Yooo-hoooo! It's Me! I'm Catching Up...

(L-R: Patti, Eileen, Julie, Sharon and Me)

Hmmm...I thought I'd blogged more recently, but realized I hadn't. I'm finding it harder and harder to divide my time between Ravelry, Facebook and Blogging. A lot of people say that blogging is outdated. Is that true? I know that at least around 200 people are checking out my blog daily, but WHERE ARE YOuuuuuuuu, lovely people??? he he

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my FANTASTIC trip to NETA (New England Fiber Arts) Spa weekend and my recent finished handspun yarns and projects. Ready??

Since beginning spinning about 5 years ago, I've tried to attend the NETA Spa weekend. (I think I've only missed once.) For those of you who don't know about this great event, I'll explain. If you knit or spin or work with fibers in any way, this group is for you. On usually the last weekend in February, the group (who mostly only converse online over the Rav group or Yahoo group) meets in Freeport, ME at the Hilton Garden Inn/Hareseeket Hotel for a Thursday - Monday (or Friday- Sunday) weekend of shopping (wonderful shops around Freeport), visiting the yummy vendors at the hotel (where you can buy the most unique fibers, yarn, patterns, spinning wheels, spindle, looms, glass buttons and other accessories), chatting, eating, spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, and perhaps having a Spa treatment (at the Hareseeket Hotel or nearby Spa) - pedicure, manicure, massage, etc.


(L-R: Ericka, Kerrie-Ann and Sandi in our knitting/spinning corner of the hotel.)

It is totally worth trying out, if you've never been. You don't have to be a NETA member (though it helps because you get updates on what's going on, when/where to book your hotel room and how to win prizes, etc.) to go. If you want to pick a day, you can just go over to the hotel, shop and sit and work on your projects with the hundreds of other knitters/spinners/weavers/crocheters.

I love it, not only because it's a mini vacation, but because you'll see the most amazing handcrafted clothing, accessories and items all in one place! Everyday, you'll say to yourself, "Oooh, I LOVE that shawl!" or "Where did you get that YARN??", etc. And, the best part is, no one looks at you like you're crazy and back away from you screaming! LOL! Everyone is happy to share what they've made and let you touch it and answer as many questions as you want to ask. Sometimes, they'll even let you try it on! Or take pictures of them in the item! Woo-hoo!

This year, I think that the Winner of the Most Ogled Knitted Item in our group was Amy's Shetland Tea shawl from "A Gathering of Lace" book (pages 39/40) in oatmeal, pinks and natural white. What was most surprising, was that this was Amy's FIRST knitted lace EVER!!! (Yes, you may hate her. She's okay with it.) Not only was it beautiful, but it was knitted perfectly and it was the most flattering color on Amy. Now...if only I'd taken a picture of her with it on. Damn it.

I only got a pic of her WITHOUT the shawl. Ugh.


(Britni and Amy at Spa)

I had the absolute BEST time this year and even got to exercise on the treadmill every night, go to sleep early and wake up early so that I could spin, knit, spin and SHOP! Yay!

Heather even sold 7 of my Dreamscape books and 1 Lisha Lace pattern! Yippeeee!

Now, if I don't start showing off my loot and finished handspun...plus FOs...I won't ever be done before the end of the day. So...the rest of this post will be short and sweet - with pictures! ; )

1. Spunky Eclectic's booth (Amy's in a whirl...she's so busy!)



2. Heather/Sereknity's booth (Heather is wearing my Persephone beret in her Sweet yarn!)



3. Items I bought...mmmm.


(Della Q spinning bag and lovely sportweight Angora/merino for a sweater/shawl for me!)


(Spunky silk purple scarf for Donna, Spunky Targhee and Spunky bfl/silk fibers)


(Alpaca Obsession merino and bamboo with nylon sparkle fiber for Hilary)

I also bought some glass sheep stitch markers for Jackie and Donna, a glass needle threader for me, 2 skeins of gorgeous Sereknity yarn ("Margaritaville" in Classica for me and "Envy" in Worsted for Jackie) and a little more fiber.

