A Poem for You

The Knit Before Christmas

‘Tis the night before Christmas and tho there’s no snow,
Moonlight on bare trees can still mean “Ho, ho, ho”.
The dogs are all sleeping, hubs just went to bed.
“Don’t eat all the cookies,” the last thing he said.

My fingers are weary, my eyes are both bleary
And early tomorrow I’ll fake “bright and cheery”.
But late through this night I will knit on these knits
For all my relations and their little chits.

Hats, scarves and washcloths, socks, mittens, sweaters,
What was I thinking? I should’ve known better.
There’s never enough time to get it all done
And most of these projects will never see sun.

“The thought is what counts,” is what most people say.
I think that next year I shall say it this way:
“I love you sincerely. I’ve thought long and hard.
This year I’m expressing my love with
Gift Cards!”

-Teresa Thomas

Swap!

I received my Christmas Swap package yesterday!!!! It was chock full of goodies...most of which I was sorta thinking I needed and some of which I had no idea I needed so badly! :-)

I got some On Line sock yarn (Yay stripes!!!) in City? colorway, some Australian Merinos Lame', silver with metalic bits. So, so , so gonna make these into Rainy Day socks that will be "Snowy Day" socks! Also Andes wool...looks sport weight in a soft yellow and grey colorway....official color name? 08. K. That bag also contained some red and green Kool-Aid, presumably for dying up some Christmas yarn.....which I was actually considering doing. (how'd she know?)

Also. Two pair of holiday earrings....which I've been wanting because I got a cute holiday necklace and needed earrings! "Handmade by" tags. Didn't even know I needed them!!!!! So pumped about these. A beautiful gingerbread house ornament with family name, several sock patterns printed off for me, sweet snowman pin (to go with the earrings and necklace, ya know) and some absolutely gorgeous christmas stitch markers. Again, I had no idea how much I needed Christmas stitch markers but now I know.....and I have some!!!

Yay for Annise! She's da BOMB!!! (that's good, Mom. trust me.)

Got my shirt.

Knitting nerds unite!

Stitches East

Yesterday after work I met up with my friend Geraldine, my knitting sensei....the woman who taught me to knit!

G-dine in the yarn buffet that was Woolstock (there was even Noro in there!).

We drove from her place to Baltimore for Stitches East and really, really had fun. We were worried about onlyhaving 4 hours but I think it was just perfect. We saw most of everything and any more time would have forced me to....well let's just say I decided to feed my children this month instead.

My personal haul.

I was convinced by Geraldine to buy a bag of gorgeous roving simply because it was screaming my name from the corner of the booth. I do love it! All it says is "Wool" so I have no idea which type of sheep it's from. It's nice though. And don't worry, I paid G-dine back by talking her into a giant bag of yarn from Woolstock. It matched the shirt she was wearing perfectly! :-)

O.K., where was I? Oh yeah. Roving. Then, after wandering and drooling and talking myself out of so much yarn we hit Tess' Designer Yarns. I was a gonner. Giant hanks hung by color, and what amazing color! Silk, silk/wool blends, wool, etc, etc. It was a feast for the eyes...and hands. Then I stumbled on her sock yarn table. Crap!

The amazing wonders of Tess' sock yarn table.

I don't know who this woman is but God gifted her with some amazing color sense! I had an armful before I knew what I was doing. At only $15 a skein (450 yards), who can argue? I managed to pry some out of my hands and only bought 3 skeins. I kept chanting tomyself, "I can go online, I can go online, I can go online..." It was my favorite, though the Blue Moon booth was a sock yarn-stravaganza as well. I managed to refrain there. Geraldine bought me some Regia silk-blend sock yarn at the Webs booth so I'm all stocked up on sock yarn now! Not bad for a chick who, this time lastyear, didn't own a single skein of sock yarn.

So. I took cards from booths but only the ones that looked really interesting. And for your browsing pleasure, here they are:

www.tessdesigneryarns.com (the beeeest!)

www.woolstock.com (not impressed by the site, but the prices are good)

www.NeighborhoodFiberCo.com

http://www.kidhollow.com/

http://www.hempforknitting.com/

http://www.windyvalleymuskox.com/

http://www.dellysdelightsfarm.com/

www.weatherly-mize-designs.com (shawl pins)

www.justouryarn.com (nice kits)

http://www.dancingleaffarm.com/

I haven't checked all the sites yet but I figure that'll keep you busy a while.I'm trying to think of all the different vendors you'd be interested in. Blue Moon was there, Webs was there (were there?),

A small corner of the WEBS booth.

the big vendors were there (Cascade, SWTC, Skacel..) but they couldn't sell, only promote. Individual booths carried their stuff. Jojoland was there! Everybody was carrying Addis and Lantern Moon stuff. There wasn't a whole lot in the way of fiber or spinning stuff but there was enough to keep it interesting for the spinner. Like that giant shelf of "pick your own" batts sold by the ounce. You ripped off what you wanted and they weighed it. Too fun!

rip it and weigh it....mix and match

I plan on checking out some other conferences as they come along so I can compare them for you. 'Cause, you know, you never know when you'll be on the East Coast, eh?

