My new swift

I really, really, really, really, really wanted a swift. However, I didn't want to pay upwards of $70 for one. I'll admit, I'm cheap. I started looking online for cheaper ones and saw several different designs. Looking at some I thought they were garbage, looking at others, I thought, "Hmmm, I'll bet Dad & I could make one cheaper." Needless to say, he agreed so we did. I give you my collapsable swift.Dad is a bit of a builder type and had tons of extra wood. The base is pine, the cross arms are oak, and the pegs are cherry. The cross arms are each roughly 31" long. We drilled holes for the pegs 2", 6", & 10" from each end. This will allow for flexibility based on the amount of yarn I'm using. Very pretty in person. I'm debating adding finish or leaving it as-is. The arms spin around the center post. Nice and smooth I might add...
Dad thought I should make it so I can take it apart. I can see where he's coming from, however, with the way I work, that means I'm guaranteed to lose several pieces before I ever use it. Notice the small sewing ruler in the upper left of the pic. I added that so you could see how large it actually is.

Latest knitted projects

I made these gloves for myself from the book "One Skein". I recently purchased the book because I have oodles of leftover yarn from other projects. I wanted a way to use it without feeling like I had to purchase more. I highly recommend buying the book, I LOVE it!
This was made for my friend's daughter, Cameron. She is a wonderful six year old. I saw this pattern in "Stitch'NBitch" and it had her name all over it. I'm hoping I remembered the color right. If she doesn't like it, I'll wear it. Meow!

Carv'in Pumpkins

Scooping the guts out of the pumpkin. He was very excited about this step. I must be honest, he did an excellent job! Hubby was very impressed with his skills. I think we have a future surgeon in our family. :)

I am second guessing the surgeon bit...Looking at this, I think maybe he'll be a mechanic. You know, head under the hood, etc. He tells me he was, "checking for seeds". What a cutie! When DC saw this, he laughed out loud. He had no idea his WHOLE face and part of his head was actually inside the pumpkin.

Final products. Notice the goofy looking one on the left. NC drew the face on the pumpkin BY HIMSELF! That's right. I carved it just as he drew it. What an artist.

Boo at the Zoo

Here we are at "Boo at the Zoo". It's a way for kids to trick-or-treat in a safe environment. We went a couple of days before Halloween. NC was a blue dinosaur. I'm the one in green.

DPN case

At my husband's request, I started packing my knitting things (books, yarn, needles, yarn, bags, yarn) for the journey home. I decided in the middle of packing I really needed to get my "stuff" together and organize my DPNs. Hence the case. When my mom was visiting in May, she helped me figure out (along with my little sis's online pattern) how to construct one. Again, this is a project that took months of planning and minutes of actual construction. End result, utter glee and happiness on my part.

closed

flap closed

flap open

happy needles saying, "hi"

Samus finished...finally!

My first zipper

My first cable project (I can spot the error, can you?)

The entire sweater FINISHED!

This was quite the project. I found it on knitty. It's one of my favorite websites. I started it right before my mom, sister, niece, and nephew came for a visit in April. May was when I set it down due to the endless amount of straight stitches it calls for once the cabling is done. I decided to give it another go once school got out challenging myself to finish before moving back to NE. Needless to say, I got done. I used a washable wool and wound up having TONS of leftover. Enough to make a hat or mittens. Who knows. This pattern is wonderful if you want to adapt your own cable pattern, etc. Believe it or not, I actually made this for MYSELF. I am in shock as well.

Glen Echo

In the theatre after the show

With the ringmaster and one of the marionettes after the show. This one had a light up nose (marionette, not the ringmaster).

Riding a giraffe at Glen Echo...doesn't dad look like he's ready to throw himself under that horse he's riding?

Had to beg for the smile.
Do you think he's wondering at this point if it was worth skipping work for?

I'm king of the world! He's actually up pretty high, the picture isn't doing him justice.

NC figuring out the spiral ladder.

I talked hubby into taking a day off of work and going with NC and I to Glen Echo. It's a nice little park that used to be an amusement park. Many of the locals have been re-furbishing it. Very nice way to spend a day with a little one. We took in a marionette show, carousel ride, and jaunt on their playground. The little guy had a wonderful day.

Our 4th of July

NC's first carousel ride ever! He loved it.

Shortly after we noticed a storm approaching...

For a minute we thought it would miss us.
We were wrong.
So much thunder and TONS of rain!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th

Ode to my little sister

Ode to Mel

We saw this when we were at the mall in D.C. on the 4th and couldn't resist taking a picture. We thought of Mel when we saw it. Made me giggle.

Cooking Fool

making cookies

This is what it looks like when he wears his "cooking hat". Honestly, he wore it the entire time he helped. What a chef!

Finished Purse

This is the finished purse. I measured it for the curious folks out there...it's 10" x 10" (not including the handles). I absolutely love it. I shaved the fuzz off and I think the colors are "sharper". I hope my friend likes it. If not, I'll take it back and use it myself. It is taking much longer to dry than the other purses I made. I think it's because the purse is thin.

My little sister made fun of the name so if you have any ideas on a new name, let me know. It's the end of the school year and I must admit, I can't think of anything snappy right now.

