Knitting, sewing, cross stitching, my life in general.





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Argh. My stupid image hosting site is doing file maintenance. Hence the lack of photos. Anyhoo...I started some Opal lollipop socks for me. The self-patterning yarns still manage to mesmerize me and keep me from getting bored. Well, on the first sock anyway. heh. I haven't really worked on anything else and I think I will probably do some cross stitch and some sewing this weekend. I have a long overdue cross stitch round robin to get in the mail and I'm planning to sew a top for my work holiday party. I bought some pretty burgundy-ish satin, which will probably be a real pain to sew with, but should make a cute dressy top.
posted by Stephanie at 8:40 AM

 

posted by Stephanie at 4:16 PM

 
Oops. I was going to take some FO pics today, but I was too busy watching football. THE PACKERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!!

Anyway, I'm still working on koigu sock #2 and last night I started the Lion Brand Imagine vest. It's funny how I like wearing acrylic sweaters but I don't like knitting with acrylic yarn. Oh well, my mom loves anything that she can throw in the washer and dryer a million times.
posted by Stephanie at 6:56 PM

 
I forgot to mention the knit-gifts I received for Christmas. Most importantly, I got my ballwinder from DH. In addition, my mom put some little things in my stocking like stitch markers, bobbins, and yarn needles. My mom also got me a JoAnns gift card so of course I had to go there today. They're having a great sale right now (I might actually go back tomorrow for some fabric). Today I bought 3 patterns ($.99 each), some Lion Brand Imagine to make a vest for my mom and some Lion Brand Pound of Love for a baby blanket.

I finished the garter stitch scarf. It's warm and long (which of course I don't need in SoCal...but it's cute). I should finish those koigu socks but right now I'm thinking about starting something new. Like usual.
posted by Stephanie at 8:23 PM

 
Well, my mom and sister are on their way home. We had a great time. I forgot to take a picture of my sister's cabled beanie, but as you can see here she did like the socks I gave her for Christmas.

I finished the second baby sock so that little set is all ready to go. I started koigu sock #2 and I'm on the foot (boring). I also started a mindless garter stitch scarf using some leftover LB Homespun held together with some Bernat boucle stuff that was left over from my "top secret" sweater. I received some xmas money and I'm still thinking about what I want to spend it on. Ideas?
posted by Stephanie at 3:03 PM

 
All is well with the family and the celebrating and the shopping and the eating!

Knitting. I finished my sister's hat and she loves it. I will have to snap a picture of her wearing it. I made one green baby sock and one green baby hat with white trim and a white pom-pom. These are for the same baby who got the Italian flag baby sweater. I just have to finish the second sock. I finished purple koigu sock #1. My sister has knit 2 beer cozies and one chunky hat. Now my mom is saying that we are getting her in the mood to knit. Hee!
posted by Stephanie at 10:14 AM

 
Yay--my mom and sister are here! We are having a great time so far. My sister has already put me to work baking bread and knitting her a hat. hee. I showed her the wool beanie I knit for my BIL and of course she said I should make her one. And of course I immediately started rummaging through my stash and asking her what color she wants. You know, cuz she doesn't already have several knit hats and I certainly don't have anything else to knit at the moment. Ha. She wanted and ivory beanie with little cables, so I started last night with some Emu Superwash dk from elann.
posted by Stephanie at 9:05 AM

 
Whew. It's only Thursday morning and it's been a long week. I've been working full days and then coming home and cleaning (yes, our place was a real mess to start with). The good news is that today is my last day of work for a while and my mom and sister arrive tonight!

Not much knitting news. I found out that our work Christmas party is "black tie optional" and realized that I have nothing to wear. I looked through my old magazines yesterday and thought about maybe knitting a dressy tank sweater or something (I have until Jan 11). But, maybe I will just sew something instead or wear something I already have and lots of fake diamond jewelry. I just realized that I didn't knit a single stitch yesterday. Poo!
posted by Stephanie at 8:38 AM

 
If you want to get some cute knitting/holiday stuff from cafepress, you can still do so in time for Christmas! Today is the last day for standard shipping so hop to it!

