Packing and Sneezing

Well, it's official. Ian and I are sick. I thought, in the beginning of the week, that it was just allergies. Then, Tuesday night, Ian comes home early from work (a SURE sign that something is up....he never leaves early if he can help it) looking like death. Almost immediately (within a few hours), I know that I am sick, too. I found out that Ian's co-worker (who is also going on this trip) came back from Amsterdam last week and was very sick. And...then got the rest of the office sick. After infecting everyone, he is totally fine and has already left this morning for the Bahamas. Leaving everyone else sneezing and feeling like shit.

Our get-well-quick plan has been this:

-Lots of sleep
-Lots of vitamin C and zinc
-Reiki
-Ibuprofen
-And, most importantly, 70 boxes of Puffs Plus tissues

I think we should be on the mend by tomorrow night (hopefully) so that we can enjoy at least part of the trip. But, I am really dreading the in-flight congestion. Ugh. Please send us healing energy!!! (thank you!!)

I have lots of pics to show you and I'm barely standing up, so I'll be very brief, if you don't mind. You can fill in the blanks with many attractive and energetic adjectives, okay?

My Finished Sahara

Love the color yarn, love the yarn itself, not too crazy about the huge armholes and wobbly hem, but wore it last night to knitting and everyone else loved it. I'm happy.



My Finished PeaPod Sweater

This adorable cardigan is for Julie's granddaughter-to-be, Clover. I used KP Merino Style in Cornflower. Loved the details, loved the finished look, but one of the charts is so messed up and I had to be REALLY careful reading over the instructions. It was a bit more challenging than a normal baby sweater.



My Finished Dishcloth

Used Sugar N Creme cotton (1 skein) and the Chinese Waves pattern to make this adorable dishcloth. It's on my kitchen sink right now. Both sides are cute.



My Finished Buddy Bag for Ben

I finished this a while ago, but never posted it..well, except on Ravelry....I used 5 or 6 different colors of Lion Brand Cotton Ease to knit this fantastic toddler toy bag. I love it and I think I'm going to make one for myself for my makeup and stuff. It was fun and cute and the instructions are just wonderful. A+ pattern. You can see it HERE.



My New Sereknity Yarn

Here are the newest skeins of Sereknity yarn that I bought from Heather. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to knit them up!!

Rock Lobster



All Hallows Eve



Pumpkin Patch



Pharoah's Gold



Before I go lie down one more time (my parents will be here soon), I want to send many hugs, happy wishes and love to Chris and Ericka, who are my two wonderful friends from the ManchVegas Knitters....they are getting married this weekend!!! I am sooo sad that I'm going to miss their wedding (knitting is encouraged during the ceremony and reception!) and I will be thinking of them while I'm away. I love you guys!!!!

Also, to Jackie: You are going to be an ultra lovely maid of honor this weekend and I know your speech will be perfect. Don't be nervous and I'll be rooting for you. Make sure to get pics of you in your gown and beautiful hand knit shawl!!!

Have a great week to everyone else and I'll have lots to share when I come back on Monday night/Tues. Bye!!!

New Podcast- Episode 14 Playing Catch Up....and Bahama Shopping!

Hey everyone, guess what??? The NEW podcast is up!!!

It's called: "Playing Catch Up" and you can download it three ways:

1. Click HERE.

2. Go to the sidebar on the right, scroll down to the Sleepy Eyes Knits Podcasts and click on #14 link.

3. Go to iTunes or Podcast Alley, search for "Sleepy Eyes Knits" podcast and subscribe/download the latest episode. (If you had a subscription before, but weren't getting updates, try completely unsubscribing, wait a minute and then resubscribing. Don't know why it works, but it does.)

I would love some feedback on the episode and what things you'd like to hear for the next one. I accept stories, jokes, and can answer any questions you submit....well, at least try to. LOL!

(Sponsor and music links on right sidebar under "Sponsors")

And, you know what else????

Ian and I are going on a MUCH needed vacation in the beginning of October (sans kids!!) with the company Ian works for: Newpoint Technologies. If you click on the link, you'll see a computer screen with a sample of their software on it...Ian designed that! Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, we haven't been on vacation in almost 5 years, so I'm soooo excited. I am frantically trying to find clothes and things to bring with me, as well as figuring out what knitting I should take.

I think I've decided to take the Poseidon Sock Kit with me and maybe some lace. What do you think? This sock pattern looks like so much fun and the hand dyed yarn is comes with is so soft and very pretty....a semi solid of pale turquoise. Lovely!