Front of Purse
Back of Purse

On another note, I got a wonderful gift from a student's mom today (not even my student, just a fabulous family!). A bag full of raw wool. It has already been cleaned and combed. All I need to do is dye it and use it. I plan on making balls and turning it into another purse. I am thinking of using kool-aid to color the wool. Suggestions?

Leftover Yarn Purse

I have been making a TON of felted purses for co-workers of mine. Now I have a great deal of leftover yarn. You know the kind, not enough to make an entire project with but too much to get rid of. So I decided to make something for myself....actually, now I am giving it to a friend of mine who keeps buying me pretty hair clips. Any-hoo, I give you my first ORIGINAL design, "Leftover Yarn Purse".

Note the pretty handles
Back side

Not to worry, it will be much prettier when I shave it and it's dry. I really wanted to post so I could call my sister and she could see it. I will be making another, I really really like it.

Finished Poppy

close up of collar
pre blocking...lays a bit wonky front back

Here is the finished poppy sweater that I was writing about. It knit up really fast. I wanted to use some yarn I have had in my stash for years. You know the gigantic balls of yarn you can get that are for baby blankets. This used up less than 1/3 of a ball. Soft, but I wouldn't buy the yarn specifically for this pattern. Beauty is, it is the same guage as the yarn the pattern calls for. I hope it fits the intended wearer.

Work in progress

I have made a decision. I am working on decreasing my stash. I know, everyone says that but I mean it (sort of). After a fevered online search, I recently purchased Debbie Bliss's Cotton Angora. I immediately fell in love with all of the patterns. One problem, I'm not the same size as the patterns (actually, no where near). Seeing this as a challenge, I came up with several solutions:

1. Lose a TON of weight so I can make myself something.
2. Use my "limited" math skills and re-adjust the sizing on her patterns to fit my curves.
3. Knit things for my friends.

I decided on option three. I have carted around a rather large ball of baby blue yarn for YEARS and decided I could use the space for higher quality, more deserving, yarn stash yarn.

This takes me to problem two. I have many friends who have lots of children. I fell in love with the Poppy pattern and decided it was easy enough, small enough, and that large blue ball of yarn was perfect for it. This is where the problem comes into play. Almost ALL of my friends have boys. Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with boys (I have one of my own) it's just they don't enjoy wearing girl clothes.

After evenings of leafing through my newest book purchase, I decided I needed to create option #4: Knit things for my one friend who has a girl, but re-size the pattern to fit her.

I truly believe I have bitten off more than I can chew but I'll leave you with this though...It probably won't fit her anyway!

I promise pictures when I'm done, I just don't feel like breaking out the camera and spreading all of the pieces out on the floor. Sorry, I reserve the right to keep you in suspense.

Here is a bag my mom made when she was out for a visit. It's from Felted Knits, by Bev Galeskas. One of my first knitting book purchases. I highly recommend it!

I made one in purple but I can't post it until a certain someone has a certain birthday as it will be a gift for her. I am going to eventually make a purse for myself, but I am creating it from scratch vs. using a pre-existing pattern. Who knows, maybe it'll get published somewhere. I'll keep dreaming. I will definitely be e-mailing my lil-sis for her opinion on it.

Must say, good job Mommy! If it comes up missing when my family and I are staying with you, just remember...I didn't do it.

Another bag...

I have just finished making this bag for a friend of mine at work. I know, I know, it looks a bit lopsided. It's not, I just threw it on the doorknob knowing the rest of the apartment was a mess. My bad, I guess my attention to detail is exempt in the area if picture taking. Whoops!

Knew knit wear

I have just finished bobblicious and I LOVE it! I decided to make it for a friend of mine who is always cold. As Murphy's Law is in effect in my house, as soon as I cast-on, the weather out here became very hot. Go figure. I hope my friend enjoys wearing it as much as I did making it. I can honestly say I am now a pro at making bobbles.

I admit, I've been a bit "possessed" when it comes to knitting lately. I know, I know, the first step is admitting I have a problem. It's gotten so bad, my non-knitting friends are buying me yarn to make things for them. I am excited about the left over mini-stash I have created. The hubby isn't (the yarn is piled in the corner of our bedroom).

Take a look at what I've been up to...

Baby Hat
Cell phone case
Purse

Easter Fun

Ok....everyone excited about decorating eggs look crazy!!!

Makes me glad the eggs are hard boiled.

Egg with a picture of Grandma on it.

NC and Grandma decorating eggs.

BRIGHT sock

I am trying my hand (or should I say foot?) at knitting socks. I bought some sock yarn several years ago but wasn't too keen on the color. Above is what I came up with. I haven't decided if I am ready to knit the second yet. I don't think I like it enough.

In the meantime, I bought another couples of balls of sock yarn (same time I bought the felt for for the purse) and am working on a real pair...yes, I mean two! I actually like the color/striping on this one. I won't post until it's done. My own personal motivational tool. :)

Felted Purse

Here is what I call the "fabulous felted purse". I love it! Made quite the hairball in the washing machine (the bag opened while agitating...whoops). I love it. Had some trouble finding a zipper. Apparently, I shrank it a tad too much. I wanted a 7" or 8" zipper and wound up getting it cut to 6". My bad. It turned out really great I think. Sorry about the messy kitchen, you can tell where my priorities are I guess.