Wednesday, November 30, 2005

WIP

I am working on:
Three scarves to sell for coworker (almost done with knitting the second, need to add weave in ends and add fringe on first one)
Baby blanket for friend (will never ever ever be done)
Ribbon scarf for grandmother's Xmas gift (maybe a third of the way through. Might just buy her something)

I am planning on:
Hat for child
Two hats to sell to another coworker

Friday, November 18, 2005

I was almost done with a hat to match the scarf below, and made two mistakes I couldn't fix. I ripped it all the way out. I'd like to have it finished (again) by Wednesday when we leave for a Thanksgiving trip to Sequoia.

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Ellie's Scarf


Ellie's Scarf
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
I just finished this scarf for her today. She's pretending to be cold for this photo.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Gift Season

Last night I finished up knitting a birthday gift - details to be revealed after the recipient has it. I've also been buying a bit of yarn for holiday gifts.

Last night I finally bought buttons for the Haiku sweater I made ages ago. It will probably be another month before I get around to sewing them on, but I hope not.

My cube neighbor has asked me to teach her to knit, so I need schedule a lunch.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Arrgh, ye knitters

We tried out Ellie's Halloween ensemble (she'll be a wee pirate, arrr) over the weekend and it looks great. It just needs a little something, namely a black vest. I broke out a ball of cotton-ease last night and looked up a simple pattern. It's worked in one piece on straight needles, and shouldn't be too hard to knock out in a week or two.

Friday, September 30, 2005

Quick update

I haven't had much blogging time lately. I'm currently working on another baby blanket,an openweave scarf for myself. I may go shopping this weekend to pick up some Christmas gift yarn.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Nothin' but a T-shirt


Nothin' but a T-shirt
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Finally, finally, finally done with my tee!

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Help if you can

American Red Cross

Please also see if your employer offers a matching gift program for contributions.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Garter Brim Hat


Garter Brim Hat
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Completed hat made from partial skeins in the stash.

Top of Garter Brim Hat


Top of Garter Brim Hat
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.

Garter Brim Hat - WIP


Garter Brim Hat - WIP
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Here's the garter brim hat about 3/4 of the way through.

Dishcloths


Dishcloths
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Assorted quick knits

NBaT sleeve


NBaT sleeve
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
First sleeve of NBaT

NBaT front - WIP


NBaT front - WIP
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Completed front of NBaT

Monday, August 29, 2005

I've finished one of the sleeves for my NBaT, and just turned up the hem on the second one tonight. Because I am apparently incapable of doing one thing at a time, I also made a hat over the weekend out of some partial skeins I had in the closet. The border is leftover Landscapes from Maggie's doggie bed, and the main body of the hat is red Cotton-Ease, which I'd used part of for a baby hat last week.

Speaking of Cotton-Ease, I love this eulogy for Cotton-Ease, via Creazativity. The photos are great.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Welcome Back, NBaT

I picked up my long-neglected Tshirt two nights ago, and have made it up past the armholes on the front piece. I don't know why I let it sit so long, but if I had to guess I would say that I just needed projects that didn't require a whole lot of concentration.

Aforementioned projects include a baby hat of red and blue Cotton-Ease held together for my new boss, who is expecting a baby in early October. When I brought it in to give to her, another woman in my group asked if I could make a bright hat for her toddler. I just happened to have a striped toddler-sized hat completely knit, wanting only a tie and woven-in ends. I had done it on a long car ride just to have something to do with my hands, out of three of the Caron Simply Soft colors I had left over from make the striped blanket. As it turns out, it will fit her daughter perfectly.

I also made a very simple garter stitch triangle shawl out of almost all the rest of the sari silk I had on hand, on size 13 needles. It only took two days and I really like how it turned out. They seriously crank the AC in this office, and I thought it would be nice to have something at my desk that I could cover up with as needed. I've had at least four people in my office ask if I would make one for them. I will try to remember to take it home and get a photo. No photos of the hats will be forthcoming, as I gave them away before snapping shots. Sorry!

