Matt – Ms Lindz – My little corner of the internet

Completed Projects, Cooking, Current Projects, Life

Secret Garden Shawl (FO!), New Sofas, and Delicious Food

Posted on September 8, 2009 by mslindz

I was a busy knitter this past holiday weekend! Saturday I finished the Secret Garden Shawl. Here it is pre-blocking, measuring 30 inches across.

Pre-blocking

Sunday, I washed and blocked it. It took about an hour to get all those pins in it and my fingers were rather sore after.

Blocking

It seemed pretty dry by the evening. I gave it overnight to dry, just in case there were any parts that weren’t quite dry yet. It took a good while to get all those pins out and my fingers were even more sore after I pulled all of them out, but… it’s DONE!! I thought it would never end. The last clue’s rows seemed to last an eternity!

Pattern: Secret Garden Shawl (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: July 23, 2009
Completed: September 5, 2009
Yarn: Green Sheep Fingering in Hearts on Fire, 2 skeins
Needles: US 6 bamboo circular and DPNs
Notes: I lined up the double decreases from clue 3 with the ones in clue 4 by moving the marker. In clue 5, I didn’t need to move the marker at all for the double decreases in row 11 to line up with the double decreases from clue 4. In clue 5, I only did one chart repeat because I was worried that it would end up too big. It probably would have been fine with the 2 chart repeats, but I like the size it ended up (4 feet across). This is the first shawl I’ve knit that used fingering weight and the first shawl I’ve knit for myself. (Other 2 shawls were bulky weight and worsted weight, both gifts.)

I think I’m done with shawls for a while! Well, I do have Ishbel on the needles still and I’ll probably finish that, but nothing quite as big as this one is going to happen very soon. I think I just need a break from it for now! As a celebration for finishing the shawl, I started and finished the Bellona Cowl this weekend. I don’t have a picture of the finished cowl since it’s currently blocking, but I hope to share that later this week. 🙂

I think all this non-sock knitting has finally caught up with me and I’ve been itching to do socks recently. I’m figuring out the last little details of a sock design, but I think I’ll cast on for that very soon, maybe even today! Speaking of socks, I did actually start a pair recently. It’s the mystery pattern for Sock Knitters Anonymous (SKA) for the month of September. It’s designed by Nancy Bush. So far I’ve knit clue one and clue two was just released today. I’m using Socks That Rock mediumweight (mill end) on US 2’s.

Clue 1 of SKA Mystery Socks

Now that the shawl is done, it’s back to knitting Starlight. It’s a little over a month until Rhinebeck! Still plenty of time, but also a lot going on between now and then. I’ve been doing good keeping myself motivated to knit it and as long as I keep that up, I should have it done with time to spare!

We got new sofas last Friday. We used to just have a futon in the living room, which didn’t offer much seating, especially after rearranging the living room to accommodate the surround sound system. We picked out these from IKEA and they’re the KLIPPAN series. I think they fit nicely in our living room!

Matt approves!

I have to share last night’s dinner. We made the most delicious dinner! We had scallops, golden-crusted brussels sprouts, and white rice (with butter and salt, yum). Oh my!! It was SO GOOD. Normally, I’m not a fan of seafood, especially scallops. Most (most, not all, there are a few exceptions) people and restaurants that I’ve encountered overcook them, so generally I avoid them. Yesterday, though, Matt cooked these absolutely perfectly with some garlic and olive oil. If I didn’t have a stomach the size of a bird, I would have eaten all of them myself! Om nom nom nom! The brussles sprouts were really good, too. All together it was a perfect combination and nice end to a great weekend.

Om nom nom nom! Scallops, golden-crusted brussels sprouts, and white rice.