Next on my list was finding a feminine, short sleeve, cool dress to wear one of those hot Bahama nights. Here is a cute one that I found:



Like?

I also needed shoes. Gorgeous, sexy, high heels to wear with my Sahara sweater on the first night (there is a fancy dinner party). I begged Jackie to take me shoe shopping because she has the BEST taste in shoes. We went to Off Broadway Shoes and I got a pair of pale bronze thong sandals that glisten and slightly shine to wear with my chocolate brown swimsuit (oh, no....I forgot to take pics of those!)...and I also got THESE:



Aren't they fantastic?? I couldn't decide which picture looked better of them on my feet, so I'm showing all three. You decide. (It's very difficult to take a pic of your own feet, unless you have one of those "feet mirrors", which I don't.)

Side pic:



Front pics:



and



They are a bit hard to walk in, but actually very comfortable just on when I'm sitting. I'm not used to thin high heels, I usually get chunky ones. Guess I'll have to practice, huh?

I also got a new winter hat yesterday at TJMaxx. I don't usually wear red, but this cloche (Jackie, is this a cloche?) just called my name. I'm going to try to find a red wool or alpaca yarn and knit a long, cabled scarf (and mittens) to go with it. Please, I need suggestions!!! Please email or leave a comment with your suggestion for patterns. I need help!



Okay, you think I'm crazy with this hat, right? I know, it's a bit old fashioned, but I love it. I've been reading all of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear (They're awesome!) and Maisie is usually wearing a hat like this on the cover. Yes, I want to be Maisie Dobbs....LOL!



and



Good? Bad? Shall I give it up? Or do you think I can pull it off?

I also wanted to show you an update of my Sahara. I've got to knit the hip part until it's 24" and it's about 20" now. It doesn't look that long because it's on the needles, but it's coming along nicely. I will definitely have done before we leave, but I keep getting interrupted with other knitting projects, so I keep putting it aside.



And, finally, here is the new Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, Sock It To Me, that I dyed up....I'm calling it "Ecstacy". I was going for a semi-solid blues colorway. This yarn is super soft!



Last, but perhaps not least...a few pics (from my pamphlet) of the place we're staying at in the Bahamas.

The Resort:



The Pool/Beach Area:



The Room:



Where I'll be:



Soooo......who wants to stow away in my luggage? I may have room for 1 or 2 knitters....

Fibergasm!

I finally got it!!! My Bee Fields Stole Kit from Wooly Wonka Fibers in the luscious colorway of "Buckwheat Honey". The price of the kit was very reasonable...great even....and I am so happy to finally have it. I'm not sure when I'll be starting it, but most likely in the later fall. (Which would actually be a great time to knit and wear it...)

I was thrilled to get another fantastic package in the mail last week. One of my all time favorite fiber gals, Holly EQQ, sent the fibers I ordered (plus a little extra something...which was so nice!) from her out-of-this-world shop, Oceans of Fiber.

Wanna peek?

GERONIMO

A brilliant, bright, and startling mix of greens...I love it! It's dyed using Brown Sheep's Wool/Mohair blend.



So easy to spin, though a bit "hairy". I love the way it's coming out. I'm actually almost done spinning it all up and just have to ply it. Not sure what I'll use it for, but I'm thinking either mittens for me or the kids.

PURPLE RAIN

A super shiny, silky soft parade of purples. You can't tell how shiny and soft this is. 100% Bamboo.



Once you try spinning bamboo, you won't be able to stop. Easier than spinning silk, as soft as silk and as shiny as tencel. I've almost spun up the other batch of bamboo I got from Holly last time....Bali Hai in peaches and pinks. A little goes a LONG way!

SKUNK

Yup, you read this correctly! S-k-u-n-k! And, no, it doesn't smell at all like one. I'm pretty sure it's just a wool blend, but it jumped right out at me and I just HAD to have it!



If anyone has any ideas of how I could spin this up, I'd love some suggestions. It will have to be something really special! The contrast of black and white is something I've never done before. A new experience....

And, if that weren't enough, Holly threw in some gorgeous deep purple locks for me. I love her locks!



(Forgive this picture...it looks a bit...intestinal, don't you think????)

My other treat was to pick up a skein of Heather's new colorway, "Pumpkin Patch". It's a soft, muted and beautiful color...in a bamboo/superwash merino/nylon blend! I can just imagine how wonderful it will be to knit this up. Mmmmmm.... You can check out some of her other 'selling-like-hotcakes' yarns and fibers here and here.