Speaking of sari silk, Jill over at The Knitting Lane is making a bias scarf from a pattern I posted a while ago. I love all the pinks in her yarn.It looks great so far, and I'm tickled that someone is using that pattern.

Still crazy busy, and it's about to ramp up in September, with Ellie's birthday, the beginning of tot soccer practices (yes, I will be driving my kid to soccer in my minivan. Shut up. I'm a musician. I used to be wicked cool! Well, not me personally, but some of my friends were wicked cool.), the ramp-up of my new position, and Greg's grand grad school adventure. FUN!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Oy, the busyness

I'm here, I'm alive, I'm even knitting a little. We've been out of town the last two weekends and it's all I can do to keep us in clean clothes, let alone blog. I'm so used to those two days to get caught up with groceries, housework, and some relaxation.
I've been quite busy at work, and having to cart my laptop back and forth every day, so I haven't been bringing knitting over lunch much either. I did sneak in some rows on a dishcloth during breaks one day of a multi-day meeting I had last week, and did some more dishcloths over our trip this last weekend.

My brain is so fried that I've been gravitating toward the small and easy. The aforementioned dishcloths, and a couple of baby hats, that kind of thing. I still haven't had a chance to felt Maggie's puppy bed, but it is definitely on tap for this weekend.

Sharon tagged me for a meme, and I am finally getting around to replying:

10 years ago:
I was 19, about to start my second year of college, and had just moved out of my mother's into an apartment with my friend Kim. It was one bedroom, which we shared, and we had to hide the cat from the neighbors. We had a Beatles poster, a beaded curtain, a papasan chair, and bright dishes. We wrote songs together, rode the bus to school together, since neither of us had a car, and had old married couple fights about going out to dinner. Kim is still one of my closest, most insane friends.

5 years ago:

I'd been married for almost a year, and we were living in an apartment in Ventura. We liked to walk downtown and go to the movies and used bookstore just about every weekend. (I miss the movies!) On sunny days and Sundays I loved to go to the park across the street and read, then fall asleep in the grass. (I miss naps, too.)

1 year ago:

Ellie was about to turn two, and we'd been in our house for a couple of months, which meant we were taking to trips to Home Depot just about every day. It was our first summer in Simi Valley, and August is HOT here, so we were loving the central air conditioning. Ellie was already so much more kid than baby, and her personality was really starting to shine with her increased vocabulary.

Yesterday:
Went back to work after two days off for Greg's sister's wedding. Caught up on a lot of work for the project I'm working on (which I really like - am so glad I am working on this). Found a desk to sit at with both a phone and a network connection, a wonderful thing for the cubicle nomad I've been these last few weeks. Started a more sensible eating plan which I do not want to call a diet. Had dinner at home, did a load of laundry right out of our suitcase, watched an Elmo video with Ellie while Greg mowed the lawn, and played a very long game of fetch with Maggie. Read my New Yorker while putting Ellie to sleep, and conked out while watching the Daily Show. Yesterday was a good day.

Today:
Forgot my breakfast, but remembered to bring my coffee out of the car. Had a busy but productive day at work. I got to Ellie's classroom first, so I got to play with her for about fifteen minutes while we waited for Greg, and that was a lot of fun. Greg started dinner when we got home, and Ellie and I walked around the corner for some bread and bananas. Knitted a bit of dishcloth while putting Ellie to bed, and finally am updating my blog. Will watch a Lynley Mystery from Netflix before bed. Today's a good day, too.

Tomorrow:
Meetings at work. Camping Day at school for Ellie, for which I've already put her sleeping bag and flashlight in the car to avoid forgetting it in the morning. No big plans for the evening other than the usual routine.

Monday, August 01, 2005

Neat Knitting Calendar

I just had this recommended to me:

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Noro bag - before felting


072905Knitting 005
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.

Felted Noro Bag


Felted Noro Bag
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.

Stripe Stripe Baby - Finished!


Stripe Stripe Baby
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Stroller blanket I designed, for a friend's baby.

Stripe Stripe in action


072905Knitting 012
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
As modelled by Ellie.