How was your holiday weekend? We didn’t do much for a change. This is actually our last free weekend for a while. Lots of stuff going on this month and next. All good things, though! It was nice to hang out at home and have my sisters and Matt’s brother over this weekend. 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects, Life

How to: PVC Niddy Noddy, Grill, and Project Updates

Posted on August 17, 2009 by mslindz

This weekend I made myself a niddy noddy for under $2! I’ve been needing one for a while now, but I didn’t really want to spend a whole lot of money on one right now. I looked up some instructions on what I’d need to make a PVC one. It seemed simple enough, so when we were at Lowe’s this weekend, I picked up what I needed to make one. Directions said to get a 4 to 5 foot 1/2″ PVC pipe, but they were out in the 5 foot size and I didn’t want over 6 feet of pipe that I didn’t need, so I got a 5 foot 3/4″ pipe instead. There was a pipe cutting station, so I went over and waited for someone to cut my PVC pipe. The guy came over and said “This is only for metal pipes *grumble grumble*” and took my pipe. I was confused and ready to take it back and find whatever tool I needed to cut it, but he went and got some tool and cut it for me anyhow. I had him cut one 18″ piece and four 6″ pieces, which left an additional 19″ piece I have no idea what I’ll do with. After that I found two “T” pieces that fit the pipe. The pipe was $1.23 and the “T” pieces were $0.33 each for a total of $1.89 to make the niddy noddy!

Niddy noddy pieces, pre-assembly.

I got home and pieced it all together, which hardly took any time at all. There’s no need to glue anything in place since you want it to be able to twist. It’s easy to assemble or disassemble for storage. I still need to sandpaper the ends, but I need to find some sandpaper first (we probably have some, I just haven’t looked). Pretty easy project and cheap, too!

Niddy noddy, assembled.

We really went to Lowe’s to look at and possibly buy a grill. We did manage to find one we liked in our price range. We got it home, but weren’t able to put it together right away because we had a birthday party to go to. After that, Matt’s brother came over and they put the grill together. The instructions said it would take 50 minutes, but it took 3 hours. I don’t know how anyone could have put the thing together in 50 minutes!

Matt and his brother putting the grill together.

By the time it was put together, it was dark out and we found that we didn’t have a metal spatula to use the grill with! Instead of making the burgers on the grill, we ended up making them in the kitchen. The next morning, though, we made breakfast on the grill: turkey bacon, eggs (in a skillet on the side burner), and toast. It was pretty good! For lunch/early dinner, we invited Karen and Than over and made salmon, thyme marinated asparagus, and wild rice. I think it turned out pretty good!

Matt making lunch.

Saturday, while at the birthday party, I finished Liesl. I don’t have pictures yet. I still need to get some buttons and block it. I love how it turned out, though! I’m already itching to make another one. 🙂

I was all jazzed that I finished something and pulled out my Button Up Neck Warmer hoping I could finish that, too. Sunday, I did! I need to wash and block it and add buttons, but I love how it turned out. It’s going to be nice and warm this winter!

Button-Up Neck Warmer, finished!

Looks like I’ll have two FO’s to show you a little later this week! 🙂

Since I finished Liesl, I’ve brought Starlight back out. I have 2 months before Rhinebeck and my goal is to get this done by then! Think I can do it? I’m nearly to the arm shaping of the first front piece, then I have to knit the other front piece and the sleeves.

Starlight

Still working on the 4th clue for the Secret Garden shawl. I have 2 more repeats before I move on to clue 5 (final clue), which will make the shawl jump from about 400 stitches now to almost 800! If I think that each row takes a while now, I’m a little scared to see how long THOSE rows will take!

Another week and almost through August. I can hardly believe it. This year has really flown by, but it’s been a good one. This week will probably be slightly busy. Tonight my sister is coming over to hang out and Wednesday night Matt and I are going to a Reds baseball game (which means no knit night this week). I think Friday we’re having dinner with Matt’s family. This weekend, as far as I can remember, we don’t have anything going on. Just house stuff. We’ll be moving things around since we’re getting a surround sound system and we’ll probably do some housewarming/birthday party planning since we’ve finally decided on a date for that! I can’t believe we haven’t done it and that the date we picked is kind of far from now, but I think it will be a lot of fun since we’re also planning to combine our October birthdays with it. Time files when you’re having fun! 🙂

Completed Projects, Sewing

Sprucey Lucy FO, Sewing, and Baby Socks

Posted on June 17, 2009 by mslindz

Last night I finished up the Sprucey Lucy socks, which means I also finished my first pair for the 52 Pair Plunge III!

