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: