Quick knits

Baby Bonnet
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Driven out of the house by cabin fever (I was alternating between cleaning and resting with a chest cold for what seemed like FOREVER) the kids and I went to our local Joann's Superstore and I came away with Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I've wanted this book for a while now so I forked over the extra dough to buy it there. It was fun to knit something out of a new book and have a finished object for instant gratification. I think its cute but I sewed up the back part while watching Desperate Housewives and it came out a little wonky. Next are the booties. I think I'll take this book on vacation so I can show it to my aunt Kim. She's a beginning knitter who is showing early signs of becoming fully obbessed with the craft. Its in our blood. Must. Knit. Must. Knit....

Before...

kittty pi before
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

here is my kitty pi again, for comparison's sake. Bear with me...

and after...

Kitty pi after
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

I only got to wash it one time! It had shrunk so much that I decided that I didn't want to wash it anymore! Then, I couldn't find anything to shape it with! First I tried my tupperware cake container - too small. Then in the garage I found a large plastic pot for potted plants. I flipped that baby upside down and forced the kitty pi onto it. It was difficult (mostly due to the overly tight bind off big surprise) but I finally got it on there. I think it turned out perfectly. I wanted high sides and a big bottom diameter and it looks good! Yay! Now all I gotta do is find a box to ship this puppy in...

Before......

kittty pi before
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Yay!!! I worked on this thing for the past three days and finally got it finished. It seems a bit smaller than I thought it would be, but we'll see how much felting shrinks it. I really hope its not too small. I may have to ship it to my BIL for his Chihuahua's to use. Or maybe give to someone with a kitten. Hmmm...a ferret? Hamsters? Maybe I'm worrying for nothing, I barely put it in the washer!! Fingers are crossed. I really want to give my Mom's kitties something to enjoy. They are the spoiltest kitties ever you know.

Necktie?

Necktie?
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

So here is my (lame) attempt at coming up with a necktie pattern in crochet for the missionary. All I have to do is knit 50 more inches. Whoops, I mean crochet 50 more inches. I don't know if its the yarn or the type of fabric crochet makes (maybe both) but this little bugger is STIFF! Perhaps too stiff for a tie. I don't know. Luckily, I've never had to wear one. I did get some help and found 3 other patterns for free online. Too bad the printer is out of ink.
I laid the "necktie" on my new knitting to do list. Only 4 items?! I'm forgetting something, I know it. I've been looking for a lace project worthy of the Misti Alpaca. I could make a few different lacy scarves or a shawl. According to fashion forcasts, lace is going to be in for fall (my husband works in the apparel industry). Also considering making the Gibson Girl pullover (2nd from top) from Interweave Summer 2004. This is a project I've wanted to make for a while, but I'm having the hardest time finding information about the freaking yarn they used! Is it worsted? DK? Fingering? The only blogger I found who is knitting it up is using Koigu (I wish!).
Kitty Pi is felting, better go check on it!

kids on mother's day

kids on mother's day
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

We had an awesome Mother’s day here in Tampa. It all really began yesterday when I bought myself some yarn at Uncommon Threads. We drove up to Palm Harbour for a little change of yarn stores. I like this store a lot. She has some great organic cotton and she also has lots of spinning fiber (I didn’t even dare venture over to that side of the store). Anyway. I bought some Misti Alpaca. It. Is. Gorgeous. Oiy. I LUUUUURRRRVE it. I can’t get over how freakin soft it is! There was a good selection of colors but the browns and this white just stood out too much to me. I’ve wanted to do a shawl for some time now and I am helpless against the fuzzy softness of the Misti Alpaca. I plan on rifling through all my patterns to find something tonight!

Back to Mother’s Day. So this morning I woke up with a killer muscle tension headache but I was determined to have a good day. I did get to sleep in, but when I walked into the living room this is what I saw. (see above pic)

and this....

husband on mother's day
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Happy Mother’s Day to me.

good morning sunshine

good morning sunshine
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Again, I was determined to have a good day no matter what. So I ventured into the kitchen and started with this.

This is the other part of my yarn purchase from Uncommon Threads. Hand Painted Yarn , 100% Wensleydale Wool by Dicentra Designs.
I really like the colorway but it’s very close to some Lorna’s Laces sock yarn I bought a couple years ago.

Anyway, that and the ibuprofen definitely brightened up my morning.


At church the men sang to the women and all Mom’s got a small potted flower. I was then stopped by one of the missionaries who said he’d heard I was a really good crocheter (hmmm, I’m a legend with the mormon missionaries, creepy). Turns out he’s trying his hardest to crochet himself a tie, but it’s not coming out very well. He wanted to know if I could find a pattern for him online for free. Okay, lets not discuss the fact that an eighteen year old man is spending his free time crocheting a tie. Lets focus on the possibilities of converting him and his peers to the fiber arts. They’re such easy targets!! Like fish in a barrell!! No radio, no tv, nothing to do but sit, pray, read and knit/crochet. Ahhh yeahh. This is gonna be fun.
So back to the pattern hunt. Nothing. Zero. Zip. No crocheted necktie patterns (are we surprised? Yes! Have you seen what else is out there?!) Crazy there aren’t any because the concept is so darn simple! (My regards to you Mr. Missionary, I’m unsure of your understanding of crochet technique and terms). I’m working on one right now out of the leftover skeins of Jo Sharp tweed wool I used for Mom’s sweater. I’m almost feeling guilty about crocheting it up as a necktie (snob!) but I’ve boxed up all my yarn! Besides, all the craft stores and yarn stores are closed now.