So. How's that for TMI?

Enjoy!

-Teresa

It's a good thing.

I did it! I finished my first pair of wool socks just for me!!!! Am I somehow more fulfilled? Is my life more complete? Are my feet somehow happier...more secure in the knowledge that they'll be toasty this Winter? I'm gonna have to go with a, "YES!" on that one.
It's all good.

Two socks on two circs rocks! I love knowing for sure they're the same length and I love, love, love not looking at one finished sock and thinking, "OMG, I've got to do that all over again now."

(Yes, I do have wide feet. It's true. I'm o.k. with that.)


It didn't save any time to do them both at once. It's just a mental thing.

Please be aware that I know this color was totally wrong for this pattern. From now I will listen to the crowd when it comes to hand-dyed sock yarn (I dyed this myself). Some patterns....o.k. most patterns...just don't do it justice. And vice-versa. You can't see the pattern at all in these and the colors look muddy until you get to the plain stockinette foot....where they are fabulous!
Live and learn.

Say hallo to my leetle friend....

This is it. What started out life as a frog has ended up as a pig. On a swing. I'm not sure how that works out in an evolutionary sense but I am so tickled with how this turned out! I'm sure future pigs will have larger heads. I'm unclear as to why this one ended up so small, but it somehow adds to the pig this time. We'll see how future ones turn out.

The Right Reverend (my DH) felt like the handles should work into the overall effect on all my purses so we came up with the swing idea. I thought it was overkill at first but now I love, love, love it! The rope is actually tied on the swing through grommets. How cute is that?

It has a cute curly-que tail too but that's for it's Mama's eyes only! :-)
In an homage to my favorite knitting e-zine I've decided this pig should be called "Percy". You know......'purse-y'. Go Knitty !!! A more perfect name there could not exist.

I won't make any promises, but I'm pretty sure I'll be making one of these to KEEP someday soon!

Hamster's attack!

After doing some contemplating, I decided to branch out and modify the bags a bit.

After some adjustments...

I ended up with a very, very cute hamster!


She even has a cute teeny-tiny tail!!!


Not much in the way of knitting these days. One obsession at a time, please.
Meanwhile, a small snaffoo on a frog is, I believe, leading to yet another sock-creature. Update later.

Knitting On the Wagon Train

I was able to knit some on the first leg of our moving saga...the part where Todd drove a UHaul for 2 days and I rode beside him. After that it was mostly a stressful blurr until about a week after our second arrival here with kids in tow.

I attempted several things on that first part of the trip. A lacy scarf (La Belle Dentelle), a lace stole (Sea and Shells Stole) and 2 socks on 2 circs (Hourglass Eyelet). I learned some important things. First of all, our knitting fore-sisters who knit on their journey west on those wagons....they did NOT knit lace. Not with lace-weight yarn anyway. There is no chance. It was impossible in the UHaul. The scarf in sock-weight wasn't too bad but that lace-weight... arg! Second, I think I like the 2 socks at a time idea. I haven't turned a heel yet but it's looking like I'll be using this method again.

Here's La Belle in process:







She's going slowly but I'm enjoying it.

Socks!

I finally finished the Broadripple socks for my MIL!!! I knit 3 socks before it was all over and I am so glad to see the end of these. The first sock was just baggy and pools! Man, you could swim in those pools! On the second sock I put more tension in my yarn and sure enough, that was the trick.

Here's the original pair:


Here are the two left-over balls from the original pair. Definitely different.


I ended up just knitting the first sock over by first using the bit of leftover ball and then ripping straight from the original sock into the new one. It was fun. At one point I even put on the original sock and pulled the yarn from around my foot. Hey, it was an 8 hour road trip. What else was there to do?

I haven't taken pics of the finished pair. Just look at that second, more stripey, sock and imagine it twice for now.

Special Order

This is my most recent turtle. I've decided that I really like special order bags. They give me some direction but allow me some space to play around. My friend really loves turtles. Really she does. She has a turtle tatoo on her arm! She also likes red. I combined the two in this turtle and then got nuts with the details.

Here she is relaxin' in the chair:


Here's a detail of the whole "turtle on a turtle on a turtle" thing I did. *Sqweeeee*!! >_< It worked even better than I thought it would.


She has the standard yarn/sock pocket but I think I've perfected the clear pattern/notion pocket by getting the velcro all the way across.


I also worked it so her tail IS the loop for her hook. I don't have any close-ups of her butt for you though. Sorry.

Lovin' this! Wishing my house would pack itself so I could do it all the time!

The Sisters

Here are my 3 latest bugs. I know I said I wouldn't sell them but someone riding in our car saw mine and ordered 3 from my husband for her 3 daughters. Who can say, "No," to such a thing? I'm not on eBay or anything.

