Oooh...Website Makeover!

Hello! How is early summer treating you so far? Have you been keeping up with your knitting projects or have you put them aside for trips to the beach and bike rides?

You may not know this about me, but I'm not an outdoors type of person. My sister, Kim, always asked me to go outside with her to play basketball or ride bikes, but I almost never said yes. Poor Kim. A comfy chair, a book and a quiet space inside was my favorite thing to do. And it still is. (See below for pics) *grin*

But, sometimes, I sit by the pool when it's not too hot or buggy :)

So far this summer, I've been...

- Updating my website layout (My hubby, Ian, figured out how to substitute the old layout with the new - yay!)

- Trying to find a distributor for my knitwear design books (I finally found one - Small Press United!)

- Creating and updating new patterns (Crossing my fingers for my current lace shawl design to be accepted. This is some of the yummy Plucky Knitter yarn I'm using...)

- Helping my oldest son get an internship for the summer (He finally got a job at DEKA Research...woo!) Here is a pic of us together on his 21st birthday in May:

- Cleaning out my closet (Omg...the horror! I finally created a little nook for myself where I can knit and read. Yes, in my closet! lol)

The hallway in my bedroom opens up to the closet area/bathroom, so I can use half my closet for yarn/clothes storage and half for books and knitting nook.

- Knitting daily on my Year in Temperatures Scarf (I look forward to it every day...so much fun to add to my routine.)

- Thanks to the awesomeness of Ravelry, I found out that I was the 91st Raveler to join! (super cool)

- My youngest son Ben, hubby and I went to the Skrillex concert and it was amazing! (Except for the tall people getting in my way...I always wish that I could bring a small step stool with me...)

- And, on May 23rd, I turned 41 (horrors again!), but now hubby Ian and I are BOTH 41. (At least I have that 5 or so extra months of feeling young...lol.)

So, I think that's about all that's new and interesting in my life since April. Hmmm...mostly, doing a million things at once and stressing out over things I probably shouldn't. (Calgon, take me away!)

I've also been inspired by my dear friends, Jessica and Heather, to get back into a daily yoga routine. And, truly, that's helped with some of my health issues AND with clearing my mind (and helping me to relax). Yay for amazing, helpful friends!!

You can get hear more about what I'm up to (and see some interesting knitting links that I share) on my Sleepy Eyes Knits Facebook page.

I'd love to hear what you've been up to and what you're knitting on now. Share away in the comments below :D

Almost 10,000 yards of yarn knit up so far in 2010!!

Wow! I just heard that calculating the yardage of your knitting projects is a more accurate way of knowing how much you've knit in a year, compared to the number of projects. Makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, you could have knit tons of tiny projects and it would SOUND awesome, but someone else could've knit one HUGE project and feel inadequate ("Why can't I knit FASTER???").

This way, you really know how much you've knit. I think it's pretty cool. And, being the mathematical geek that I am, I love adding up numbers and organizing my projects. It keeps me motivated and happy.

Wanna know my calculations so far??

(If not, please scroll down to the bottom of this post - LOL!)

So far, if considering all of the projects that I've finished (see list below) this year, I'm up to:

Nine thousand, three hundred, fifty seven and four tenths of yardage!!

9357.4!!!!

And, when I'm finishing sewing up Ben's Log Cabin Square Afghan (with the Cascade Eco+), it'll be over 9835.4!!!

AND....

When I'm finished with my holiday stocking (just finished Ian's), it'll be OVER 10,000!!!!

Makes me feel very, VERY motivated.

You should do the same for yourself. It really makes you feel like you've accomplished something wonderful and will help to get you in gear to finish lots of those UFOs. Try it!!

Okay, here is my list for Finished Objects of 2010 so far:

1. Ben's Hai-Ryo Dragon in Berroco Comfort
2. Bobbi Scarf in Patons Classic Merino
3. Chimera Flower in Valeria di Roma Angora
4. Peresphone Beret in Debbie Bliss Stella
5. Fudge Swirl Cabled Mock Turtleneck sweater in Berroco Ultra Alpaca
6. Cacodemon in Cascade 220 and Lion Brand Fun Fur
7. Eyeballs in a kit from Mary Jane Mucklestone
8. LegoMan in Cascade 220
9. Persephone Beret in Sereknity Sweet
10. Log Cabin Pillow in Noro Kureyon and Cascade Eco+
11. Another Log Cabin Pillow in Noro Kureyon and Cascade Eco+
12. Robin Scarf in Jade Sapphire Cashmere
13. Snowy Night Gansey Holiday Stocking in Cascade Ecological Wool (Ben)
14. Fan Stitch Half Circle Shawl in Ivy Brambles Romantica, Cherry Tree Hill Suri Lace Alpaca and Jaggerspun Zephyr
15. Captain Underpants in Cascade 220
16. Victorian Lace Scarf in JoJoland Cashmere



