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We bought a house.
Thats where I’ve been. Absent from here and signing papers, making arrangements and obsessing over the photos I have of the house. We are so excited. I could gush on and on but suffice it to say the house has a little something for everyone, wood burning fireplace, gas fireplace, in-ground pool, wet-bar, french doors. We had to go a little out of the city to get our wish list in our budget, but the commute will be worth it.
I have also been knitting!!! I’m just starting to get a handle on the amount of packing to be done here but our first step was to empty our storage closet (also commonly referred to as the yarn closet) and sort & pack the items within. All my yarn that is not involved in an active project has been packed. I decided this is an excellent time to finish up some little WIPs.
First up on the FO list, my Dish Towel.
This little cutie is from Mason Dixon Knitting outside the lines and is finished in good timing to be hung in my new kitchen. I’m definitely going to make a few more. I used about a ball and half of the handi-crafter cotton from my local Wal-Mart.
Second, My Waffle Scarf!
This FO is modeled by my very own DH and looks fantastic. I do want to make a few more of these as gifts as I LOVED this for T.V knitting because of how easy the pattern is to memorize. I dont even need to look down  I used about a ball of Lion Brand Wool-Ease for this one. Measurements on these two projects are shifty because I used stashed odds and ends for both.
Part of the joy of moving is that I’m finally donating/giving away a bunch of yarn that I have in my yarn closet that is for projects long forgotten and is stuff that doesn’t fit in with my current knitting persona. Better to give it to those who will use it and narrow down my stash to stuff that still excites me!
Okay, I’m off to analyze the WIP pile to see whats up next on my list to finish up !~
I havent posted about my Pop Culture Cross Stitch in awhile, but thats because I havent worked on it. Its an entirely personal project and Christmas saw me working on things for others.
Last night while watching Nausicca and the Valley of the Wind with Rena (we just adore Miyazaki movies) I worked on, and finished the Blues Brothers
So now we have:
- Fleetwood Mac
- Michael Jackson
- Maria VonTrapp
- The Blues Brothers
Oh its gonna get crazier, I promise
Doing a little New Years re-styling… bear with me while I shift the furniture around and hang some new curtains on the blog.
Monkey Do. That would be me. The monkey.
I had a marvelous time out on a yarn crawl with my good friend Rochelle the other day and when we had driven around the entire city and shopped a little we stopped and grabbed a bit to eat. Rochelle showed me her awesome little sock project bag. When I was turning it over in my hands i realized i had made something very similar before but without the handles, and a little smaller. I resolved to make one for myself with a handle for my own sock toting purposes. I used the same fabrics I just used for my interchangeable needle case and am pretty pleased with the results.
Its maybe just a little longer than i had wanted, but if I really find I dont like it I can shorten it fairly easily. Its the right size for my two little balls of sock yarn, the socks themselves while in progress, and any little notions or pattern i might need
Yippeee for one craft supporting another
Gosh that sounds weird to even type. 2010. Say it in your head. twenty-ten. Sounds like a sci-fi movie!
Of course all the talk this week is about Resolutions. People asking Whats your Resolutions? I’ve read some really lovely posts people have done, reflecting on all the good and the bad from their year, reflecting on things that have made them stronger, more confident, more appreciative. All well written and great for provoking my thoughts on the subject as it applies to me.
But I’m not making any resolutions. Not really.
I am a person in love with beginnings, the first blank page of a new notebook. The first day of the week, the first day of a month. I love the possibilities that lay ahead looking at a blank and unspoiled expanse. So naturally I do have some ‘ideas’ about the new year. But my friends, the older I get the simpler they get. I don’t ‘resolve’ to do anything I am not ‘resolute’ about these ideas. I simply want to listen more, laugh more, judge less, chew longer, move more, and sleep well. And maybe embrace my dreams as possibilities instead of leaving them in my sleep.
And standing here, in January, the blank pages of the calendar ahead of me, Anything is possible.
Happy 2010 to you all. I wish you good food, belly laughter, a good nights sleep & a dream or two to call your own.
knitters, sewers, crafter’s…. we really are a ‘make it yourself’ group. We subscribe to the DIY mantra with a style and vigor that is sometimes completely unbelievable. Spend an hour on Ravelry and its proof positive that great minds are at work out there creating their own.