In the midst of "Weekend Madness" (Jackie knows what I'm talking about, right?), I had two ideas:

1. I must organize my patterns.

2. I must make a list of winter-knit-to-dos.

So, here is what I came up with:

1. Patterns- I bought 3 pretty 3 ring binders and I'm going to spend one day this week sorting through them all and putting them in appropriate catagories (yes, I'm very picky, perfectionist and...well, detail-oriented). I think some of the patterns are REALLY outdated and some I've totally forgotten I had. Before I go buying more, I think it's a good idea to just take stock...and then proceed. Anyone else thinking that, too?

2. Winter Knit To Dos- This is my list of things to knit before the end of the year...necessities in my mind. (These are totally new projects, not ones I've got OTN...like Tim and Ben's sweaters...sigh....)

*Mittens for Me (to match my Tassled Hat)
*Mittens for Tim
*Mittens and Hat for Ben
*Holiday Stockings for all 4 of us

Not sure if I'll be able to get ALL these done....with all the other things I need to do, but the mittens are pretty easy projects and I think I can do a "Month of Mittens" in November. Yeah! Actually, I will do a contest for it! So, start putting patterns and yarn aside...you can join me and win some free yarn to boot! What do ya say?? (I'll make a button that you can put up on your blogs, too.)

Is that all? Hmmmm....I think so. I just cooked a 3 lb. chicken with potatoes, carrots, and celery for lunch and now I'm sorting through the grosstastic stuff that's left so I can make homemade chicken soup for lunch tomorrow. YUM!

It's a bit dry in the Sahara....

Before I show you my progress on my Sahara, I wanted to show you a pic of my mom that I took this past weekend.



Doesn't she look GREAT??!!!

She wasn't able to bring the dress she'll be wearing to the wedding this coming weekend, but she had on a very fitting black and white top so I just had to take some pictures of her. I'm so, so happy that she loves the shawl and there's no one else in the world that deserves something special more than my mom. (This pic makes her look slightly church-esque, don't you think?)



I can't wait to see how the shawl looks with her red dress (my sister, Kim, promised to take pics of her in it) and also my dad in his duds...he's the best man in the wedding. And, get this, the wedding is somewhat "cowboy themed" (since the groom, my dad's closest friend, Joe, is a bit of a "cowboy" himself)...and my dad will be dressed accordingly. There's nothing more spectacular than a Chinese man dressed as a Cowboy! I'm dying to see him all spiffed up.

Trust me, pictures will follow. (he he)

Okay, now onto the Sahara.

First, I will show you where I am in the pattern.



I've finished both short, cap sleeves and I'm onto the special ribbed diamond neckline. (I'm saving the more mindless stockinette hip and shirttail hem section for last...easier to bring to knitting.)

The sleeves look great...hopefully, they're long enough to hide my unsightly upper arms ("Time for some weight lifting!", I tell myself).

I've got a few things to mention about this pattern...

Though I love this pattern dearly and it is well written...and the designer is one of my very favorites, I found a few things I didn't like much.

-The cap sleeves are created by using short rows...and, if you have never encountered short rows before, you would be panicking when you reached the sleeve directions. There were no pictures and very, very little direction on completing the short rows. If I hadn't JUST read the directions for short row heels in the Cat Bordhi sock book, I would be ripping my hair out. It doesn't even give a slight overview of short rows or even a mention/hint on the correct way to pick up a short row wrap, which is ESSENTIAL in the knitting...so the wrap will be invisible. I find it strange that there are two HUGE pictures and detailed instructions on a provisional cast on and a make 1...and nothing for short rows.

-In the short sleeve version, I believe there is an error in the pattern. I think the directions for the sleeve cap should read for Row 3: P to 2nd m3, sm, wrap and turn. At the moment, there is no sm and I had to do some trial and error to figure out if it was correct or not. (Or, alternately, I made both sleeves COMPLETELY wrong....but I don't think I did.)

-The neckline section was a bit of a horror show. This, though, may have been totally my fault and due to sleepiness. But, I read the neckline section over and over and thought I'd understood it. I knit 8 rows of almost 100 stitches (maybe it was OVER 100) which took me 3-4 hours (and I'm a fast knitter)...only to realize that I'd misunderstood and had to rip out the ENTIRE neckline that I'd spent so much time on. And, with the Disco Lights yarn (with sequins), it was VERY slow going and frustrating. I finally figured it out, but I feel like the directions weren't as clear as they could have been. If you are working on this, email me and I can let you know what to avoid.

Besides that, I love these aspects of the pattern:

-There are row counts as well as measurements as you go along and that is extraordinarily helpful. I wish every pattern had this.

