put together. There is also a lot of interesting colorwork, embroidery and embellishments.
As for the patterns, I love the Urban Hand Warmers and the Grand Tour Waistcoat. There are some great kids knits: some very cute mukluks and a couple of nice sweaters, and are you ready for this? A baby sling!
I’m smitten with the idea of a knit baby sling, although I’m not sure how practical it is. If you were going to knit a baby carrier, I think a pouch would be much more practical than a sling. In order for a sling to work smoothly you need the fabric to slip easily through the rings so you can tighten and loosen it up. Plus, they should have used a model that actually knows how to carry a baby in a sling. She’s just sort of holding the baby in the sling rather than letting the sling do the work, so you can’t tell how well it holds. I don’t know…anyone ever knit a baby carrier?
I’m Not the Only One
So after years of the Skeptic shaking his head at all the pictures of stash, studios, knitting needles and other online fiber goodness, do you know what I caught him looking at tonight?
No, it’s not knitting, but it is equally geeky as knitblogging can be. Basically, it’s pages and pages of woodworkers taking detailed and pictures of their shops with explanations of each picture. I post this as proof that I am not the only one with crafty geek tendencies in this household.
I was going to post on the hat that I am making, but the Skeptic has our Netflix all cued up with a hot pot of tea, so I’ll run for tonight.
Contest update on the sidebar! Keep ’em coming!!!!
Filed under family
Now We’re Cooking
Thanks everyone for getting in your donations for the flood relief contest. We are up to $180 dollars now!!! And remember it doesn’t matter if you donate $5 or $50, every bit helps the farmers out and gets you a contest entry. I also wanted to add that you should still enter even if you’re not a knitter as I’ll have a nice non-yarny prize for you if your name is drawn.
If you haven’t entered yet, check out the sidebar for information. You have until the 29th to get your donation in.
After a year now of wondering about all the Japanese craft books and magazines I keep seeing on the blogs, I finally broke down and ordered two from Superbuzzy to see what all the fuss is about.
Wow! These magazines are beautiful!!!! Such a different style from the US magazines and the detailing is amazing. While I do wish I knew Japanese so I could read everything, the pictures and patterns are enough in themselves and well worth the $17 price tag. And the schematics are great, so I should be able to figure everything out.
Filed under Uncategorized
Mini Posts
I have too much too say and little time to say it, so here, in no special order are all the things I’d like to have the time to write a nice long post for but instead will give the abbreviated version:
1. Creativity and Four Year Olds.
(Photo taken by Little Man himself)
As Little Man is staring hard at another Lego creation:
Me: How do you know when it’s done?
Little Man: When it’s cool. It isn’t done yet because it’s still not cool.
So there you have it. How do you know when that special project is really done? When it’s cool.
2. A Problem
I really want to knit the Baby Surprise Jacket, toddler size. I have no idea how to size it up; I’ve never knit one before and I can’t figure out how to make it bigger when I’m not even sure from the picture how it all goes together. Suggestions? I want to stick with worsted weight as that’s what I’ve got, so sizing it up with bulkier yarn won’t work.
3. My Contest
My Flood Relief Contest is turning into a sad little contest with only two, yes TWO entries so far. That’s great for these fine knitters, who so far have a 50/50 chance of winning yarn but I am perplexed. Do knitters not like farmers? Not like vegetables? Not like Fleece Artist? Are they just procrastinators who know they still have 16 days to officially enter? (I did get lots of “good idea!” e-mails, but just two official entries) Is it the colorways? (Because I do think they’re lovely). Do I need to offer chocolate as well? (I will, you know, offer chocolate too.) Do you all spend your last $20 on coffee and sock yarn? I am truly perplexed.
I have dreams of being able to say “The knitters (and sewers, do I need fabric too? I’ve got it!) raised $500 for flood relief and so far we’re at $40. If everyone donated $5 each, think how much we could raise!!
4. Embarrassment
There is no worse feeling than having to tell the tech at work that your child somehow broke your laptop screen by throwing some random object at it, which happened to then hit the screen in the two minutes you were not in the room with the Precious Laptop from Work, even thought you kept it up on the Very High Buffet, out of reach from little hands. Because you can tell the tech has no children, so you ramble and say stupid things like “Maybe it was a superball” and the tech keeps mumbling things like “Apple won’t warranty this” and “well, you get the prize this year.”
Amazingly, the tech brings you a new laptop. A crummy one that he can’t fit all you music on (a problem, since you’re the music teacher) but at least it’s a laptop. You leave it at work and happily come home to your hacked together IBM.
I’m in Trouble
Just as I was feeling bummed that Creative Fibers was closing, thus eliminating all near by spinning products, I found out that The Fiber Studio had just opened up this week. Just minutes from my house.
This should not be a bad thing. Except that the shop is beautiful: hardwood floors, natural lighting, beautifully decorated, and lovely, lovely fiber. And of course, when you have a shop that gorgeous you get an owner who is equally delightful. Pam was friendly, welcoming and made me wish I could stay there all day rather than rush back into the car when my three guys were waiting for me. She’s going to be offering classes and spinning groups. And this is why this is all a bad thing, because I am going to spend all my money there and my family will never see me anymore. The store is that nice.
Pam also sells a bit of yarn, dyes, beads, and all sorts of other lovely things we all can find a use for. Two items came home with me:
Some beautiful hand dyed suri alpaca.
I have no idea what to do with this right now but I have a sneaking suspicion that I can count on Pam to teach me. I’m waiting for that class list!
This was an exciting find:
You are looking at a pack on vintage kimono fabric. I’m really wanting to make this into a quilted circular needle holder. If you are loving this and are sad you can’t run over to Pam and buy some, you can also order at Ah! Kimono
Pam is having her grand opening the 21st and 22nd of September. Be sure to stop by!
I have a boring WIP to add.
Plain old anklets. Practical but not that exciting, and not even a clever photo to spice them up a bit. But they are done, I’m happy, and I’m one project closer to buying some yarn.
Stats:
yarn:Regia bamboo/wool
needle: size 1
pattern: plain old, typical sock
I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather as much as we are. This was actually last weekend, as I’ve not been well this weekend, but at least I can enjoy it in my own backyard.
Lastly, don’t forget to get in your Sow the Seeds contest entries in to me. Did anyone watch the video? I’m curious to hear what you thought.
Off and Running
I was pleased to get so many nice e-mails from those of you who planned on stopping by your co-op or making an online donation to help our organic farmers out! Way to go to Kathryn for getting my contest rolling with my first official entry.
The latest report from Harmony Valley reported a loss of $800,000 at their farm alone. The local news reported as of Friday that Sow the Seeds has raised about $10,000 so far for flood relief. It’s a great start but just a drop in the bucket towards what is needed. Take a few minutes to watch this video that I came across today. It sums it up pretty well. Then, take a few minutes to donate and enter here to win some yarn!
On the knitting front, I purchased this pattern today. But, I have still have my Leaf cardigan to contend with; it’s too tight in the armpits and now I’m stuck.
Knittymama 