So why the little build up? I made something myself. Well, I’m not the great & amazing mind who came up with something on my own, but I did execute it with a little style.
You see I recently broke down and purchased a set of the KnitPicks Options needles. And although they provide a plastic case to store them in, I wasn’t happy with that as their permanent storage solution. I like a few of the options available through commercial sources, but to purchase one of these cased would cost almost as much as the set of needles itself. I figured I had to be able to make what I wanted using scrap materials already living in my sewing closet without any additional costs to myself. So that was the goal, make a case for my interchangeable needles using only materials i already had on hand.
Here is is all folded up and sitting on my desk…
And here it is all opened up
The flip pockets store cables
And the centre hosts two rows of pockets for the needles tips
Zipper pockets on both ends give a little storage space for end caps, needle gauge, scissors… really whatever you want to keep with the set.
I only used what fabric and zippers & thread I had on hand (so maybe a brown zipper would have looked a little nicer, but hey, whites okay) And I incorporated design elements from the cases I saw that I liked and changed things to suit my personal taste. It works for me. All in all I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. There are some little things about it that are imperfect, but I’m not producing for sale so I can live with the little imperfections
Happy Knitting to me !
Walk in clinics are not the kind of place you want to be on a good day. They are especially not the kind of place you want to be on boxing day. My poor sweet Rena complained of an earache late on Christmas day and it was no better the next morning so we made good use of the internets and found us a walk in clinic that was open on the holiday. GAH what a mess of the worst kind of rabble but at least we got seen by somebody who could write prescriptions and send us packing with a script for Amoxicillan.
While we sat on our plastic chairs waiting to be called I got working on some socks for Shane. He specifically requested a new pair seeing that he has completely worked through the last pair. I’m using another wonderful selection of yarn from Maggie and the yarn is scrumptious.
I hope your enjoying your holidays… and your knitting!
Yes, I’m posting again. You see when I don’t have to work in the day time (pesky job) I have tons of time for things like blog posts. Better yet, I have time for finishing Christmas Presents that make good blog fodder
Guess What I finished
OMG I am so incredibly excited to gift this I cant begin to express it. I’ll post the details later.
I also finished up a little something for my oldest Daughter. I’m so glad I got a little something handmade done for her.
This is SO SO soft. I cant even begin to tell you how soft. The best part about making it, aside from a great handmade gift, is that I got to use my Serger. ALOT!
Okay, now to finish up the waffle scarf (which is almost done, but not quite long enough) and maybe, just maybe, two of the little dolly’s for my nieces…
So far, I dun good
I would like to share a small but important lesson with you my friends. A lesson involving your knitting bag. When you are rooting around impatiently in your knitting bag, looking for a pair of scissors or a stitch marker or some other such item, the below is an example of why you DO NOT tug when you feel resistance to something being moved.
Or you may pull a needle right out of 40 or so stitches of black fingering weight in 1×1 rib. GAH.
Happy Birthday Rena Bean
Today my littlest Bean is 7!
Your the mischievous one. The adventurous, never tired always happy spirit in our house.
Your enthusiasm is both infectious and exhausting. You are everyone’s dimple cheeked baby.
Your rough and tumble exterior and bruised knees mask your tender spirit well. Your sensitive little soul is wrapped in a protective cover that I see right though.
I love you so much Rena. You completed our family and we adore each day we have with you.
As you can see above I finished Renas Birthday socks with time to spare! Given my track record I bet you all didnt think I was going to finish 
But I did finish, and they do fit! (Some SnB ladies had commented how small the socks look!! but that 2×2 rib is amazing stuff I tells ya!)
They are exactly the way she likes them. Cuff super stretchy, not too short (ankle socks are annoying mum) and not too long (big socks fall down mum) but just right to stay put! And she LOVES the color that came from Miss Maggies dye pot (big thumbs up Maggie)
No pattern, just Judys Magic Cast on, 2×2 rib Short Row Heels and a regular ole bind off.
And now I’m off to finish up the last of the christmas crafting (hopefully!)
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