Zaedy's Treasure


Zaedy's Treasure
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
I made this little purse out of sari silk for a friend's two-year old. The bottom is a larger garter stitch rectangle, folded over on itself to make a double thickness of fabric. I then picked up stitches around the edge and knitted in the round. The I-cord handlel ends sewn together to make a single loop, is a strand of silk held together with black cotton for added flexibility and strength.

Doggy Pi - Prefelting


Dooggy Pi - Prefelting
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
This is the pet bed I knitted up for Maggie. I probably won't get a chance to felt it for a while.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Blanket & Bag

I finished the knitting on the striped baby blanket earlier this week. I want to weave in the ends before I post a photo, because wanting to post a photo is the only way I'll feel motivated to weave in the ends. Know what I mean?

About ten seconds after I finished the last stitch of the blanket, I cast on for a felted bag with the Noro Kureyon I bought off of eBay. I'm not using a pattern, but have been inspired by several of the Black Sheep bags. I've already finished the body of the bag and am working on the strap. I am deeply in love with the Noro - springy and bright and such gorgeous colors. I'll have to keep searching for deals on it.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Ack - Bad Blogger

Work has been nuts, our company picnic was this weekend, and I haven't been knitting much over the past week due to my snippets of leisure time being taken up with reading Harry Potter 4, 5, and 6. I promise content this week, and maybe even a finished object.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Must. Not. Start. New. Thing.

I am trying really hard not to cast on for a new project. I've got the yarn and needles to make a doggie bed for Maggie, and I've balled up some of my Kureyon to start on a felted bag. My two needle options for the bag are currently in use for my NBaT and baby blanket, one of which I should finish before starting something new. I really should. Really really really should.

I think I just want some quick gratification. I'm almost 2/3 of the way through the blanket, but there's still lots of repetitive knitting to go. I'm maybe 2/5 done with the front piece of my T-shirt, so sleeves and seaming are yet to come. Childhood, dusty in the nether regions of the basket, is less than half done. I tore out Branching Out and won't be restarting it. The doggie bed is on big needles and would let me try Magic Loop. Maybe if I tell myself it's educational.....

Thursday, July 07, 2005

This melancholy London - I sometimes imagine that the souls of the lost are compelled to walk through its streets perpetually. One feels them passing like a whiff of air.
- William Butler Yeats

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Midwest Knit Bloggers

I've just submitted the site for inclusion in the Midwest Knit Bloggers ring. Former residents are eligible, and I'm a native Iowa girl. Here I am last month, back in my hometown with dad, brother, and daughter:

Not Knitting, But..

Greg got into grad school!!!!!! He'll be starting his master's in Biotechnology at CSU Channel Islands this fall. We should get the official communication sometime within the next week. Yay for my smart husband!!

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Guy Knits

Knitty's just put out their summer issue, knits for boys and men. What do you think? Discuss your thoughts at Knitter's Forum.

Hope everyone had a happy fourth! Today was the last day of our extended weekend, and we took Ellie to the LA Natural History Museum to check out the dinosaurs. Tomorrow it's back to work, but I think I can handle a three-day work week.

Monday, July 04, 2005

WIP NBaT back


WIP NBaT back
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
I'm ready to start shaping the neck!

July 4 knitting purchases


July 4 knitting purchases
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Supplies for a doggie bed for Maggie and dishcloths for Mom.

WIP Stripe Stripe 7-4-05


WIP Stripe Stripe 7-4-05
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
I've just started the second blue stripe. I'm planning three repeats of the color pattern, so I'm more than halfway done. Blankets get boring. Really boring.

Stash Shelf


Stash Shelf
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Remember how I can't buy more yarn than will fit in my stashket? Let's all laugh together. Between the wrapping supplies and the extra sheets, I now have a shelf in the guest room closet for extra yarn.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Sweet!

I just found out Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are company holidays. I was only planning on Monday. Think of all the knitting I can do during a five-day weekend! My mom may come up and visit for a day, too, which would be great.