HANDSPUN GALLERY

1. Spunky Ecletic's BFL/Tussah Silk (I created a 2 oz, 2 ply, 100 yard, worsted weight yarn in "Cotton Candy" colorway)



2. Spunky Eclectic's Targhee Combed Top (4 oz. 2 ply, dk weight, 195 yards in "2010" colorway)



3. Alpaca Obsession's Alpaca with Angelina Sparkle (3 oz, single ply, laceweight, 300 yards, in "Faded Jade" colorway)



4. Enchanted Knoll Farm's Superwash Wool/Nylon/Recycled Sari Silk/Sparkle (3 oz, single ply, fingering weight, 280 yards, in "Birthday Party" colorway)



5. Enchanted Knoll Farm's Superewash Wool/Recycled Sari silk/Sparkle (3 oz., single ply, fingering weight, 300 yards, in "Blue Jay" colorway)



And, FINISHED OBJECTS!!!!

1. Lego Man for Ben (Some Assembly Required pattern with Cascade 220)



and



2. Hat for Ian (Ann Budd's Hat pattern with Rowan Lima in a goregous deep green, 881, I think)



3. Log Cabin Square Pillow (Log Cabin pattern with Noro Kureyon- 226 on back, 250 on front)



4. Persephone Beret (My pattern with Sereknity Sweet yarn in "Floozy" colorway)



Whew, I'm beat! Off to do some bellydancing, hula hooping and then have some lunch!

What have YOU been up to??

When is it MY turn???

Hi you! I know...I've been pretty lazy about blogging lately.

I feel as if there are these weird excuses priorities for knitting, like:

ONE: Find pattern
TWO: Find yarn
THREE: Knit item
FOUR: Admire/wear/share item
FIVE: Find time to take pictures of item
SIX: Swear profusely when you can't get a good picture of item. (Apologize to children for swearing)
SEVEN: Remember to load pictures of item to computer, once you find your camera AND camera cord (This sometimes takes days)
EIGHT: Post item on Ravelry...after many side-tracked hours of pattern-surfing.
NINE: Go to Blogger and attempt to finally share a new blog post (which is usually at least 1-2 weeks behind), but get side-tracked (AGAIN!) in reading friends blogs.
TEN: After much effort, getting to the "Create New Post" area and listing 10 reasons why you haven't posted until now.

Pretty clever, huh?

So, now that I've done my necessary blabbering, I will show you a new FO (woo-hoo!!) and share some other stuff, too. Most of it is pretty interesting, too! Imagine that!

Ian's Felted Clogs

Yarn: Cascade 220 in a dark gray #8400
Pattern: Fiber Trends' "Felted Clogs"
Needle: US 13 (20 and 32" circ - I used Addi Turbos)
Time: Took about 4.5-5 hours (of actual knitting time) per slipper, not counting the sewing on of the suede sole (which took 1 hour total for both). Started on 1/ 06/09 and finished (with knitting, felting, felting more, and sewing up of both) 1/17/09.
Fun Level: B+ (I liked this pattern very much. It was clearly written, even though it was a bit complicated at parts. Once you make one slipper, the next one is a breeze. The only two things I didn't like were making 2 soles and sewing on of the suede sole - that was a pain in the a**!)

Picture of the slipper in progress:



Picture of the unfelted slipper on my hubby:



Pictures of the slippers on him:



He really loves them and has been wearing them since I finished them. They're a little big in the toe area (a little too wide) but, other than that, perfect!



Now...I'm working on a pair for Tim! (Black with red trim)

I just bought a number of skeins of yarn this week...I know, I know...I don't need them! But, I've had more requests for knitted items and I just can't say "no". (This is a weak point of mine.)

Let me share with you my yummy yarns:

1. 2 Skeins of Malabrigo (for Armando and Amanda Hats!) and 1 skein of Berroco Comfort in red.



2. 1 skein of Berroco Comfort in teal and 1 skein of Jojoland 100% cashmere laceweight in the most beautiful blue in the world!!



The Comfort yarn is for this: Hai-Riyo Dragon! (Rav link) One for each of my boys- and I bought some matching Berroco Lumina (sparkle, sparkle!) yarn for the dragon-y accents.