Me, I'm busy working and thinking about my mom and sister's visit. I'm working some extra hours this week so I won't have to work much (next week) while they are here. The problem is, that makes for less time to clean, go to the grocery store, and plan menus. It will be interesting to decide what to eat since we all have different dietary requirements. In a nutshell: no sugar, no white flour, no meat, no dairy (except cheese), no mushrooms, no beans. I think that about covers it. Oh, and nothing terribly spicy. If you have some great recipes that fit this criteria, please email me (see left). heh.
posted by Stephanie at 5:00 PM

 
Yes, I ordered some yarn yesterday. No, I did not go off my yarn diet. I received some early Christmas money and I had a little fun at elann. I ordered enough Peruvian highland wool for a sweater and enough Baby cashmere for a pair of socks. Wheee! I think any other Christmas money I receive will have to go into my Stitches West fund.

Last night I knit on my koigu sock and watched It's a Wonderful Life. I'm sorry, but I love that movie. I even cried at the end (yeah, as if I didn't know what was going to happen). heh.
posted by Stephanie at 7:54 AM

 
The beanie is done and so is my Christmas knitting! I did start a pair of koigu socks for my mom yesterday, but that's a no-pressure project. She already has plenty of gifts under the tree, but if I happen to finish these while she's here I'll stick them in her xmas stocking.

Last night was my boss's holiday party and of course he had to mention that baby Lorenzo would sure love a knit blanket. Right. Well, maybe after the holidays and after I finish the felted diaper bag.
posted by Stephanie at 2:50 PM

 
I went to SnB last night and had a good time with Heather & Suzanne. And, how could I forget that Starbucks has my favorite seasonal drink--the gingerbread latte? (I had decaf & soy)

I am cruising along on the beanie...I tried it on DH last night while it was still on the needles and decided that it's ready for decreasing. I expect to finish it today and then I will be totally done with Christmas knitting. Oh yeah, I also have to do laundry today and give the dog a bath. feh.
posted by Stephanie at 8:40 AM

 
I think I have a cold. I have so many allergies that it's hard to tell, but that would explain why I've been unusually tired the past few days. And my nose is stuffier than normal, so right now I'm drinking some Winter Aid tea. It has ginger and other stuff good for the respiratory system.

I've decided that I really don't want to finish the aran pillow, which was the only Christmas present I had left to knit. So I decided that BIL's gf will get this scarf, and I am knitting a beanie for BIL using Fortissima sock yarn. I feel much better now.

I'm done with work for the week and don't go back until Monday morning. Woohoo! Tonight I'm going to the SnB at Starbucks and tomorrow night is my boss's Christmas party. Saturday morning I have a PCOS breakfast meeting to attend and Sunday is the big Packer/Charger game (DH is a Chargers fan. And the game is in San Diego, but we couldn't get tickets unless we wanted to pay double from a scalper. poo). In between all that I have a lot of cleaning to do. My mom and sister will be here in a week!
posted by Stephanie at 1:58 PM

 
Crabby. The felted bucket-o-chic will have to wait--until after the holidays probably. I tried starting it last night but decided that it's a bit too fiddly and I just don't have the patience for it right now. Then I went back to the mindless stockinette of my Sierra sweater, but had to stop because my right elbow is bothering me again. argh.

I want to stay home and knit all day, but I have to go to work. I probably couldn't knit anyway because of my elbow. I have tons of cleaning to do and we are having plumbing problems for the eight millionth time. It's not anything we're doing--it's the ancient pipes in this apartment building.

I think I need coffee this morning.
posted by Stephanie at 8:01 AM

 
Ok, I gave in and decided to join the bucket-along. I bought BonneMarie's pattern this summer, but never got around to making one. I'm thinking felted.....

Have you seen elann's 2 newest yarns? I think baby cashmerino and baby silk are both going on my Christmas list!
posted by Stephanie at 5:40 PM

 
I am freaking out because my mom and sister are arriving in only 10 days!!! Not because I don't like them, but because I have so much to do before then. Mainly--cleaning! Our apartment is so tiny that we just have stuff everywhere. And um, apparently I have a lot of yarn and fabric (who knew)? We did rent a small storage space and we hauled a bunch of stuff over there so that helps. There's still a lot more to do, though. I also ordered a feather bed to put over the futon. My sister will have to sleep on it and the matress is pretty lumpy and uncomfortable. This should help. So far we have the following things planned: Sea World, Del Mar fairgrounds holiday of lights, Sunday brunch harbor cruise. Then of course there will be lots of shopping and eating and drinking. Yay!