Here they are doing their "3 Little Maids from School" impression:

They are, from left to right, Eleanor, Emmy and Evie.

Another Dishcloth

I keep forgetting to post things I've knit. Here are some of the dish/wash cloths I've done lately:

This one I did for Todd from the cotton I was gifted by my Swap Partner. I figured I'd better get started on the Texas memorabelia before the big move. It's pattern was here.

This one is a Tesselating Fish pattern that I put together to make a cloth for my Mother in Law. I realized that I haven't ever knit anything for her before this so she's getting several knitting items this year for her birthday. I'm pretty sure she NEVER reads this particular blog so I'm not too worried about ruining the surprise.

I also made some pinwheel cloths, one of the green for Todd and one of all three fish colors for his mom. MIL will also be getting a surpirse knit gift that I won't post yet.....just in case she wanders over here for some strange reason. ;-)

Dot.

Dot was a gift for my secret swap partner. I knew she'd know who sent it as soon as she opened it, but she was just too cute to resist.

Whoops.

I forgot to show you the finished Aurora.

She features a hook closure and a clear pattern pocket. She is a cutie.

I'm thinkin' the next turtle will be her "sister". A sunset version with darker colors. I think I'll call her Diana. Of course, that will be a while down the road.

Violet

She's the latest and includes some new design elements. Namely, the reversible tongue/tape measure, the tongue-powered closure (ala Geraldine) and much improved arms.

I am ever amazed at these frogs' ability to make my husband giggle. That may subconsciously be the real reason I make them.

Aurora

I think she's gonna be a beaut'.

Shhhh.

Don't tell anybody, but I finished the frog. The first "real" one. I think she's pretty cute. I'll know better in the morning when I haven't been staring at her non-stop while sewing.

She has a lily-pad print body so I'll probably call her "Lilly". Not a big stretch, but I'm going for the easy ones here at the beginning. :-)

Her eyes are not nearly as blue as they seem in these pics. They are much darker in real life.

Her arms are her handle and I will definitely be making some adjustments there on future frogs. They were a major pain!....and I'm not sure I like how they look. (again, I'll know better in the morning) Her legs, however, are Todd's favorite part. They make him laugh out loud.

There is a pocket sewn on her tummy and the opening into the bag part is elastic. She closes with velcro tabs.

Not bad. Not practical, from a sewing/time point of view, but not bad at all.

What I did last weekend.

Easy-peasy. And fast! The washcloth and tribble set are my new fav', mostly because to make the two takes exactly 1 ball of Peaches and Cream....and probably any other brand of kitchen cotton. I love it! The doily dishcloth pattern is here and the tribble pattern is here.

Frog in my throat....

So here it is. The proto-frog.....first-frog?.....faux-frog?


Whatever. Here it is.



The arms are the handle.


The tongue will someday be a measuring device. I tried marking it with sharpie but it looks pretty bad. I'll come up with something.







Definitely some issues to be worked out. Which is, of course, why I make a proto-whatever.
I'm pretty sure the dimensions are alright, though. And I've simplified some parts for future sewing.

So fun!!!

Life Cycle of a Sock Turtle

It has come to my attention that I never showed you the sock turtle I made. I was all inspired by that bug and wanted to design something else. The turtle seemed the easiest place to start.

I drew out a paper pattern I thought may work. Then I made it with some scrap fabric I had around the house.

This was the proto-turtle:

His seams were rough, some parts were hanging out unsewn and his head was sewn on backwards....but he was cute anyway and I could see how the parts would or would not work.

After that I redrew most of the pattern pieces, making it bigger and in some places more logical.

I had a friend who was following the sock-creature saga and told me 1) she had a lot of quilt fabric I could come browse and take whatever I wanted and 2) she really wanted a sock turtle.

We worked a trade. We went through her fabric, putting color combos together. She chose her fabrics for her turtle and I took enough fabric to make at least 3 more.

From there I chose which pattern I wanted on the shell. I was looking for a good mariner's compass since it's a sea turtle, but none of the ones on-line seemed to fit. I found one that was close enough (actually a star and flower pattern) and changed it up a bit to fit the bill.

Here's what I came up with:

I was so excited! I sewed and sewed and tweaked and tweaked until she was done.

I think we've decided to call her "Tilly" but I'm not sure on that. In the end she was in some ways far simpler than the bug (no extra pocket or draw string closure or lining) and in some ways far more complex (the pieced shell and corded trim and handle).

The next turtle will be a little different. I think I will do away with the velcro closure and put a clasp. I'm also pretty sure I'll sew a clear "pocket" into the underside of the shell for both small tools and a pattern page.

All in all I adore it! She has been safely delivered to her new "mommy" and now I'm working on a frog. It is still headless but what I have so far made my hubby laugh out loud with glee. That's gotta be good, right?