Since the beginning of December 2008 (so...about a month), I've been working on a number of items of other people:

-The "Branching Out" scarf for my mom's boss
-My dad's crocheted (acrylic!!) blanket
-Felted Tote for Felice
-Knitted Flower washcloth for Tim's piano teacher
-Felted Clogs for Ian and Tim
-Knitted socks using Sereknity yarn for Gigi (in exchange for a gorgeous pink, angora crocheted scarf!)
-Lace sample for the yarn store

And, I'm asking myself...."When is it MY turn???" When will I finally be done knitting things for others so I can knit for me??? I know this sounds horribly selfish, but knitting starts to become more like a chore than fun at some point. I DID get to knit a couple of things that I wanted to since December...like:

-My Mr. Flurry snowman (Rav link)
-A design item that I sent in
-Bella's Mittens (Rav link....oooh, see pics below -these were VERY fun!!)



AND...I have a baby sweater to knit (which I'm actually kinda excited about because it's soo cute!) for my mom's boss' daughter's baby-to-be - which is due late Feb.

Will I finish everything?? Will I end up having a nervous breakdown before then? Stay tuned for the results.... (he he)

P.S. Weight Watchers Update: 37.5 pounds total in 14 weeks!! I'm very excited. I've been doing yoga every day and also working out on the Wii Fit 5-6 times a week for at least 30 minutes. I'm trying not to eat too many snacks in between meals and still following some of the Flat Belly Diet rules along with my WW rules and points. I'm drinking TONS of water and eating TONS of vegetables -which, to me, is hard to do in the winter. Must-keep-gooooooiiiinnnng!!!!!

Meta Knight!

Am I getting a little obsessive?

I don't think I would have made another Super Smash Bros Brawl toy, but....after making Tim the Kirby doll, I couldn't very well not make a doll for Ben. Luckily, this was another round-ish toy, so I could use the same basic template as last time.

Look at how happy Ben is with his new guy....



And, I think, it came out pretty cool.

What do you think?

DETAILS:

Pattern: A modified version of Jess Hutchinson's "Spherey" doll from the booklet, "Unusual Toys For You to Knit and Enjoy". (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in White and Blue/Gray and Lamb's Pride Worsted in Royal Purple.
Needle: Size 5 dpns or Magic Loop
Time: Friday to Monday (with a day off to find more felt) - 3 days total
Extra Materials: Tapestry needle, scissors, felt (yellow, black, white and gray), blue material, gold pipe cleaners, needle and matching thread

Please click HERE for more pictures/angles and details on my Ravelry page.

Here are the modifications that I made to the "Spherey" pattern....

1. I only used the body portion of the pattern (not the arms and legs)
2. I left out rounds 25-29 of the body pattern, but left the rest the same.
3. I used a smaller needle size....and if you want to make one even smaller than mine, use a size 3 or 4 needle and thinner yarn...like sportweight.

After knitting up the body and stuffing it moderately full with polystuff, I designed some arms and feet, same as I used with the Kirby doll. I used the same size needle for all.



ARMS: (make 2)

CO 18 with WHITE yarn, join in the round, being careful not to twist, leaving a 12" or so tail for sewing to body.
Round 1-4: Knit
Round 5: (ssk, k5, k2tog)2x
Round 6: knit
Round 7: (ssk, k3, k2tog)2x
Round 8: knit
Round 9: (ssk, k1, k2tog)2x
Round 10: knit
Kitchener stitch top of hand closed. Stuff lightly and use tail to sew larger opening to the side of Meta Knight's body.

FEET: (make 2)

CO 18 with PURPLE yarn, join in the round, being careful not to twist, leaving a 12" or so tail for sewing to body.
Round 1-15: Knit
Round 16: (ssk, k5, k2tog)2x
Round 17: knit
Round 18: (ssk, k3, k2tog)2x
Round 19: knit
Round 20: (ssk, k1, k2tog)2x
Round 21: knit
Round 22: (sl1, k2tog, psso)2x
Round 23: knit
Kitchener stitch top of foot closed. Stuff lightly and use tails to sew larger openings to the underside of Meta Knight's body. Sew feet somewhat close together.

HINT: I like using Jess Hutchinson's sewing up technique...check out her book for more details. It makes a nice finish to the doll, with little "sewing up- look".



Well, like a sucker that I am, I'm in the process of making yet ONE MORE knitted toy before I go on to finishing up more half-knit pairs of socks. This time, it's the Elephante pattern...and, thank goodness, it's already fully written!!

KIRBY!

Look at what I made!!!