Yesterday I continued working on my Sierra sweater. It's boring, but I am enjoying it. Relaxing, I suppose.
posted by Stephanie at 9:56 AM

 
I finished my mom's slippers. They aren't the most beatiful things, but they are really comfy and warm. They should serve her well through the rest of the northern Wisconsin winter. I couldn't hold back any longer--I started a sweater for me with the Peruvian Sierra. The pattern is from an old Rowan mag, but it's really just a simple st st v-neck pullover. This yarn rules. I got out the aran pillow and knit a few rows, but I just didn't want to work on it. I guess because it's the last xmas present on my list and I really should get it done. I could never knit for a living--I would hate it.
posted by Stephanie at 3:47 PM

 
Oh my God. Look at what I got in the mail today. It was knit by the lovely and talented Karen, and she decided that she didn't like it. So she let me have it!! Is that great or what? I don't think I've had something that someone else knit since my Grandma made me legwarmers in the 3rd grade.

Last night we watched a great movie called The Whaleriders and I worked on the Lamb's Pride Bulky slippers that I started for my mom a while ago. I hope to finish this weekend and then I will decide if I want to just send them to her or wait and give them to her for Christmas. Might as well wait, no? The more presents, the better! (and she has wool socks to keep her tootsies warm until then)
posted by Stephanie at 11:34 AM

 
Pic day!
Here are the finished fortissima socks for DcousinIL. This is the first time I actually tried to match the patterning.



Here are the 2 bulky hats I knit for the hat-a-thon. The one on the left is 2 strands of acrylic held together using BonneMarie's pattern. The one on the right I made last night and it's Lion Brand Thick N Quick and I made up the pattern.



Finally, I decorated our little artificial tree yesterday



I have the day off today. Of course I should clean and go grocery shopping, but I think I will knit (suprise)! Well, I have the excuse that I need to finish Christmas gifts. Really just the aran pillow. I'm still working on Stornoway--I guess just to see how far I can get by Christmas. I am 11 1/2" into the body.

Oh, and here's an article about my boss (Dr. Pellecchia) that was in yesterday's paper.

posted by Stephanie at 10:59 AM

 
I am this close to finishing another Christmas present. I just have a few more rows to finish up the fortissima socks for my cousin-in-law. woohoo! Then all I have is the aran pillow for the BIL & gf (I'm not counting Stornoway anymore).

Shame on me--last night I was looking for patterns to make myself a sweater with that Peruvian Sierra that I got from elann. I found a basic v-neck pullover pattern in an old Rowan mag that looks perfect and fits my gauge (which was way different from the ball band, btw, but I've seen other people say the same thing so phew).
posted by Stephanie at 7:59 AM

 
Yesterday my coworker was still talking about the baby sweater. She even called her mom in Italy to tell her about it. Her mom wanted to see a pic so I gave her the link and she emailed it to her parents. Don't you just love it when someone really appreciates a knit gift?

I had yesterday afternoon off so I did some knitting on Stornoway. I'm a little bummed, though, because I don't think there's any way it will be finished for Christmas. I'm only 11 inches into the body and I don't start the gussets until 13 inches. sigh. Oh well, I guess it can be an anniversary gift or a Christmas gift next year. I already bought DH a back-up present for this year.

Um, I started another project as well. Someone on the knitlist was kind enough to send me some Harrisville wool in shades of brown, so I am making a felted diaper bag for my coworker (using the pattern in _Knitting for Baby_).
posted by Stephanie at 8:49 AM

 
Presenting the Italian flag baby sweater:



I presented it to the mom last night while my group was having beers at the Hilton (we were at the lounge of the Torrey Pines Hilton because it's right across the street from where I work and no, the mom wasn't having beer). She absolutely loved the sweater and no one could belive that I made it. My boss went on to tell me that he wears a size large sweater. Yeah, right.
posted by Stephanie at 7:06 AM

 
I finished the Italian flag baby sweater. Yay! Unfortunately, the batteries on our digital camera are dead so I can't post a pic. I'm not totally happy with it. I had to rip out the collar once cuz I messed up, and now it looks a little wonky. The sweater is white and then the collar is green because I ran out of white. It looks kind of crappy where I picked up the stitches for the collar; if I had just used white it wouldn't really be noticeable. Oh well. It's still cute and of course the intarsia flag is the most important part!
posted by Stephanie at 8:34 AM