I am in the even rows between the waist decreases and the bust increases on the back of the NBaT. I had to look around online last night to figure out how many rows there should be - hooray for the internet!

I've decided that I want to finish the ChildHood sweater in time for Ellie to wear it for her fall school photos (if it fits and is not ugly). I have part of one front piece, the sleeves, and the striped neck and button bands still to knit.

I've also figured out the niches for the current projects:
NBaT - commuting, evenings
Blanket - putting Ellie to bed (it's too dark to knit the dark blue NBat with the bedtime lighting, and since I have to put Ellie to bed every night I know I'll work on the blanket a bit each day)
Branching Out - lunch breaks, starting with tomorrow. I'll just leave it at work.

Friday, June 24, 2005

I Want Candy

Nothing to do with my post, I've just had that song stuck in my head all morning.

I really like the way my Cotton-Ease is knitting up on this first piece of my NBaT. Damn this discontinuation! I may have to pick a few more skeins before the local craft stores are all cleaned out. Greg was nice enough to run into Joann last night and pick up a few skeins that weren't even for me, and said there was quite a bit left. I'm not telling you which location of Joann, becuase I want it all for myself. I am selfish like that.

I've been working on the NBaT in the car and at work, and the blanket in the evenings at home. I want to cast on for Branching Out this weekend, too. What niche can the lace knitting fill? Weekend afternoon? Taking child to park? I'll have to ponder.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

I gave up on my Secret Thing for now. I still really like the pattern I devised, but the yarn is just not right for it. When I have some more money in my yarn budget (June is tapped out) I will buy some more suitable fiber and try again.

I joined a knitalong for Nothin' But a T-Shirt from MagKnits, and will use up several balls of the Cotton-Ease I bought on Friday for that project. I swatched last night and hope to start knitting today. I started a thread for it at the forum, and nona offers an update every Tuesday at nona knits.

My baby blanket is coming along very well. It's getting too big to drag back and forth to work, so that's another excuse, um, reason, to start the NBAT.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Noro #40


Noro #40
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
My first Noro, which I bought off of eBay, arrived in Saturday's mail.

Cotton-Ease: Blue and Black


Cotton-Ease: Blue and Black
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Ellie and I hit the 50% off already reduced items at Joann on Friday night. I got 12 balls of Cotton-Ease for $19.

WIP: Stripe Stripe Baby blanket


WIP: Stripe Stripe Baby blanket
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
This is the baby blanket I designed and am making for a friend.

Broadripple socks


Broadripple socks
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Check out my first pair of socks! I want to do some brighter colors next time.

Broadripple sock heel


Broadripple sock heel
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
I can't believe I haven't posted photos of these yet: my first sock

Friday, June 17, 2005

Knitters' Forum

The forum is currently in a testing phase - come have a sneak peek! I appreciate all the feedback I can get.




Edit: bumping this up to the top

Summer of Lace

I joined the Summer of Lace knitalong yesterday, and will be working on my Secret Thing as my summer lace project. I cast on (several times) at lunch today, and got four rows into it. I now have this on the needles at work, a dishcloth on the needles in my bag, the baby blanket on the needles at home, and ChildHood on the needles in my stashket. Sheesh.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Let's try this again

I frogged the baby blanket last night. I just wasn't excited about the way the pattern was working out, and I don't want to make an enormous piece of fabric that I don't like. I cast on for a modified design just before bed, and brought it to work on at lunch today. We'll see how version two goes.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Supplies

My Joann order finally arrived on Saturday afternoon, so I have a whole lot of very brightly colored acrylic yarn in my room. I got several colors of Caron Simply Soft Brights to make my friend a baby blanket. Also have the needle for my Secret Thing, and some dishcloth cotton.

Speaking of dishcloths, I made a cabled one on Friday, and gave it to Ellie to play with in her kitchen. My first cables! I am getting a lot of use out of the Sugar 'n' Cream left over from my Sigma tank.

I cast on for the blanket over the weekend and got through the bottom border and a few rows of the first stripe. The balls of yarn are a bit huge to lug around, so I have a ball of cotton in my bag for another discloth as my communte knit tonight. When I need a break from the blanket I can get started on my Secret Thing.

