The shawl is done!!!!!!!!

that's it. just wanted to say that ... the shawl is done!!!!!!!!

Favorite and Least Favorite Yarns (SP10)

Favorite Yarn

My favorite yarn is The Irish Ewe's Irish Aran yarn. Part of my love for this yarn is because it comes from County Kerry Ireland. My ancestors are from Country Kerry and I have been there. I absolutely love Ireland too.

More about this yarn though. It's 100% wool from organically grown sheep grown in County Kerry, Ireland. It hasn't been processed much so there's still a lot of lanolin in it. Sometimes I've even come across organic bits in the yarn. It's even got the sheep smell too. It's all things I love. I think it's also handspun, don't quote me on that though. The yarn is extremely even in width. You get 200 grams or 350 yards in a hank.

I've only had the luxury of making an Irish hiking scarf with it yet it was one of my favorite experiences. I wish I could work with it more.

Least Favorite Yarn

Looking back over the yarns I have used I'd have to say my least favorite yarn that I used would be Lion Suede. I had one heck of a time trying to get guage never succeeding. I decided to use another yarn on that project and make something else out of that yarn. It was to no avail. No matter what I try the yarn and I do not mix well and it keeps breaking. Other people have no problem with the skien. I've tried just to see if it was the skien others skiens and the yarn and I just don't mix. It's the one yarn that I had to give up trying to use and it still sits in my stash to remind me why I don't buy it again. I thankfully bought only one skien.

Venturing into the world of socks

My Queen Kahuna book arrived so I'm now venturing into the world of socks. I started my socks, but I mis-measured my guage (that's what I get for measuring my guage while sick). They got frogged as a result when I realized the toe was way too small. I wasn't deterred and casted right back on. I've just started the toe increases again. I'm using Regia 6 ply Crazy Color. THe color is jungle and I'm using US size 4's. Otherwise everything else in the world of knitting is going well here. Cliona's behaving very well this week with the yarn.......strange.....strange indeed.

Quick project update

1.) Irish Aran Sweater (using Patons Classic Merino) -- Sitting there calling to me
2.) Knitty's Chaos --since it died I'm replacing it with a pair of socks. In stash I knw it's now equivalent. This is going to be my first ever pair of socks though. I'm going to be doing them on 2 circulars from the toe up at the same time.
3.) A scarf and hat set for a raffle on March 1 (yarns unknown) -- DONE
4.) A scarf for same raffle on March 1 (using 1 partially used ball wool yarn and 1 partially used skien red heart) -- DONE.
5.) A cotton hooded bath blanket for the baby to be (using lilly sugar and cream) -- Still working on it.
6.) Shawl for my Mom -- Yarn: Homespun. nearing completion.
7.) Afghan for Dad (Yarn will be a mix) -- Slowly working on. It's my mindless project.
8.) Irish Hiking Scarf -- On hold until other more pressing projects get done.
9.) Gifted Mittens -- DONE
10.) ISE 4 scarf (will be using the Lopi I bought last week) -- casted on

Bus Adventures

It's been interesting the past few bus trips this week. The bus is how I get to knitting on Saturdays. Well, last Saturday I ended up spending some time at the local prison before getting to knitting. This should have been a sign to me that the day was not going to run smoothly. The bus I take to knitting goes into the prison each time by. I have no clue why but it does. Near the entrance there's a little circle it can go around, but the drivers have been told not to. This driver decides to anyways. Also there's a pickup truck in the circle. The driver cuts it too short and the rear wheel goes up over the curb. Thanks to the watterlogged ground with snow on top of it as soon as he jumps the curb the bus got stuck in the mud. No just stuck though. That rear tire was buried up to the axle. Rather the axle was resting on the curb. Thank you driver. We can't go anywhere. A mechanic comes and confirms this, brings us pasesngers to where other busses get together hourly so we can all continue with our day and the bus got towed out. THankfully we were all able to get to our next busses on time and I was able to make it to knitting.


Today was also an adventure. That is for sure. I went to Dagmar's for the first time. It's a yarn store. BY the way I have never been into a yarn store before. I've only gotten my yarn at regular stores like Michaels (and the like) or Wal-Mart or online. I managed to spend over $50.00 and not feel guilty over it. For me that's a feat. I got 10 skiens of yarn. Ten skiens that I wouldn't be able to get in regular stores and half of those skiens were on sale.On the way home on the bus I got stuck n traffic from a tractor trailer rollover. Here and here tells a little about it. THe second link providing an interesting conversation after the article. It provided a welcome change of pace in the ride. This bus ride made me wonder, why do I want a car? There's always an adventure on the bus. Be it drivers telling deserving passengers off, getting stuck in strange places, or just traffic jams. Just follow the rules, don't annoy or in any way irritate the drivers, and make friends with the drivers and you'll have a fun trip.