Pattern: Sprucey Lucy Socks by Wendy Johnson (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 1, 2009
Completed: June 16, 2009
Yarn: The Yarn Bearer Uber Sock, April 2009 Sock Club shipment with the theme of “Falling”
Needles: Knit Picks US 1 (2.25mm) DPNs
Notes: I changed the heel to a short row heel because I find they fit my foot better. The yarn was great to work with! First time I used this yarn, I made a Marlene sock that I ended up not liking and frogging. Then I decided to use it for this pattern, but I used US 0’s and knit the medium size. I didn’t like the fabric I got with US 0’s, so I frogged what I had and went up to US 1’s (2.25mm) and knit the small. Worked out much better and I love the socks! The lace pattern was easy to memorize, but it wasn’t until the leg of the first sock that it really flowed for me. If I hadn’t put these socks aside to knit Hey Teach, these probably would have been done a lot sooner. Took me 3 days to knit the second sock, but almost 2 weeks to do the first one! Ah well, sometimes I get side tracked 🙂

Pair 1 for the 52 Pair Plunge III! 🙂

On Monday, I finally decided to fix the strap on the purse I made a few weeks ago. When I made the bag, I didn’t think about the size of it and how only having one strap would make it sag in the middle while I’m carrying it. The sagging in the middle was making the D rings for the straps to turn and start damaging the fabric. I needed to do something about this, so I decided it needed two straps. Monday I finally went to the fabric store and got a set of four D rings in a 1/2 inch smaller size so that I could make 2 new straps and attach them to the bag.

This is what the bag looked like before with only 1 strap.

I used my seam ripper to get the tabs on each end out and sewed up the spot where they had been. Then, I used my seam ripper to open up where the new straps should go and I sewed together two new straps and four tabs to hold the D rings to the bag. Once those were all put together (with interfacing and all that jazz), I sewed the tabs with D rings in place, then sewed the straps onto the D rings. Since the initial tabs were sewn into place between the inner lining and outside lining and I wasn’t willing to take it all apart to make it perfect, I had to hand stitch the parts where the tabs were to make it look right and not gap in those places. It probably took me about 2 hours total to do between doing laundry, but it’s done now and I absolutely love how it turned out. So much better then just having the one strap!

“New” bag, now with 2 straps instead of 1!

Right now, I’m just working on a pair of baby socks I started. There’s no intended recipient yet, I just wanted to use up some left over sock yarn. I think I’ll get these finished up before starting something new.

Little baby sock, just started the heel.

I want to start Hey Teach over again, but I also want to cast on for the Lacy Ribs sock. This would actually be the second time casting on for the Lacy Ribs sock since I frogged my first attempt because I thought it might be too bulky in my shoes, so this time I was planning on knitting the foot in stockinette and the leg with the pattern. I didn’t bring Hey Teach with me today, but I did bring the yarn for Lacy Ribs, so I’m guessing that I’ll get started on that first since tonight is knit night and these baby socks shouldn’t take too long to finish up.

This past weekend on Sunday, we washed the walls in the house with help from Alita, Karen, and Than. Without them, there’s no way we could have done it! Thanks for the help!! There was a leak we found from a pipe that had bulged and burst when we were turning on the water for the first time, so now the kitchen has a nice hole in the ceiling that needs to be fixed, but at least we found it now instead of after we moved in. Matt and his dad were able to find and fix it, thankfully. The house is currently getting painted and this weekend, I think we’ll start to move stuff over to the house. Things that we don’t really need and can live without for a week or more. Oh the joys of home ownership and moving! hahaha 🙂

Happy Mid-Week everyone! I’m still trying to figure out how it’s already the middle of June. Where does all the time go?

Current Projects

Marlene, Stripey Socks, and Project Bags

Posted on April 16, 2009 by mslindz

I’ve been knitting on Decimal quite a bit this week, but I’ve been taking breaks occasionally and knitting on the two socks I’m working on. At first I was knitting more on the stripey Vesper socks because I wasn’t sure how much I liked Marlene. I had tried it on early in the week and just felt “meh” about it. I was considering ripping it out then decided I should let it sit for a few days before deciding. Today I put it back on and decided it’s a keeper.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fit. I was worried that it was a little loose and not quite right. I was really close to ripping it out! Glad I decided to let it sit for a few days and see how I feel.