I also knit most of a little cape thing for Maggie that reads "puma bait." Long story behind that. I'm going to put a border around it and get some photos. Also need photos of all the new stuff. Really need to fit new stuff into stashket as well.

Oh, and the forum development is moving along, which is very exciting. Can't wait to have things ready for testers.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

How to Sew

Krissy, at SpeckBlog, reminding me why I don't sew much.

Noro deal

I hopped on eBay for a minute over lunch, as I had been idly thinking about getting some Noro Kureyon for a scarf. My search brought up 4 skeins of #40 with only 8 minutes left, so I bid $25.01. And won! And shipping was only a dollar. Even better, when I went into Paypal to pay for it, I had a $16 credit balance that I had forgotten about, so I'm only about $10 out of pocket for four skeins of Kureyon. Sweet.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Lull

I am finished with my first pair of socks! Will document with photos soon. I did up a cotton dishcloth yesterday to fill up some time while I wait for my Joann order to arrive. It has the materials for my next two projects in it - the Secret Thing and SSB blanket. I still have ChildHood on the needles, but didn't feel like working on it this week. I need to get back to that eventually, before Ellie grows out of the size I'm making. I'm hoping it will fit her (if I finish it) when it cools off this fall.

A coworker, having seen the fabulousness of my first sock, has asked me to make two red oversized socks for her to use as holiday decorations, and said that she will supply the yarn. I think I can adapt the basic sock pattern in Socks Soar on Two Circulars - I want to get some yarn and try one, then I'll let her know what yarn to buy.

After I finished the dishcloth, I played around for a while to come up with a stitch pattern for a scarf. I think I have the beginnings of one that I like, and brought the remainder of my sock yarn and some needles to work today for further lunchtime experimentation.

I need to organize my stashket and figure out what to do with some of the leftovers I have in there. Also want to figure out how to organize my needles. I think the first step in that is making a list of what needles I have, so that I don't buy any duplicates.

Summer is coming

Don't you need a hammock for your backyard, for lazing and knitting and the sipping of lemonade discreetly laced with alcohol? Only $29.99, with free shipping from Amazon.

Monday, June 06, 2005

Distraction

I didn't quite finish my second broadripple sock this weekend, as I was a bit busy with a little something else:



Meet Maggie. I see some little sweaters in her future.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Sock!

Step 1: String and needles.
Step 2:
Step 3: SOCK!

(Step 2 is actually "Knit it at Dad's. Knit it on the plane. Knit it at my desk. Knit it in the car. Knit it on the couch. Knit on the floor of Ellie's room.", but that doesn't work with my little South Park joke.)

I knit so much last night that I have a weensy blister on the inside of my right pinky, where it was rubbing against the needle. I worked on the foot for quite a while sitting in Ellie's room waiting for her to go to sleep and measuring the desired length against the sock I was wearing.

I was a bit worried about grafting the toe with kitchener, because an earlier attempt on another project did not go well. I had been looking at the illustrations in Vogue Knitting and trying to follow the directions, but I just did not get it at all. Looking for another set on instructions, I pulled out Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which has a short section on technique in the back. She says that she purposely did not include an illustration of the stitch because people are often confused by drawings, but can grasp the concept readily if it's just written out. This is very true in my case, apparently. My toe is perfect. Perfect, I tell you!

I was so very pleased to be done. I demanded much praise from Greg (at one point putting my besocked foot on the counter and saying "Praise me!". Master of subtlety, I am not.). I brought it to work today to show to the friend I am teaching to knit. I rock the sock.

But now I have to do it all over again.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

I've got a Secret

After some time with Vogue Knitting, my needles, and Excel, I think I have a pattern ready for my Secret Thing. Woo-hoo! All I need now is for my Joann order to come in, with the needle that I need.

I turned the heel on my sock at lunch today, and between that and drafting my pattern design I feel like the Queen of Knitting. I think my earlier lackluster attitude toward the sock was based on its pain-in-the-ass false starts. I ordered Socks Soar on Two Circulars from Amazon earlier this week, and am looking forward to its imminent arrival.

I'm thinking of adding a knitting magazine or two to my wish list, but I haven't seen enough of them to have a good idea of which to subscribe to. Any favorites?

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Heel Flap

I'm working on the heel flap of my first sock. I'm kind of "meh" about sock knitting so far, though the small size and portability is really nice.

I started out a test swatch for my Secret Thing at lunch today, and it didn't knit up the way I imagined it would, so I am doing some rethinking of the design. I made a few notes that I'll try out tonight. I ordered a new needle for the project today, taking advantage of the Joann offer below. I also ordered some bright baby yarn for the Stripe Stripe Baby Blanket and some more dishcloth cotton for myself and for gifts. And a couple of stitch holders, for use on ChildHood. It will be great when I've been at this for awhile and have all of my capital equipment already purchased.

Greg's cousin's son was born yesterday - must get the BBBB in the mail! Welcome to the world, little boy.

50% one item at Joann.com

Today is the last day of the Joann.com Memorial Day sale! Enter coupon code MAYER550 at checkout to take advantage of this offer.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005


Quills for sale at Amana Woolen Mill. I bought five of the purple color. Posted by Hello

Amana loom Posted by Hello

Yarn feeding into a loom at Amana Woolen Mill Posted by Hello

Viva bag prior to felting Posted by Hello

Airy scarf Posted by Hello

Broadripple sock Posted by Hello

Knitting in the Pella vistor's center. The attached note talks about mitten parties held in the Dutch community. And hey, I found out one of my ancestors was one of the early settlers in 1847. Posted by Hello

Look what they grow in those Iowa cornfields Posted by Hello

Home again, home again...

...knitty, knit, knit. Photos are forthcoming from the trip, probably tonight or tomorrow.

I actually knitted a lot less than I thought I would during our weeklong trip. Casting on for my first sock ever, with smaller needles than I've ever used before, which were somewhat blunt, was difficult enough. Add to the equation that I was sitting in the middle seat of a three-row coach airplane section, and trying to entertain a two-year old, and it reaches Herculean levels of difficulty. I did, however, manage to get the damn thing cast on. Twice, since the first time I started knitting with four needles and you're supposed to use five, and I couldn't figure out how to undo it. That's okay, I thought, it's a long flight, and did it again. When we made it to our hotel in Lenexa, I discovered that I had done the wrong stitch pattern for first eight rows, and had to rip it all out, at which point I got snitty at it and put it aside for a few days. (I am now about three inches into the first sock. Casting on when not at 30,000 feet made all the difference.)

I did get one thing started and completed during the week - the Airy Scarf in Kidsilk Haze. It's purdy. I started working on it during the drive up to Iowa, and finished it on Thursday. I meant to wear it to work today, but left it on the arm of the couch accidentally. Now I need to engineer another outfit that it will complement to wear tomorrow.

We arrived in Iowa on Nana's 70th birthday, and I gave her the Tie One On I'd made. She really seemed to like it, and when we saw her having breakfast with friends the following day, she had it on again.

I bought some thin purple wool yarn, on quills, during a visit to the Amana Woolen Mill. It seems like fingering weight, and I have a design idea for it I sketched out yesterday. I won't say more because I am so confident of its eventual fabulousness that I may submit the design for publication, even though not so much as a swatch is in evidence as yet.

In other good news, Knitters' Forum should be getting off the ground soon, according to the administrator. Within the next week or so I should be able to start testing. Thanks to all of you have volunteered to check it out; you'll be hearing from me soon!

Friday, May 20, 2005

Small World

I keep forgetting to mention that I was reading through the Broadripple Socks pattern a few days ago, and finally took a look at the little About the Designer section that Knitty includes at the end of each pattern. I didn't realize until then that the pattern is by Rob, who is totally my Knitting Bloggers webring neighbor.