17. Gate and Ladder Shawl in Kauni
18. Cat's Paw Square Shawl in Aurora Inca Tops
19. Liquorice Lace Shrug in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace
20. Painted Ruffle Scarf in Bashful Bags and Fibers Super Bulky yarn
21. Super Loops Scarf in Bashful Bags and Fiber Super Bulky yarn



22. Snowy Night Gansey Holiday Stocking #2 in Cascade Ecological Wool (Tim)
23. Annis Shawl in Universal yarn Starlight



24. Annis Shawl #2 in Katia Mississippi 3 Solid



25. Hallowig in Berroco Ultra Alpaca
26. Another Hallowig in Berroco Ultra Alpaca (see pic at beginning)
27. Snowy Night Gansey Holiday Stocking #3 in Cascade Ecological Wool (Ian)



AND...when I finished sewing it together...

28. Log Cabin Afghan in Noro Kureyon and Cascade Eco+ (Ben)

I feel soooo knit-motivated now!! Woo-hooo!!!!

(more blogging soon with updates on Dreamscape, shops to buy it in/from and new patterns coming up!)

Happy Knitting to all and to all a good night....

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??

Guess

Can you guess?



OBJECTIVE:

To guess what project I am going to knit using these skeins of yarn.

DETAILS:

1. Make sure to leave a comment with your name and email if you don't have a link to your blog.
2. One guess per customer.
3. One prize given for the correct answer. One prize given for the most creative answer.
4. Deadline: Wed, Oct. 17th at midnight.
5. Prizes and correct answer will be blogged on Thursday.

PRIZES:

A choice of- 5 skeins of Knit Picks Merino Style (color Cornflower); 3 skeins (4 oz each) of Christopher Sheep Farm wool in Purple Clematis (a purplish burgandy), 100% wool; 1 skein of Louet Euroflax Linen (either sandalwood or terra cottacolor); OR 1 skein of Opal Dreamcatcher sock yarn in a blue #1235 colorway.

Good luck!!!!!

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....

Playing Catch Up

I can't believe that it's been so long since I blogged. I think the warm weather is making me lethargic....do you feel that way, too?

Plus, I've had the most horrible migraines for the past 4 days...don't know why. Stress? Excess yarn fumes...? (yeah, right...) Ian thinks that it's him (since he was gone for so long for work and now he's back) and I hope that's not it. Can a husband cause a migraine attack?

Anyway, I am KINDA back....the podcast is still just sitting there waiting to be produced.....I'm feeling a bit scared that I'll have no listeners left now...but I'll go ahead with it anyway. It's only been a month or so, right??

Here is what I've been up to since the last blog:

Dyeing Yarn

I dyed two skeins of yarn the other day and I tried a new "arrangement" when dyeing to see what effect I could get. I used a skein of superwash merino and a skein of superwash merino and silk. Both came out really cool.



1. The silk/merino, which I call, "Baby Monster"...it is SO friggin soft and over 400 yards, too. I think it's either sport or worsted weight...for $20 with free shipping. I'll be putting it up on my Etsy Shop this week. If anyone wants it before then, just email me.

2. The superwash merino, called, "BlueBerry Muffin"...very soft...but this is for me. I'm making something special out of it and here is how the colorway looks knitted up: (I'm pretty sure the silk/merino will have a very similar look)



Working on the Lace Shawl

I've been knitting my a** off (if only you could knit AND tone at the same time!) on the lace edging for this shawl. So far, I am LOVING it! It's not something I can just pick up and do, or bring to knitting group, but once I get into the "groove", I can do at least 4 to 5, 12 row repeats in an hour sitting. I was a bit confused over what a "single join...SJ" and what "double join...DJ" was, but after reading the back of the Victorian Lace Today book, I was able to figure it out. A "SJ" is just when you knit one stitch from the lace shawl to one stitch of the lace edging together...through the back loop. A "DJ" is when you do an "SJ" ...then you do another "SJ" in that same stitch on the shawl. So, two in one. Makes sense, right?