While Marlene waited my decision, I knit quite a bit on the stripey Vesper sock. Monday I turned the heel and I’m getting close to the ribbing now.

Since my sock books arrived on Tuesday, I’ve been itching to start another pair. I just kept flipping through the books trying to decided on one to start, but finally decided that I should finish one of the pairs I’m working on before starting a new one. The books sit fairly close to me, though, so I’ve been taking breaks and looking through the books. Good thing for the above socks that I’m indecisive and can’t settle on a pattern!

I was going to blog about this on Monday, then I was waiting to finish the last one I’d cut fabric for, but I don’t know when I’ll get to that last one… so here are the project bags I spent some time sewing on Monday.

The first two are drawstring bags>

The third one I made is a box bag. I have fabric cut for a fourth one, but I haven’t sewn it up yet.

All the sewing was fun to do, but now I have so many project bags I don’t know what to do with them all! I think the box bags are my favorite, though they do take a bit more time to make.

This week I’ve done a lot more knitting and sewing then I have in what seems like a long time. Surgery recovery has been going good overall. Good days and bad days, of course, though this week seems like I’ve had more good days. I’ve been walking a few times a day and slowly building up longer walks. The rest of the time I spend knitting, watching things on Hulu, and doing some napping. It’s been rather nice to focus on just getting better. I feel like I’m almost back to normal. I’m able to do most things on my own again, including put on my shoes again (though it does take a while still!). Today I managed to do the dishes without trouble (just takes a while) and I even drove to Matt’s work to have lunch with him since my driving restriction has been lifted! It was a little weird to drive again after what feels like forever. I feel comfortable driving, though, so that’s great news to me. I’m sure I’ll be back to normal life soon enough, but for now I’m just taking time to take care of me :o)

Current Projects

Prezzies in the Mail

Posted on April 14, 2009 by mslindz

Today I figured I’d show you some things I got in the mail in the last two days. Whenever Matt brings in the mail and there’s a package or letter (not bill) for me, he tells me he brought me prezzies. It always makes me laugh and I get excited and say “I love prezzies!” Yesterday I got a package and a card in the mail.

The card was from Jessica! I was surprised to get a card in the mail and it made me smile before I even opened it. Then I opened it and had a good laugh!

The package that came (and was expected) was from Knitterly Things. I’ve been wanting to get enough stripey yarn to make a pair of striped knee socks, so last week’s update, I got two skeins of “Seashells from the Seashore” for that, plus a skein of “Meadows” and two of the new coordinating skeins (heels and toes!) that Julia is now selling in her shop – one for each of the colorways I bought for socks.

Pink (top left) & Seafoam (top right) coordinating skeins, Meadows (left bottom) and two skeins of Seashells by the Seashore (center & right bottom)

Today’s mail brought me two books.

I pre-ordered both books from Amazon when I first heard when they would be out. Since they were coming out close together, I decided to order them together and save on shipping. I was pretty excited when I got the shipping notice on Sunday and was waiting for them to get here. On the left is Sock Innovation by Cookie A. and to the right is Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy A. Johnson. So far I’m enjoying both books – reading through and trying to decide which patterns to knit first! There are a lot of reviews of both books on various blogs, so I don’t think I’ll be doing any myself, but I think both have a number of great patterns that I’ll knit :o)

Current Projects

Stripey Goodness and Marlene Progress

Posted on April 12, 2009 by mslindz

After almost a week of resisting casting on a pair of socks with the Vesper self-striping sock yarn I have, I caved yesterday and cast on another pair of toe-up stripey socks with the “Sweet Water” colorway that was calling me from my stash.

They’re knitting up a lot faster than I thought they would, but I suppose it’s just because I’ve had a lot of time to sit around and knit. I’m a little over half way to the heel already!

Marlene is moving right along, too. I was a little surprised when I picked it up yesterday to find that I was ready to start the heel.

For two projects I started this week, it feels like they’re moving along at lightning speed.