DETAILS:

Pattern: A modified version of Jess Hutchinson's "Spherey" doll from the booklet, "Unusual Toys For You to Knit and Enjoy". (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash(worsted) in Ballerina pink and Red Pepper
Needle: Size 5 dpns (though Magic Loop would work just as well)
Size: 14" circumference, 5.5" tall
Time: Less than 24 hours...I started last night at knitting and finished this afternoon.
Extra Materials: Reddish purple colored pencil, felt (red, dark blue, light blue, and white), scissors, tapestry needle

Yup...it's a knitted Kirby doll...I'm so happy with the way it came out! After seeing Jackie's "Super Mario" doll (Ravelry link), Tim started begging me to make him a Kirby doll from his favorite Wii game, Super SmashBros Brawl.



I wasn't sure how I would go about making one...but then...seeing the "Spherey" doll that I made for Tim on his bed the other morning, I thought, "Hey, that body shape would look great for Kirby!"

Jackie gave me some of her leftover Swish yarn in pink and red and I started last night...right after I finished my pair of socks (more on that much later). Thank goodness for friends' stashes!

Man, we had SO much fun doing "photo shoots" with Kirby.....!



Here are the modifications that I made to the "Spherey" pattern....

1. I only used the body portion of the pattern (not the arms and legs)
2. I left out rounds 25-29 of the body pattern, but left the rest the same.
3. I used a smaller needle size....and if you want to make one even smaller than mine, use a size 3 or 4 needle and thinner yarn...like sportweight.

After knitting up the body and stuffing it moderately full with polystuff, I designed some arms and feet. I used the same size needle for all.

ARMS: (make 2)

CO 18 with PINK yarn, join in the round, being careful not to twist, leaving a 12" or so tail for sewing to body.
Round 1-4: Knit
Round 5: (ssk, k5, k2tog)2x
Round 6: knit
Round 7: (ssk, k3, k2tog)2x
Round 8: knit
Round 9: (ssk, k1, k2tog)2x
Round 10: knit
Kitchener stitch top of hand closed. Stuff lightly and use tail to sew larger opening to the side of Kirby's body.

FEET: (make 2)

CO 18 with RED yarn, join in the round, being careful not to twist, leaving a 12" or so tail for sewing to body.
Round 1-15: Knit
Round 16: (ssk, k5, k2tog)2x
Round 17: knit
Kitchener stitch top of foot closed. Stuff lightly and use tail to sew larger opening to the underside of Kirby's body. Sew feet somewhat close together (I left the butthole round, bottom opening in the middle of the feet).

HINT: I like using Jess Hutchinson's sewing up technique...check out her book for more details. It makes a nice finish to the doll, with little "sewing up- look".



FACE:

I used dark blue felt to cut 2 long, narrow ovals for the background of the eyes...then added lighter blue felt "shadows" and white felt circles for the pupils. I glued them together, let them dry and then sewed them onto the Kirby body...using matching thread, so that the stitches wouldn't show.

Then, I cut up a red half circle and sewed that to the face for the mouth.

Last, I used a reddish purple colored pencil to shade the oval/rectangular areas for the blushing cheeks.

Voila! A Kirby doll! (click HERE for my Ravelry link to this doll and more details)



Now...on to knitting.....META KNIGHT!!!!

Spherey!

Introducing....Spherey!

Oh, this was even quicker and more fun than Squarey. Only a couple days to knit the whole thing....and, man, is he POPULAR! I took him (partially finished) with us to a restaurant for dinner and, since only his head was done, everyone kept looking at the head in my bag and smiling. Ben kept saying, "I want the smiley head!" and we would toss it back and forth. Spherey is a real happy guy ; )

DETAILS:

Pattern: "Spherey" from "Unusual Toys to Knit and Enjoy" by Jess Hutchinson.
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in pale greenish blue and red (only 1/2 skein of greenish blue and small bit of red)
Needles: Knit Picks size 8, 32" circ for magic loop.
Time: 2 days...1.5 days for "head" and only a couple hours tops for arms/legs.
Fun: A- (Really loved it...especially since you can use stash yarn for it and it's quick and adorable. Only thing was that sewing on the legs neatly wasn't AS fun.)


Wanna see what Spherey does in his spare time??



He LOVES the Grab-It Game!

Oh, I also finished my Wavy scarf on Wednesday night in the hot pink color of Ella Rae Classic. It's just as warm and wonderful as my other Wavy in the Cascade 220 yarn. Now, I just need possibly one more Wavy (in black perhaps?) to go with the other outfits in my closet. Isn't it great to be able to knit to coordinate with your wardrobe? It's awesome!