kitty pi

kitty pi
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

In other news. This is what I was supposed to be working on. Kitty Pi. I’m afraid this will come out as ugly as it looks now and Mom won’t like it. Sigh. I’m keeping on it though and if I don’t like it enough, I’ll give it to our neighbor who has eleventeen cats. She can throw it in the pit and let ‘em fight for it.
(Just kidding animal control, my neighbor is NOT a crazy cat lady with eleventeen cats who makes them fight for their comforts. She is a loving and responsible pet owner.)

Two kitties enter, one kitty leaves.....

Cuff attempt #1 and Home for sale

Cuff attempt #1
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Well. We’ve been busy. Anyone interested in a nice home in Florida? New roof, new flooring, new water heater and air handler. Nice size lot….okay I could go on but I won’t. Never had to have my home up for sale before and it’s a little on the stressfull side. Let’s just say that I’m not the world’s best housekeeper so this keeping the house spotless thing is wearing thin real fast (and I’m not discussing the fact that I painted the exterior of the house BY MYSELF). Trying to resist counting the flyers in the tube at the end of each day to see if anyone has taken any is also difficult.
The Peace Fleece is wonderful! I actually got a comment today, Hey Leah! (Someone has laid eyes on my blog besides me?! Wow!) The stuff knits up like a dream and I really like it. As a matter of fact, once I started knitting with it I couldn’t stop. I finally came to a halt when I got to this point (see picture). Hmmmmm. Oh me of the notorious tight bind off. Maybe I should try binding off holding the yarn in my left hand. I’ve been considering learning how to knit that way for a while but I feel a strange loyalty to my right hand yarn holding ways. Besides, purling with the yarn in my left hand is damn near impossible. I fear it will take much too much time to get with all the knitting I’ve got lined up for myself.

lacey swatch

lacey swatch
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

For Mother’s Day, I’m hoping to get in some knitting time with an exciting new project for myself. I’ve done a swatch. Yes, I swatched. It’s a miracle. Too bad I decided not to use this particular lace pattern and so have no need of this swatch now. Hmmmm. But I guess that the swatch did help me to decide that so it wasn’t completely useless. The yarn is too heavy a weight. I think this lace would look better on thinner yarn. I’m going to go for an openwork/eyelet type fabric. I’ll post that swatch when I’m done with it. Look at me with the swatching! Wow! I wanted to finish Maya’s and my shrugs by vacation time! Only like 2 weeks!! So I gotta get crackin’.

The yarn basket is half empty :(

The yarn basket is half empty :(
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Also, well, my now obviously eternal quest for a knitting bag has led me to this. This is so me. I love it. But I’m wondering if I can get something similar for cheaper at like Target or something. Sorry, but $70 is a lot of dinero especially when you translate that to potential skeins.
Meanwhile, boxing up my stash has left me empty. Where has all the yarn gone? I feel lonely and frankly so is the sock yarn. I’m thinking of starting a pair of socks for Mike and taking it as my vacation knitting project to Orlando. You know what? I just got an idea my aunt is also a knitter. She has just learned and really likes scarves. I’m not sure though with her busy schedule if she’ll have enough time to pick a project for the vacation (we are all going together), maybe I should bring her a kit as a gift (read: don’t let me be the only knitter in this group on our vacation). Hey, don't look at it like that. It aint no vacation unless the wool goes too.

Not just yarn snobbery.....

What the hell was I thinking? Knitting bag? This?
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Peace Fleece

Peace Fleece
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

So nice to come home to a package of yarn on your doorstep. Especially when its Peace Fleece. The yarn is so much prettier than I expected. It is a bit itchier than I thought but I loooooooove it. I'm planning on working on a lot of new stuff that I hope to have pictures of soon. Anyway, I had to treat myself to some new wool seeing as another Maryland Sheep and Wool has passed me by. I'm trying not to be bitter, really I am.

New knitting bag

knitting bag/shrug sleeve
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

So I gave in and bought a tote bag at Target. I figure it could be years before I see a finished Knitting Tote and I can scratch that sucker off my knitting to do list and stop beating myself up over it.
On top of it is the beginning sleeve for Maya's shrug. It was coming along beautifully until I realized that it looked a little small. There were eight sts/inch instead of 7. Again with the f-ing gauge! So the 5inches went to the frog pond and I started over. This one seems a little small too, but I tried it on and it fits just fine. I'm going to complete the inc's and then stick it on her arm and see how it looks. The arm length measurements on the pattern are like 2.5" smaller than her arm length. Hmmm. Maybe she makes up for it in the back length? I dunno. I'm tired. Our home is officially listed on the market so if anyone is interested in living in sunny Florida let me know! Meanwhile, I got my bag to carry around my knitting projects in Orlando. Oh Yeah.