-I like the way each part of the Sahara has its own directions under bold headings...with an accompanying schematic of the whole sweater.

-The Sizing Tips are great....I'm able to measure myself as I go along and compare it to the measurements listed. If it's not looking big enough, there are directions on how to fix it and adjust. If it's too small, I'm all set, too. The bust, waist and hips areas are all adjustable. Very nice!

So, it's been a bit "dry" this week with my sweater, but I'm slowly plodding along and it's looking like there is an oasis ahead. Wish me luck!

P.S. I'm getting a yarn fix tonight from Heather of Sereknity and also a fiber fix from HollyEqq of Oceans of Fiber in the mail soon. I'm soo excited!!!!

P.P.S. Thanks to everyone for your compliments on my glasses. I feel MUCH better now. (I'm still sticking to the contacts, though....)

Dorkus Malorkus

Yes, here I am. An utter dork. Trying not to look devastated. Trying to put on a brave face.

I knew that I needed new glasses. I knew that I picked out my own frames. I knew that I liked the blue Vera Bradley style frames. I knew that my vision was pretty bad. I thought that if I knew all these things that I would be LESS shocked when I tried them on.

HOLY SH*T...they are like mini magnifying glasses on my eyes. I'm serious. (Lora, you know what I mean, right?) It's like I grabbed baby sized microscopes from Ben's toy collection and glued them into fancy ass frames. (whoops)

Ian will put them up to his eyes and say, "I can see through TIME! Cool!" and then, after a minute of trying to look into them and looking confused...then slightly pained, "Damn, how do you see through these things?"

To distract you from my hideousness (I do have contact lenses to wear during the day....thank god!), I will show you a couple things I am working on.

DISTRACTION # 1



Here is my Sahara in it's upper chest stage...up to the armpits....well, 2 inches below the armpits going down to the middle of the chest. I'm lurving this yarn (Tilli Thomas Pure and Simple) and could knit with it forever. The colorway, Ruby Wine, is sooo luscious and it's a semisolid colorway....creating a very nice varigation throughout the tank. mmmmmmm.......

So far, the instructions have been clear and easy to understand. I'm about done with 3 out of the 4 sides of the booklet (very nicely made....hard cardstock and full color) and looking forward to adding that lovely Disco Lights (silk with sequins) trim. Double mmmmmmm.......

DISTRACTION # 2



I'm creating a new lace pattern and this is the Sleepy Eyes Hand Dyed Yarn that I'll be using for it. Laceweight merino, 2 ply....super nice yarn. I dyed another skein (880 yards) for Melissa in a very similar colorway....hers is more lilac and less blue.

I have another skein of this same colorway (the one pictured above) to sell once I get my lazy butt going and post it in my store. If you like it, please email me before I post it....it's $20 with free shipping and, once the pattern is done, the pattern will be sent to you free of charge as well.

I'm calling it "Tanzanite", after the gemstone used in one of my favorite gifts from Ian, a tanzanite, teardrop pendant. I think it was a gift for our 10th wedding anniversary. (Can you believe we just had our 14th anniversary last month???? Whoa.)

DISTRACTION #3

I went scrapbooking with my long time friend, Tammy, on Monday night. We went to the fantastic store, Scrapbook Island and made Birthday Books.

This is my birthday book...



It's got 12 heavy, cardstock pages with a vertical calendar of each month, leaving the facing pages for pics of the birthday guy or gal. It's so cute. We had a lot of fun making it and it was inexpensive, too. Once I grab my book back from Donna (I threw my book in her knitting bag last night to "keep it safe" and forgot to get it from her when she left. Well, at least it's safe, right?

I'd show more pics, but...you know...Donna's got it. LOL!

Okay, so I'm looking for reassurances about my dorkishness vs. contact lensed self and feedback on the tank and yarn. Who's first?

Bags and Rags

Well, maybe not quite bag(s) with an "s". More like BAG...check out this hot mama of a bag!

I bought this new knitting bag from Knit Picks called the Total Tote and it is WONDERFUL! It's even better than the picture.

The outside is very soft, suede-like microfiber (mine is in the Chocolate colorway) and the inside has such great, fun print material. This picture shows one of the three pockets (this is the smallest in the front) that holds your dpns, straights and circulars. The circulars fit perfectly in the zipper, mesh pouch.



This pocket has the biggest space and features four inside smaller pockets....two mesh and two with elasticized tops.



