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It took a lot longer than normal to do these socks.

Stats
Pattern: Slippery, Knitty Winter ‘07
Yarn: Online Supersocke 100, 2/3 of a ball
Needles: KP US1 Harmony DPNs
Mods: None
Start/Finish: March 18 - May 5, 2008

I’ve been trying to lengthen the amount of time I spend on a project because all my yarn has been packed and moved to the house already. I do have access to it, but it’s not in any sort of order all smooshed in a bunch of bags and boxes. When I was at the house this weekend, I grabbed a skein of yarn and wound it up to start a new sock, Firestarter. The yarn is Wollmeise Sockewolle in Zenzi. Mmmmmm.

Thank you for all the kind words on my great grandmother’s quilt. It’s been put away since I received it, and I look forward to finding the perfect spot for it in my house.

My Monday “make you laugh”…..As I was going thru things last night to pack, I came across a box of pictures. Check out yours truly at the age of 13 with lovely 1988 big hair….

Alas, the crafting has been far and few between for me. I did spin a little bit on the porch last weekend, but not enough of anything worth showing. My knitting has been a secret project, and won’t be shown til the person getting it has received it. BUT, I do have crafting worthwhile of showing. It isn’t mine though.

When I got married, I didn’t do the whole big wedding thing, as most of you may know. I hit a Vegas chapel on vacation and came back married. So we didn’t have showers or get gifts. I did however, get one gift, handed down to me. My great grandmother made this quilt for my grandmother for her wedding.

I love the pink of the fabric, the perfectness of the flowers:

I am in awe of the perfect hand stitching:

I am one of the lucky people that got to know my great grandmother. She passed away about 5 years ago, and I inherited her first thimble, given to her by HER grandfather….a solid gold thimble. The crafting runs in my genes.

My poor stash and wheel cry to me. I heard it crying as it was packed up and moved over to the house. “Knit me.” “Sew me.” “SPIN me.” I had to ignore the cries. In fact, the yarn stash cried so loud that I had to put the laundry bag of yarn (1/2 of it the sock yarn stash) in the closet so I wouldn’t hear it. I made hubby promise me that for Mother’s Day, I will have a fully functioning craft room, and that’s where I want to spend the day. Behind closed doors. No boys, no painting, no house work. Just me and my crafting.

I DID manage to finish Hanami this weekend though.

Stats
Pattern: Hanami by Melanie Gibbons
Yarn: Jojoland Harmony, 1 ball
Needles: US 3 Addi lace needle
Start/Finish: March 28 - April 17
Notes: Melanie gives you several ways to make this stole. I chose to make it the original way, but lengthen it according to her directions. I did the extra repeats to make it extra long, and I love the way it turned out. I did end up with a bit of yarn left over, but I don’t know exactly how much. I have one more ball of the Harmony, and I think that a scarf/stole in just the basketweave pattern is going to come up soon.

In house news, the little one’s room is all done. Now to just move him in. I finished the painting yesterday and I love the way it turned out.

And just for Tamara (and anyone else who REALLY wants to take a look)…..a tour of the house by the little one.

I spent a lot of time in NJ last week. For one, I had a meeting for two days in Atlantic City. Saturday, after a birthday party in Long Island, we hit the road for another weekend of working on the house. This weekend we painted, had a contractor come in to work on foundation and move/create some doorways and install a new tankless, energy efficient water heater. I swore up and down last week that I was not doing anymore painting. But here I was again, paintbrush in hand, painting a racing stripe in the kid’s room:

It’s still a work in progress, and when it’s all done, I’ll post another picture.

But just because there was work this weekend, I didn’t ignore the crafting. Friday night I set out to finish up a glove animal for the birthday girl on Saturday.

And I worked a lot on Hanami. When I woke up this morning, I had some breakfast, and then took my tea and my knitting out onto the porch and enjoyed the quiet of the morning, and the warmth of the sun.

Hanami currently measures about 44″, and I still have a little over 100 rows to go before binding off.

I hope to be near the end this coming weekend. That is, if I’m not too sore from all the rollerskating, painting, flowerplanting, etc to pick up the needles and actually knit. (You really want to click on that rollerskating link….I’m so nerdy.)

I spent the weekend in NJ at my house. I helped wrestle a king size mattress up 3 flights of stairs with hubby (seriously, we weren’t planning on upgrading, but for the mattress and box spring, it was $650 at Costco). Trips to Lowes and Bed Bath and Beyond. A coat of primer on the walls of the craft room. The first coat of paint (Exotic Sea in the cool blues)….

I do have to give hubby props for doing the majority of the second coat….he knew I wanted to do the craft room on my own, but saw my exhaustion and stepped in and made my room spectacular with that second coat. Trim (paint name is Muslin Wrap) still needs to be done, and I’m planning on putting up crown molding, but here it is after the second coat of paint….

I am soooo tired, and everything aches. Even my fingers. It hurt to knit. So there aren’t many more rows to Hanami than the last picture. I am on the last repeat of the first pattern and in 32 rows, I’ll be able to move onto the next chart, which shall be new and exciting.

So for now, pretty pictures of the budding leaves/first flower on the cherry tree we planted last week….