SP10 & ISE 4

Secret Pal 10
Contact with SP Spoiler ... has been made.
Contact with SP Spoilee ... had been made.
Package for SP Spoilee .... in progress of being put together.

ISE 4
Contact with the person I'm knitting for ... has been made.
Contact with the person knitting for me ... has been made.
Pattern for the scarf I'm making ... narrowed down to a couple.
Yarn for scarf I'm making ... purchased.

Productive Week

It's been a rather productive week in the world of knitting here. I'm rocking and rolling for Fly by the Seat of My Pants" as I've taken to calling my mon's shawl. I was originally picked out 2 patterns, but I was having no luck with either. Solution...make pu your own. Ting is, I; don't have that much experience making my own patterns. It's going pretty well. I have had the forethought to write things down as I go. Something I learned while making fused glass dichroic pendants. I took it of the needles this evening onto some waste yarn to measure it. I suprised myself. I'm even happier with it off hte needles. I only have to make it 10 inches longer. That's doable.

Also, let's see...for my stashalong:
1.) Irish Aran Sweater (using Patons Classic Merino) -- Still on hold. MIght work on it tomorrow in honor of Saint Patrick's Day.
2.) Knitty's Chaos -- Dead due to Cliona.
3.) A scarf and hat set for a raffle on March 1 (yarns unknown) -- DONE also raffle went well and this was one of the first items to go.
4.) A scarf for same raffle on March 1 (using 1 partially used ball wool yarn and 1 partially used skien red heart) -- DONE see number 3.
5.) A cotton hooded bath blanket for the baby to be (using lilly sugar and cream) -- Still working on it.
6.) Shawl for my Mom -- Yarn: Homespun. Already casted on and 1 of 10 pattern repeats done.
7.) Afghan for Dad (Yarn not picked yet) -- Not started
8.) Irish Hiking Scarf -- On hold until other more pressing projects get done.
9.) Gifted Mittens -- DONE
10.) "Screaming Stash"
My Yarn Inventory is at: 77

BY the looks of it my SP spoilee and I are going to get along. I just read her questionairre and we have quite a bit in common. I can start shopping for her. Wohoo.

Knit Picks Customer Service Rocks

I was given the Options set for christmas last year. Last weekend I was using my 10.5 tips and one of them started peeling. I called them on Monday or Tuesday asking them it I sent them the faulty tip would they send me a new one. Knit Picks did one better. THey looked up the name it was ordered under which they were patient for. They had to look up 4 different names dince I didn't know which family member ordered them. THey then found me in their computer and are sending me a new set of 10.5 tips for free. To my addres at that, not to the address that the set was sent to. I don't have to send them the faulty one. They told me to go ahead and throw the set I have away. I've only ordered from Knit Picks before and have been happy, but this just made my day

Stashalong Update

1.) An Irish Aran Sweater (using Patons Classic Merino) -- On hold until other more pressing projects get done.

2.) Knitty's Chaos -- Met an untimley death at the claws of my loving cat Cliona. I was 1/3 the way up the back. The back and yarnball was mangled, tangled, and all one big mess that was beyond saving. I needed to finish it really soon too. The baby I was making it for is due on 4/15. I'll now have to find a new project to replace it.

3.) A scarf and hat set for a raffle on March 1 (yarns unknown) -- DONE also raffle went well and this was one of the first items to go.

4.) A scarf for same raffle on March 1 (using 1 partially used ball wool yarn and 1 partially used skien red heart) -- DONE see number 3.

5.) A cotton hooded bath blanket for the baby to be (using lilly sugar and cream) -- Going along smoothly with no problems. I'm out of the black hole of knitting and finally on the decreases. I will NOT be making a second though. It's too boring. Also the intial recipient has been born and by the time I finish the first one and it gets to her she'll most likely be too long for it.

6.) The Second hooded bath blanket project is now going to be a Shawl for my Mom -- Yarn: Homespun. Already casted on and 1 of 10 pattern repeats done.

7.) Afghan for Dad (Yarn not picked yet) -- Not started

8.) Irish Hiking Scarf -- On hold until other more pressing projects get done.

9.) Gifted Mittens -- The first one is done, the second is on hold till I find the missing needle.

10.) "Screaming Stash"

Updated Yarn inventory Green indicated used yarn. Red indicates yarn than calls for strike 1.

I had made a few things to be raffled off yestarday. The fair that they were being raffled off at went off very well. It was a first time finction and 54 people attended in 3 hours. Sonce we didn't have enough people at any one time to do the whole raffle we decided to do it in 2 parts. The knitted items were among the first 5 things to go.