EyeKnit

My computer has been acting up again... I think we have tried EVERYTHING to make this spyware go away... and it does... and then comes back with a vengeance. Feh.

THANK YOU to everyone on the RAOK ring for your birthday e-cards and wishes. I had a good day Thursday-- went to work. My friend/neighbor/caterer Mindy catered lunch for the office... very yummy stuff.

Look what my mom & dad got me!



Nope... not balls of yarn. I had that... they got me a ball winder & swift! The picture above is the result of me playing with it. Cool, right? Now I only want to buy skeins that need to be wound, so that I get to play with my new toy. Of course, I want to use my newly-balled yarn right away... but first, I should finish this:



Actually, since I took the picture, I am just about done. Time to really figure out this twisted cord thing. Then Sam & I will have matching hats... I want to get Heilo to do Jonathan's (the Baby Ull would take WAY too many stitches!)

I probably could have finished the hat a while ago, but I gave in & jumped on the poncho bandwagon, and started this:



It's the Lacy Poncho from Chicknits, done in KPPPM. I wasn't sure I liked it, but Sue & Kiesha gave it official seals of approval, so I will continue.

Yesterday was stressful. I got home and took it out on my knitting. Unfortunately, furious stress-induced knitting led to some errors... followed by tedious tinking. Ultimately, progress was made.



I have a lot besides knitting that I need to accomplish today. I hope the day goes smoothly.

Yesterday was my "Day Off With Sam!". I've decided that every other Thursday is officially my favorite day of the week. We went to Discovery House which was really a very odd place... but Sam seemed to enjoy it. It will be a good place to bring him in the winter when he's due for a change of scenery, but it's not nice enough to spend much time outside.

In knitting news, I finished the Aran Watch Cap...



I really like it-- unfortunately, it is on the small side for Sam. (He was asleep when I started it, and I didn't check gauge, because I figured it will fit SOMEONE).

I also bought yarn to start a hat for Sam to match the hat I made for Jonathan (which ended up being a hat for me!). I decided to try Baby Ull, which I've been wanting to knit with for a while. It is a much smaller gauge than the Heilo used for the first hat... so I had to add a few repeats to the pattern. I'm using Size 3 needles, and I'm having a lot of trouble keeping the tension even... it's not that the blue stitches are different size than the white-- it's that every other stitch in the row (where I am twisting the color behind) is looser. I've been playing with it, but I'm not sure how to fix that, so at this point, I'm hoping it will get better as I go along.



Have a happy Friday!

I'm working on the Aran Watch Cap... it's really a pretty pattern, and I'm using some yarn that's been sitting in the cabinet of unfinished projects for ages.



Really, though, this is just an interim project until I can get to the yarn store & buy yarn for Sam's hat. Jonathan has decided that the hat for him is a bit small... but it fits me perfectly... so how 'bout that! I have a new hat! I do want to make ones for both Jonathan & Sam though. Of course, I also want to finish the sleeves for the fir cone lace sweater... and start a sweater for Sam with some of the yarn I bought at Stitches... and about a zillion other things.

Bobbi Bear says, "Hey! Don't make fun of me! I can hear you!" Ah yes, one of the many benefits of having ears.

Grr. Computers suck. Spyware sucks. Constant pop-ups are making my computer almost unusable! I've run Ad-Aware. I've run antivirus. I've run SpyBot. Grr.

But anyway... First things first. THANK YOU to Christine for a wonderful and generous RAOK. I got home Friday afternoon & found a package with 2 skeins of Adrienne Vittadine Carmela cashmere yarn, and a lace scarf pattern! WOW WOW WOW! THANK YOU AGAIN! It made me SO happy :)



Yesterday after work, we had our first Gathering of the KnitWits at the office! There were only three of us-- but we had fun, and relaxed. Hopefully, we will have more KnitWits at the next gathering. I started the Aran Watch Cap from the Hats On book. No photos yet.