Yesterday my knitterly friend Jessy came by and hung out for part of the afternoon. She brought a delicious blackberry tart that I would probably eat all in one sitting if I didn’t know what was best for me! We had pizza, watched Matt play some video games (Matt and I were playing Little Big Planet when she arrived) while we knit, and watched Dollhouse. My mom, sisters, and grandpa came by for a while a bit after Jessy left. I do love having visitors and it’s been nice to since I can’t really go anywhere still. It feels like I’ve been home for a few weeks, but I know it’s only been a week. Almost like time is just standing still!

Today is Easter and if I were allowed to get in a car and go anywhere, we’d probably be going to a get together with Matt’s dad (and that side of the family). I’m a little sad about not going, but it’s also kind of nice not to have any obligations today.

Here’s a cool Easter-related treat for you: Peeps Show III. Peeps are one of my favorite Easter treats even though I know they have them pretty much year round now. I loved these as a kid and I still love them as an adult. I think when Matt goes to the store today, I’ll make sure he picks some up for me!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

Current Projects

Doing Better Each Day

Posted on April 10, 2009 by mslindz

About this time last week, I was on my way home from the hospital after surgery. The surgery itself went great (took about 2 hours total), but the first few days home were difficult. It was hard for me to move or do much on my own and I think the anesthesia didn’t agree well with me (whenever I slept, I’d wake up feeling nauseous), but I was walking pretty good and even went outside to walk on Saturday and Sunday. Matt went back to work on Monday and by then I was mostly able to do things on my own. He’s been home each day for lunch, which has been nice since I’ve been getting bored at home.

Tuesday my mom and sister came by and kept me company all afternoon. Wednesday some of my knitterly friends came by – Karen, Lani, Alita and Lisa. Lani was kind enough to bring some frozen meals for Matt and I, which was very much appreciated since I can’t do much housework or cooking still. Plus, the time with friends was great since I didn’t get to go to knitting group this week. My friend, Grace, stopped by Wednesday as well. She brought us dinner before she went to a yoga class. It was nice to have her come over and visit. Tomorrow Jessy is stopping by and I think my mom and sisters will be by this weekend, too.

Took a few days before I knit much after getting back home because I wasn’t feeling much like sitting up at first (mostly laid down and napped). Now, though, I’m back to knitting and I’ve been doing a lot of it! I’ll get to that part, but first I’ll show you what arrived in the mail just before I had surgery last week and since I’ve been home.

Last Wednesday, my Chevron Love Mitten Kit came in the mail from Knitterly Things. I can’t wait to knit these up! Should be a lot of fun even though I won’t be wearing them again until next winter. I got the “Tiny Dancer” kit. Irresistible combination of colors I had to have!

I ordered a pattern from The Loopy Ewe that was waiting for me in the mailbox when we got home last Friday. The pattern is Swedish Fish Socks. I already have some stash yarn in mind for it.

On Monday, I received yarn from The Yarn Bearer from the “Nightmares” sock club. This month’s theme is “Falling.”

I’ve really enjoyed being part of The Yarn Bearer’s club. The yarn’s I have received are beautiful! So glad I decided to join :o)

As for what I’ve been knitting… I’m still working on Decimal and it’s coming right along. I’m at the waist shaping portion. Seems like the more I knit, the less spittly this yarn is (though it’s still a bit splitty). I’m loving the resulting knit fabric, regardless of the splittiness of the yarn, though. The color, too!

I was working on the Baudelaire socks, but decided to rip them out. I had turned the heel when I decided I just didn’t love them. It was a combination of the yarn being a bit fuzzy/splitty and just not really loving the pattern. Wednesday I ripped them out and it felt liberating! Since I no longer had a pair of socks on the needles after ripping the Baudelaire socks out, I cast-on for another pair with the yarn I got Monday (above). I decided on the Marlene pattern by Cookie A. in the Fall/Winter 2008 issue of knit.1. I wasn’t sure how the yarn and pattern would go together, but I was pleasantly surprised with the lovely result.

Initially I cast-on using US 1’s, but I couldn’t get the sock over my heel after two chart repeats, so I had to rip it out. Went up to US 2’s and it seems perfect now. The pattern has been an easy and fun knit so far. I think I have 2 more chart repeats before the heel, so it’s even further along then the picture above shows.