Here is what the edging looks like so far. It's not at all impressive...not until blocking, I'm sure. I'm just about halfway done with the lace edging. woo-hoo!



Movie Knitting with Melissa and Cindy



Melissa and I decided to go see a real "adult" movie (not Xrated...get your mind out of the gutter!!! LOL!) and not a cartoon/digital animation. As moms, we have had our fill of children's shows and wanted to see something, well, like I said, "adult-ish". We saw "Knocked Up" (a movie recommended by Not-So-Newbie Mike and my mom) and it was SOO funny! Lovely Melissa brought her fantastic and adorable daughter, Cindy...who I love. She is so sweet and funny. (We also went to Cracker Barrel for lunch before the movie and that was YUM-MY!)



Melissa and I looked at each other (over our knitting) and cracked up quite a few times. A couple of the things in the movie were shocking, but not in a bad way...just...well, I was thinking, "I wonder how much that woman got paid to show her nether-regions during the crowning part of the baby's delivery?" I am NOT that confident about the condition of my nether-regions that I would show them on camera. (I think the woman definitely got a wax job!) Especially after having two babies...and one of them with a 10 and a half pound body. (Lordy!)

That day was tons of fun and I think we should do it again. It would've been better if I didn't make a mistake in my knitting halfway through and had to stop...darn my non-seeing-in-the-dark eyes!!!!

Benji wants a Sweater...and FAST!

The whole time I was knitting the Tulips Sweater, Ben kept asking, "Is that for me?" and I'd have to sadly tell him no. That it is a baby sweater and much, much too small.

The other morning, I was trying to find a size 2 circular (didn't find it) in my yarn closet (it's supposed to have clothes in it, but sadly (or not sadly), there are only 5 things hanging on the rack...and the closet is the length of the wall. Go figure.

Anyway, Ben comes in, goes right to the Blue Bin (all my bins of yarn are clear and organized by color...I know, I know...I'm an organizing freak) and starts searching around. Finally, he sits up with his chubby little arms full of yarn. He's picked out 4 skeins of Frog Tree Alpaca sportweight...in a gorgeous, royal blue.

He starts running downstairs to Ian...and dropping a skein or two down the stairs on the way....saying, "Daddy! Mommy is going to make me a sweater! Out of THIS bwew yarn!" (He loves the color "bwew"). His eyes are shining and he's got this HUGE grin on his face. How can I say no to that? I figure, I can put the other 10 ufos away for now and make my beautiful boy a sweater, right??

That day, I spent laying on the floor pouring through all my books for a little boy sweater (why are there only cute little GIRL sweaters???) with my head pounding and Ben throwing his "bwew" balls of alpaca over the cat in the living room. Finally, I grab Jacqueline Fee's "The Sweater Workshop"...you know, the one that I made the cute full size sweater sampler with? In that book, I found a pattern for a Reversible Sweater that is fantastic! You knit it in the round (very easy with hardly any sewing involved) and it can be worn either with the right side out or inside out! It is sooo cool! I think I'll need one more skein of this yarn, so I should go and find that soon, I guess.

Only thing is....the yarn is almost fingering weight, so I have to use size 2 for the ribbing and size 4 for the body. I think even a 3 would've been better....but I REALLY didn't want to knit a sweater on size 3 needles. [shiver]

There was lots of math involved, but I'm proficient at that and got a whole page of numbers cranked out so the sweater will be the perfect size for Ben. A little big, so he can wear it next year, too. Well, depending on how much he grows I guess!

Wanna see what I've knit so far?



Every morning since then, Ben's been waking up (my eyes are still closed at this point) and saying "Is my sweater done?" and I excitedly show him how much I've done (which is probably only a inch or two since the day before) and he says, "But, is it DONE?" Can't my fingers knit any faster???

Today is the first day that I haven't woken up with a terrible migraine, so I'm going to take advantage of it. I'm going to meet Jackie and her kiddies at the library, we'll knit and gossip for a bit...get caught up...and then I'll try to work on my podcast more. Hopefully, get some more lace trim done as well.

I'm really behind on reading blogs, too...so maybe I can get some of that in as well. It's wonderful to have my head back!

Happy Knitting to you!! (next blog will be a fiber/spinning update....have lots to show you!)