I am going to kill these freaking pop-ups. Sorry.

Today, Jonathan, Sam, & I went pumpkin picking with my college roommate Andrea, and her husband and son. It was a little cold and windy, but we had a good time. We picked out a pumpkin... made Andrea's husband schlep it all the way back in the wheelbarrow... and then decided we didn't really want it that badly.



Here we are in the pumpkin patch. Isn't Sam cute in all of his hand-knitted goodness?

The hat is almost finished. I need some help with the twisted cord, and am hoping that someone out there in blogville can assist!



So I get how to make the tassel. I finish the tassel, and now have 6 strands of yarn threaded through the top of the tassel, with ends together, so it's kind of like 12 strands. I know how to twist the cord. What I don't get is how to get the end of the cord that will go near the tassel to blend in so it's not noticeable. Right now, I have a big knot, and ends... it's rather unpleasant. Is that making any sense? I hope so... and hope someone can help me. The sad part is, I've done these before AND I have written instructions... and still can't figure it out!

Faceless One-Armed Bear says, "This is just humiliating now."

Rachel went to the post office for some work stuff... and to mail out 2 RAOK's... hope the recipients like them :)

I'm making good progress on the hat for Jonathan... I'm up to the rice? Lice? Whatever those little single white stitches all around the top are called, I'm up to them. I need to get DPN's or another circular tomorrow to be able to finish. I also want to buy yarn to make a matching one for Sam... they will look so cute in their matching hats!



Bobbi Bear says, "Hey! What about me? Take pity on a faceless one-armed bear!"



Jonathan says we should send the bear to "that surfer". Horrible, right? But I love him.

Sorry. I've been busy KNITTING since I got back from Stitches, and haven't taken the time to blog!

Stitches East was VERY VERY VERY fun, although we didn't have enough time there! Next year, Sue & I will stay overnight.

The exhibit hall (market?) was great. There were so many booths with such great yarns. Sue bought supplies to make ponchos for her nieces for Christmas. I, of course, was paralyzed by all of the options, and decided to look around at everything before buying anything. I thought my class ended at 3:00 (the exhibit hall closed at 4:00), so just bought a few things, and planned to go back & do some heavy duty shopping in the last hour. When I got to class, I realized it didn't end until 4:30... so no more shopping. But that's okay.

One of the things I bought was a book of hat patterns-- Hats On!... so that's what I've been working on since I got home.



Pretty cool, right? I am impressing myself with this one! I really like knitting in colors. I said that last winter when I did that headband for myself... I guess I meant it! There are a bunch of patterns in the book that I really like, and will make, so I'm happy with that purchase.

I bought some yarn as well-- forgot to take pictures (hey, it's early!) and will do that tomorrow.

My class (Finishing With Flair) was very good. It was taught by Chris Bylsma. I thought she did a great job. I had never taken a knitting class before, and will look forward to taking many many more. Here's what I made in class...

What the heck is it?


Oh... nice sleeve-to-body seam


Lovely shoulder seam, and picked up neckline


A button band, picked up without counting... and are those two different kinds of button holes? (Check out my spa manicure!)


So there's my report. I will post more hat progress very soon (considering I can't stop knitting)

I can't think of a time in my life when I finished homework early. Today is no exception... it's 9:30 pm, and I just finished my swatches for my class at Stitches tomorrow. At least I didn't have to pull a knitting all-nighter :)

I had a nice day today-- I spent the morning with Sam (who is becoming quite proficient at walking), and then spent the afternoon with Sue at The Gentle Healing Wellness Spa using my Mother's Day gift certificate. It's amazing what a massage, manicure & pedicure can do for one's mental outlook. Aaaaaah.

I finished the London Beanie for Brian... I'll put it in tomorrow's mail with a birthday card. Hopefully it will brighten his hospital stay a bit.

I am a little bit worried that I made it too small. The pattern didn't have a row gauge, and went by number of rows instead of inches.