Haven’t been working on much else. I’ve been spending a lot of time watching TV, online, and knitting. Of course I’ve been doing a fair amount of walking, too, since that’s a big part of my recovery. I have a while before I go back to work and recovering is my main focus. Each day I’m walking and doing a little more!

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Shedir Hat, Cigar Gloves, Lakeside Socks, New Pattern, & a Lost Mitten

Posted on February 4, 2009 by mslindz

I have two finished projects to share today!

The first one is a hat I was commissioned to make for a friend. I had kept it rather hush-hush here on the blog because she said I could use whatever pattern and yarn I wanted, so I wanted it to be a surprise. Well, she received it in the mail yesterday and took a fantastically fun picture for me today! (The picture and the hat totally suit her!)

Pattern: Shedir from Knitty’s Fall 2004 Surprise
Started: January 16, 2009
Completed: January 28, 2009
Yarn: Cascade Heritage in red
Needles: US 3 bamboo circular and DPN’s
Notes: I did one more repeat of the main cable portion then I typically do and I think it worked out well. Other than that, no changes! I really do love how this hat comes out and no matter how many times I’ve knit it (this would be the 4th if you’re counting), it’s still enjoyable.

Also, in this photo, she’s wearing a scarf she knit! She just started knitting not too long ago and she’s already addicted. Another knitter added to the fold! :o)

Pattern: Cigar, modified to have full fingers/thumbs
Started: January 18, 2009
Completed: February 3, 2009
Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in black
Needles: US 3 bamboo DPN’s
Notes: The only big change that I made is to make the thumb and fingers closed instead of open (full fingers/thumbs). On the second glove, I decided to pick up more stitches on the cast on edges of the fingers/thumb and then decrease them the very next round. This helped close up the gaps much better and if I ever do gloves again, I will do it this way. Doing it like that made for less holes I needed to close up when weaving in the ends. This was my first time making gloves. I have to say it was a bit fiddly to do all the fingers and thumbs, but wasn’t too bad (and went quickly!). There were a lot of ends to weave in!

One thing I did learn in making these is how to weave in ends “properly.” I’m sure however I’ve been doing it works just as well, too, but I never really did know how to weave in ends “the right way” or the best way, so I did the “fake it til you make it” method up until this point. Being curious about it when face with so many ends to weave in, I Googled it and found this very helpful Knitty article. I guess I had just never really put that much thought into it before now. I think it looks a lot neater this way and I’m glad I bothered to look it up.

Since I finished up the gloves last night, I cast on the pair of Lakeside socks I’ve promised to the same friend pictured above with the hat!

Today, I was checking my Google Reader and saw a post by Grumperina showing a beautiful scarf. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to knit it. As I read more, I saw that this is a new pattern from her. The pattern is Mother of Pearl and it’s a free pattern from Crystal Palace Yarns. Very pretty! I have just the yarn for it already sitting in my stash.

This morning, as I was leaving the house, I realized one of my mittens were missing. I searched around the kitchen table where I would have left it and couldn’t find it. Searched a few other places in the house and I still couldn’t find it. I didn’t think much of it, just figured I’d left it in the car, but when I got to the car, it wasn’t there either! I’ll look again when I get home tonight. I’m pretty sure I’ve somehow lost it between getting out of my car and going into the house last night. Thankfully I was already planning on making myself new mittens and have the yarn for them. I just wasn’t planning on having to make them so soon. I was more planning on making them by next winter, but I may need to move that date up if we keep getting snow like we have been!

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Harry Potter Scarf, Yarn, and Gloves

Posted on February 3, 2009 by mslindz

I was finally able to give my sister her scarf about a week ago now. Forgot to blog about it! Here she is modeling it:

I think it ended up a good length for her. I also think it will keep her quite warm! Especially with all the icy death from the sky we’ve had lately.

Yesterday was Happy Mail Day for me! I got Zombie yarn from The Yarn Bearer (Sock Club), Sweet Water from Vesper, and Happy Housewife Cupcake Club goodies.

The Zombie yarn is on the left (under the top yarn), Vesper on the right (top yarn), and Cupcake Club goodies are at the middle bottom.