Speaking of finishing things...I also finished my entry for the One Skein Wonders book and I'm going to reblock it tomorrow and send it off ASAP. Please, please keep your fingers crossed for me. It would be the best and most wonderful event in my puny knitting/designing life.

I was also shocked to see that there are over 100 Amanda hats on Ravelry now! Isn't that amazing????

My very next blog post will feature:

-an interview with Caroline (an amazing knitting friend) who is on her way to knitting about 8 Amanda hats!

-pictures of the "prize swag" that the winners will receive from the contest

-since I'm not the one judging the contest (thank goodness, since they're all so awesome), I'm going to show MY favorite hats/pics so far.

And, remember, there are only 17 days left to enter hat pics!!!

I'm v-e-r-y slowly working on my other lace projects and UFOs. But, I'm happy to have finished these three things this week. Woo-hoo! Happy Knitting everyone!

Squarey...and the Amanda Hat UPDATE!

I am in LOVE with this little knitted guy that I made for Ben this week. Ben couldn't wait for me to finish him and asked every, single day if he was "done yet ?". I had lots of fun knitting this toy, too. Tim, trying not to look interested, kept passing by while I was knitting Squarey and then, finally, he couldn't contain himself anymore....he started looking at the pattern book and pointed to "Spherey" and said, "Uh, can you make me that one?" (of course!)

Here is Ben loving his Squarey:



DETAILS:

Pattern: "Squarey" from "Unusual Toys for you to Knit and Enjoy" by Jess Hutchinson
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted- 1 skein orange and a few yards of purple and turquoise
Needles: Size 8 32" circular for Magic Loop
Time: 5 days
Fun Level: B+, loved knitting with this yarn, the pattern was very easy to understand, well written and cute as hell...the only thing that took away from super fun is the final sewing up of the body, arms and legs. That was a bit tedious.

I'm looking forward to starting Tim's "Spherey" and I think he'll be even easier...he's knit in the round! I'm getting the yarn on Friday at the store. Woo-hoo!

Now....on to....the "Do the Amanda" UPDATE!

Ravelry: 133 people heart my hat pattern and there are 49 knitted hats finished or in progress at the moment. I am thrilled!!!

Gallery: I have 25 hats in the gallery so far and I have at least 4 more that I need to put in. I've been adding new pics to my other galleries, as well, so make sure to check those if you're interested.

Other News: The yarn store, Nana's Knitting Shop in Illinois has asked my permission to have an "Amanda Hat" class! They'll be taking pics of everyone knitting their hats and pics of the shop, too, to send to me to share. I can't wait to see the diversity of those hats and how nice they'll look wearing them....

Prizes: As of this moment, I am getting together delicious skeins of yarn, stitch markers and other goodies for the winner of the contest. (so much fun!) And, Blogless Amanda has had another idea as well. Giving three prizes...first, second and third prizes. This way, more people have a chance to win...Amanda is the judge!

There will be a prize for:

1. Best Hat using Malabrigo yarn
2. Best Hat using a non-Malabrigo yarn
3. Best and Most Interesting Photo wearing the Amanda Hat

There is still over a month for the contest, so you have plenty of time to knit another hat, if you'd like. There is no limit on the number you can enter. I love opening up my email and seeing all these new and beautiful hats. It's like Christmas!

*A few people have sent me links to their photos or told me where they are so that I can add them in, but...if it's at all possible...I would really appreciate the pics being sent to my email address if you'd like to be added to the gallery. I'm getting a bunch every day and need to edit the pics as well, so I don't always have time to go and find a picture. Thanks so much!*

One more thing....I wanted to give Sonya a HUGE thank you on the blog because she is one who gave me the idea to make this hat. She is the inspiration behind this super comfy and quick to knit hat that we're all enjoying and I wanted to make sure that she knows how grateful I am for her great idea. You rock, Sonya!!

Before I go, I wanted to say a HUGE "HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!" to my hubby, Ian and share a pic of Ian (and Ben) blowing out the candles on his ice cream cake. He turned 35 on the 8th (and I can be younger for another 4 months!!! he he) and we had a small party while his parents were visiting from Texas. Love you, Ian!!



Happy knitting and keep those hats coming!!!!