It fit on my head-- came down to the top of my ears, but didn't cover my ears at all. It's a little big for my unwilling model Sam. See, he's not ALWAYS happy. Just mostly.



If I recall, Brian has a pretty small head... and he probably won't have any hair... so I'm hoping it's okay.

Now I have 3 nights to finish my Stitches East homework (calling it "homework" makes even knitting less fun!) and get my supplies together for the class.

I started my swatches for Stitches East... but got an e-mail today from Gail, who is the wife of our ex-computer-guy Brian, who developed cancer, and moved to Alabama. Anyway, Gail said that Brian is going to be undergoing a bone marrow transplant-- he just started the heavy chemo necessary, and will be in the hospital for at least a month going through treatments leading up to the transplant. His birthday is October 11th, so she gave us his address in the hospital to send cards etc to cheer him up.

I figure a hat is a good thing for a person undergoing chemotherapy. I decided to make him a London Beanie, because he is originally from London.

I went to Knit Kit which is the yarn store I used to go to before I started reading blogs & becoming a yarn snob... I bought Cotton Fleece... because how cold does it really get in Alabama... anyway, here's my progress.



By the way, I LOVE my stitch markers... thank you again for the RAOK, Andrea!

While I was at Knit Kit, I discovered I had $29 credit on a gift certificate that my mom got me last Chanukah... so I bought some Phildar Jean (I think that's what it's called). Not sure what I'm going to make with it. The selection there isn't great. It's kind of a funny shop... it's dark, and crowded, and dirty... and there is a cat there, and the yarn smells funny... but Donna, the owner, is awesome-- she creates patterns on the spot for whatever you want to make. She's done some fun requests for me-- like when I wanted to knit a bunting in the shape of a star (a-la Maggie Simpson) for Adam & Amy's first baby. I feel bad that I go to other stores more frequently now... kind of like I'm cheating on the yarn store... but I digress.

Since I am digressing... I will wish HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet husband Jonathan! Kiesha, Rachel & Pam bought us lunch today. They asked me to bring some kind of muffin or cupcake that my vegan weight watcher hubby would eat. Here is the result... which they found rather hilarious.

I helped add a few new knitters to the world today. Jan, her friend Jen, Jen's daughter Tori, and Jan's son Matt all showed up at my office after work-- yarn and needles in hand. Jan & Jen had both been able to knit at one time, but had forgotten... so they were able to get back on track again pretty quickly. Tori & Matt (I think they're both around 9?) did VERY well for first-timers too! It was a REALLY fun way to spend an afternoon-- and we're going to do it again soon. I have another patient who is interested-- her husband suggested that we call our group "The KnitWits"... which I love!

I have new respect for people who teach others to knit... teaching knitting is hard! I think it was especially hard because I knit Continental. I didn't really have a good feel for correcting mistakes-- like how far do you let someone go in the wrong direction before you point out their error... because you don't want to hang over every stitch, but you don't want them to get a bad result either...

I love knitting (duh, really?), and want to teach other people so they can love knititng too... but I think I could have done a better job teaching them if I had some more experience teaching. So I think I may take a beginning knitting class (is that silly?) or at least talk to some people who teach knitting, to find out how I can be better at teaching someone. I'm open to suggestions.

Yay... a pair of baby socks!



As long as Sam didn't grow too much since Tuesday, I think these should fit for at least another day or two! He's pretty funny... he likes the first sock I made for him. When I show it to him, he gets really happy and sticks his little foot out so I can put it on. I hope he likes having 2 matching socks to wear!

I think my next endeavor has to be my "homework" for Stitches East. 3 8" swatches shouldn't take me too long.

I might have a chance to teach a new knitter tomorrow! One of my patients (hi, if you're reading this!) said that she'd love to learn to knit. I'm looking forward to helping someone new get addicted to knitting! Is this how drug dealers feel when they sell drugs to young children?