The last pocket is medium sized and has a terrfic, vinyl accessories bag that snaps out so you can use it easily when needed. The opposite side has a stretchy elastic with places to hold yarn or other chunkier-than-needles things.



I LOVE IT!!! (I'm kissing it right now)

Oh, I forgot to mention that the middle is separated by a hard divider (one side has the elastic and the other has the 2 mesh pockets) that you can take out of the bag completely, making the center HUGE and room for more than a sweater's worth of yarn. AND it has feet at the bottom, so you can easily put it on the floor without worrying about it getting ruined.

Right now, I have all my knitting bag stuff (5 circ needles, 2 crochet hooks, tape measure, row counter, tapestry needle, scissors, etc), my address book, my Monster make up bag, my knitting notebook, my current sock project (see below), my current "rag" project (see below), a ball of yarn, 4 baby socks and THIS PROJECT in the bag as well:



I have been SUCH a good girl the past week. I have lots of FOs to show you! (Didn't have time to do it on Friday....whoops!)

First, my RAGS!!

(all knit in Lily's Sugar N Cream cotton with size 7/8 needle)

-Garterlac Dishcloth by Criminy Jickets....very awesome pattern:



-Knitability's No Holes Dishcloth:



-Maggie's Rags Chinese Waves Dishcloth...still in progress:



-Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth...done last week:



(see last post for the link to the Grandma's Favorite "rag" I made)

I'd like to have 7 total, so I can have a different one for each day of the week for the kitchen...I know...kinda lame, but there it is.

Second, my TASSLED EARFLAP HAT!!



-Yarn: 1 ball of Rowan Big Wool, 87 yards (though I had yarn left over) Colorway 24 (wine)
-Needle: Size 15 24" circ/dpns
-Pattern: Knit Simple Fall 2007, page 77 and cover
-Size: 22" Large (it's too big for me and I have a 21" head....there is the small size for a 19" head, too)

It's totally comfy and soft, so I might make another one, too. I love the earflaps and crochet ties, though the tassel didn't impress me too much.

Third, sock one of TIM'S SOCKS!!



-Yarn: 2 balls of Knit Picks Felici, colorway Clay
-Needle: Size 1, 2 24" circs
-Pattern: My Own
-Size: 10" long foot, 5" tall leg/cuff

This yarn is really one of my favorite sock yarns....not only is the superwash merino really soft, but I love the way it knits up so evenly. Only things I haven't liked about this yarn: it's tendency to knot/tangle easily and the white/undyed spots in the color.

And, finally, my favorite of all my FO's so far....

The LEARNING SOCKS!!



[These pictures are of sample socks that you knit as you read along with the book to get used to the new "pathways" of knitting socks on a smaller level. Super fun! Top: Little Skye Sock and Bottom: Little Coriolis]



Skye Sock:

-Knit cuff down
-No traditional heel flap or gusset
-Pyramid shape along instep
-Star Toe



Coriolis Sock:

-Knit toe up
-No traditional gusset
-Beautiful spiral pattern travels from top, side of toe across instep to the other side of the leg
-Whirlpool Toe



The fantastically genius Cat Bordhi (I have all her books...and I love them) has published a new book on socks with 8 completely new "pathways" of knitting socks...different from what you've ever seen before. Not only different, but beautiful, unique and fun to knit. This book, "New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One" is more than just a sock pattern book, it's like a workboook. I was drooling ove every single page.

The fact that she uses popular and wonderful sock yarn (including Socks that Rock, Trekking, Cascade Fixation and Mountain Colors, just to list a few) makes the book even better. I love seeing how the colorways I've always admired knitted up in a new way. I found myself tempted to grab the computer and start buying sock yarn then and there...especially STR. But, I restrained myself. At least for now.

So far, in the 6 years I've been knitting and the 5 years I've been knitting socks, this is the BEST sock book I've come across. The patterns are so inspiring and Cat continuously gives tips throughout the book (shown next to acorns) about knitting socks....things that I'd heard of, but never tried or tips that I've always known, but which are invaluable to a sock knitter.

There is a section in the back just for finding out the Master Number for yourself and others you knit socks for so that, once you know those numbers, knitted up the sock patterns are a breeze. The way that Cat organizes the book is very user friendly and I found the indexes of the sock patterns and tips/techniques to be extremely helpful. The print and style of the book is simple and easy to read...not a lot of squinting involved at all. LOL!

So now that you know how much I love this book...please go and buy it. One of the best features of it is you can use any method to knit them....she gives directions for not only 2 Circs, but dpns AND Magic Loop. Can it get any better than that???

So...have I been productive or WHAT??? LOL!