I’ve been busily working on gloves for Matt. I’m hoping to finish the second glove today! I’m half done with the pinky finger and then just have the thumb to go.

I don’t know if I mentioned it previously, but I’m doing a modified version of the Cigar Gloves from Knitty. I was going to make the first finger and thumb on the right glove as written in the pattern then maybe make little caps for the finger/thumb, but Matt decided last night that doing them as full fingers would be fine.

Soon as these are done, I’ll be casting on a pair of socks for a friend. I’m looking forward to knitting socks again. Feels like it’s been a while since I had a pair on the needles!

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Sleepover, FO, New President, and Sock Club

Posted on January 20, 2009 by mslindz

I’ve been meaning to blog for a few days now, but I’ve been distracted by other things or just plain busy!

This weekend we had a knitter’s sleepover. It was so much fun!! I can’t remember the last time I stayed up so late, but it was a blast and totally worth it. I’m so glad one of the ladies in the knitting group opened her home to us! I got a lot of knitting done, watched movies, chatted, and ate good food. I intended to take pictures, but I got wrapped up in all the fun and forgot! A lot of fun, though!!

I was able to finish the Hogwarts scarf while I was there, though. Well, the knitting and the weaving in of ends. I did the fringe when I got home. I’m so glad to be done with this project. It was a bit boring, but at least I could work on it while doing almost anything else since it didn’t require I pay a whole lot of attention to it. It’s just knit around and around and around and… well you get the idea! So, here’s the third finished project of the year:

Pattern: Hogwarts Scarf in Gryffindor colors
Started: January 5, 2009
Completed: January 18, 2009
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Mustard and Brick
Needles: US 8 bamboo circular
Notes: I cast on 80 stitches instead of 70 because it fit around the 16″ circular better for me. Kept the same 22 rows before changing colors, though. Easy knit. It’s for my sister, who will probably get it this coming weekend.

Recently came across this Polaroid program. Fun to play with! I did this photo of the scarf with it.

~~~~~

Since the scarf is now DONE, I can work on something else! Matt asked me to make him a scarf and some gloves that would work well with outdoor photography. Took me a while to find yarn, but I finally decided on Berroco Comfort DK. It’s quite soft and I’m hoping it will be warm, too. I’m loosely basing the pattern on Cigar, but one hand will be totally gloved (all fingers covered) and the other hand will have finger flaps for the thumb and forefinger. Haven’t decided on how I’ll work the “flaps” yet, so we’ll see how that works out! After working on the gloves for two days, I’m about to the fingers on the first one.

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Yesterday I went for a second opinion consult on surgery. I’m having a test done next month and then I go back for a continuation of the consult. This pushes things back further than I wanted or expected, but I know that it’s the right thing to do. I’m just getting a bit impatient about it all. I want to be done already, but making the decision that is best for me is more important than making a decision just because I’m impatient.

Today is inauguration day. I was able to watch it on CNN on IPTV at my computer at work. This is my first time watching an inauguration and it was really great to be able to see it. I thought President Obama’s speech was moving and I teared up a little. He’s quite charismatic!

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Last week, I saw that sign ups were open for the Loopy Ewe Sock Club. I hadn’t tried for a spot before and was thinking I should pass. It is a bit pricey and it’s a year commitment. I told myself I couldn’t really afford it, but I’d also been feeling a bit like a deprived child who says “But you NEVER let me get ANYTHING!!” Which, of course, is usually not true at all. I figured even if I did try, I wouldn’t get in. So what did I do? Entered the lottery for a spot, then promptly forgot all about it, figuring I wouldn’t get a spot anyhow. Then, today when I was looking around on the Ravelry message boards and happened upon a thread in the Loopy Ewe group about the Sock Club. Apparently people were getting their emails TODAY about if they got a spot or not! I quickly checked my email and…

I GOT A SPOT!

Um… I wasn’t expecting this at all!! I feel a bit guilty for spending money on me, which is a problem I have had for a long time, especially since I’ve been working hard on getting rid of debt. But… I’ve heard such great things about this club and I’m quite excited about it!

This week is doing pretty good so far! Tomorrow I’ll be having lunch with a friend and I’m quite excited about it! New restaurant and good company mid-week :o)

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