As I typed “laCy”, I almost typed “laZy”. I wish it were a lazy Friday. It’s a rainy, gloomy day, perfect for snuggling in bed, or sitting on the couch watching bad tv with a cup of tea and some knitting. And of course, my knitting project would be Hanami. I have not put this thing down since I started it. I wish I could say I am making good progress, but with work being crazy this week, I’ve had only train time to knit. Although, the train on Wed. night was not the time to knit. Do not attempt knitting lace after several hours of drinking on an empty stomach. It’s a wonder I didn’t screw up those 2 rows that I did before I realized if I knit anymore I was going to regret it later.

Forgive the crappy cell phone picture, but here is where I am currently:

Just before I started the next pattern repeat last night, it measured about 16.5″, without stretching it. I’m still undecided on lengthening it, and the only reason that I wouldn’t is because I want to see how the color sequence of the yarn looks in the next couple of charts (the actual cherry blossom charts, as opposed to the basket weave chart I am currently on). I think that if I don’t lengthen it, it will be too short for my liking, and I will end up either having this “scarf” that I won’t wear because of the length, or giving it away. And I’m not up for giving it away…sorry to get all of your hopes up.

In other news, I have picked paint colors for my craft room and hope to get started on painting this weekend. Sure, no other room is painted or ready for moving in yet, but the craft room is the most important room, right? I’ll have before and after photos for you when it’s done.

And am I the only one oddly intrigued by this whole thing? Please tell me I’m not. But you know what? Even if I am, I’m ok shouting it from the rooftops that I was once a fan.

I have not finished the second Slippery sock….because I decided I HAD to cast on for Hanami right away. I swatched with 5’s, and decided that was too open. I went down to a 3, and started the pattern on the train ride to work on Friday morning. I had a busy weekend, but got in a row or two here and there (mostly while doing laundry in my laundry room at my house!). I’d love to show you pics of the St. Patrick’s Day parade that went down the street in front of my house in NJ, but like a dumbass, I forgot the camera in Bklyn. Oh well.

I did snap a few pics, once back in Bklyn, of the Hanami in progress. I was worried that the color changes in the Harmony yarn would not suit Hanami’s laciness. I’m forgotten all about that and am in love, with both the pattern and the yarn:

The next color up is a purple…I’m looking forward to seeing how that works in the basketweave pattern….I forsee a late night. But it will be worth it.

I’ve been working slowly on Slippery Socks. Having to knit from 2 cable charts, even if one is easy to remember, at the same time is a little slow going. Even for me. I’ve got one finished.

I’m approaching the heel on the second sock. I had grand plans of doing a lot of knitting last night, at a private party at the Point, but wine, cheese, talk and shopping got in the way. Shopping you ask? Well, I purchased 2 of these:

2 balls of Jojoland Harmony. 880 yards per ball. I was in love. And it cost me less than $20. I am however, unsure of what to do with them. It’s teeny yarn, see?

I searched thru Ravelry, and I think Hanami may work, but I’m concerned about the color changes. Any suggestions?

You live in a place for a long time, and you forget how much stuff you accumulate. We’ve been in this current apartment almost 9 years. We moved in shortly after we got married. We had nothing when we moved in. Some clothes and some books, and a couple of pots and pans. We have since added a kid to the mix, and all the stuff a kid comes with, and a hobby or two (or three or four in my case!). Since we’re moving Memorial Day weekend, it was high time we started packing, or at least sorting thru stuff to give away/toss out. I gave each boy a box and 2 garbage bags and sent them to fill them. I figured, one box/bag a day, and we can hopefully work thru the apartment before we actually move.

When it was my turn to fill a box, I hit the closet. I filled a bag of clothing that is too small and packed up some extreme winter stuff, which included some handknits. When sorting thru things, I found the following handknits:

All were knit prior to me actually understanding what gauge was all about (and judging from the Deep V Argyle Vest, maybe I STILL don’t understand), and also knit when I twisted all my stitches. See?

So, these got packed in a box with other yarn, and will be ripped and reused. I’m not sure the fiber content of the white/pink sweater, but the other two are 100% cotton. I’m sure I’ll find something to do with it all. It’s like stash enhancement, without spending any money!

The winner of the vest, is Suzanna. Suzanna, please email me your address. Thank you all for your emails (and your words of praise). There will be another contest for the blogiversary in April.

Pattern: Tuscany, by Amy Singer in No Sheep For You
Yarn: Leftover wool/silk, hand dyed by NoNoKitty from a few years ago
Needles: Size US6, KP Options
Notes: This was amazingly easy, and very quick. I did leave out one pattern repeat (16 rows), only because I’m lazy and wanted to wear it.

The chair the shawl was photo’d on?

Rocking chair bought at a yard sale for $8. EIGHT dollars. And the whole story on this? Hubby and I were on our way back from Home Depot (apparently when you buy a home, you get to go to Home Depot every DAY), and he said, hey, did you see that rocking chair? And swung a U-turn so that I could take a look. He managed to stuff the rocking chair into our tiny car with all our Home Depot purchases because he loves me so. I need to repaint it and make another cushion for it (though I did wash that cushion so I could use it in the meantime). It will sit on the front porch when I am done with it.

Keep those emails coming…You’ve got less than 12 hours to enter the contest!