That Felt Good

The Viva bag has been drying in the dining room for a day and a half. I think it turned out pretty well for my first bag, first felting, and no pattern. The strap could probably be a bit longer, and I plan to add a snap closure after I get back from vacation.

We leave tomorrow morning for a weeklong trip. In an effort to save the socks and Airy Scarf for vacation knitting, I filled in knitting time with Viva, a cotton dishcloth, and some free form short row practice.

I gave a friend her first knitting lesson this week, which was very fun, and lent her some needles and my copy of Stitch 'n' Bitch. I cast on for her and we worked on the knit stitch. I think the next lesson will be casting on.

I must not forget to wrap and pack the Tie One On tonight, and take my scissors and tapestry needles out of my purse. I think it's time to make a list.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Viva bag WIP


Viva bag WIP
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Body of Viva bag. I'm basically making this up as I go along, and will felt it when done. The red, green and ecru stripes reminded me of the Mexican flag, hence Viva.

Viva bag strap


Viva bag strap
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Beginnings of the strap for Viva

Sigma tank


Sigma tank
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
The amazing headless me in my completed Sigma.

Sigma tank


Sigma tank
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Completed tank, modeled by my table.

Here come the dinosaurs...

These are too adorable.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Rip it Good

Saturday I took Ellie on a stroller ride to a nearby Salvation Army thrift shop. I was on the lookout for sweaters to frog and recycle. After reviewing and rejecting several things, I selected three large white cotton sweaters and a tan silk top. The silk top is from Talbots and actually pretty cute - I may wear it as is. If I don't like it, the fiber looks like the perfect weight for the X-back pattern from the last Knitty. Total cost for the four pieces was just under $7.

I managed to rip up two of the cotton sweaters over the rest of the day, which resulted in several big balls of yarn and teensy bits of white thread and fluff all over my floor, rug and furniture. When we get back from our vacation, I plan to try my hand at dyeing it.

Since it is really tragic and wrong to only have one WIP at any time, yesterday I took some leftover Cascade 220 out of my stash basket (stashket?) and cast on for a smallish felted bag of my own design. This will be my first experience with felting, so wish me luck!

Friday, May 13, 2005

Sigma is Done!

I finished up my Sigma top last night. Before I did the finishing, I tried it on and saw that the armholes were enormous. I ended up taking them in a bit to avoid having it look really saggy.

I'm wearing it today over a white shirt. Will try to remember to get some pics this weekend.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Volunteers Needed

If you would be willing to poke around Knitters' Forum in the testing phase, please send me an email. Feel free to forward this to anyone else who may be interested.

This post will be living at the top here for a bit; please keep reading for current knitting stuff!

Broadripple Socks

I think that I'm going to use this pattern for my socks. It seems easy enough to be accomplished while being difficult enough to be interesting.

My dentist got me in way too fast for my cleaning this morning. I barely had a chance to knit half a row in the waiting room. She did see the Sigma in my bag and we chatted a bit about knitting before she started in with The Pointy Hook.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day, part of which included enough time to goof around and take photos of my current knitting, as you can see below. I got Hollywood Knits as a gift, and spent a low-key day with Greg and Ellie. We went to the mall to check out 12-inch Powerbooks, to Unwind, a very nice not-really-local yarn store, and out for lunch.

I thought of the perfect traveling knit for our Kansas/Iowa trip. Socks! I will try to make some socks. I picked up skein of some sock yarn and a set of size 3 dpns at Unwind. Now I just need to decide which of the basic sock patterns I've looked at would be a good place to start. Do you have any favorites?

I also plan on making an Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts out of the skein of purple Kidsilk Haze I bought yesterday. I want to work on my larger projects before we go, so I have the maximum amount of sock knitting time available for the trip.

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Mother's Day Knitfest


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Hollywood Knits was my sweet Mother's Day gift, and we made a family trip to Unwind so I could pick up some sock yarn and needles, as well as a skein of Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

Tie One On



Tie One On, from the Spring '05 Knitty.

Sigma


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Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Body of Sigma, with spokesmodel

ChildHood


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Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Current state of left front piece of the ChildHood sweater