Week #1 of 52 Week Challenge & Some Finished Objects

First Glove….From a Chart!

Oh how my hubby had no idea what he was doing when he picked out his favorite pattern out of my newly acquired book. 60 Quick Knits was a Christmas present this year from my dad, his adorable opinion on knitting is that it all should be quick! I am actually really enjoying it so far, just remember to check Ravelry for errata – I have found a lot of entires that were just a little off. So this is the Cabled-Cuff Mitten Pattern, knitted with Patons Worsted Wool. So where did I learn something new this week? I learned (try not to gasp) how to read a chart!

~ You Couldn’t Read a Chart Before this Past Week? ~

Well, no. I have no problem following a chart in the round, at least in the past few months – but a chart knitted flat – akin to bamboo shards under my fingernails. I hated the idea that one symbol having two meanings, I just couldn’t understand why on earth they couldn’t just make a “knit as written” chart.

When they hubby pointed to the mittens that he liked the best, I saw that flat chart and cringed. I’m not gonna lie, the first 7 rounds were….difficult. I pushed through and by the end of the first repeat I finally understood the purpose. I was getting the hang of it after the second repeat and by the third I was gladly going left to right, right to left and realizing that there was a ligament reason for making a chart this way. Final thoughts – YEA FOR FINALLY BEING ABLE TO READ A CHART!

~ How About Some Finished Objects! ~

Christmas, birthdays, New Year’s …. blah blah blah…. has slowed my FO list down quite a bit. However, I still feel like sharing.

Smushed Together.

Blocking.

Close Up.

Thick and Folded.

It may not be super interesting to look at, but this is a custom order for a new customer. Her sister-in-law went to school in Jamaica where her school colors where purple and gold. I took one of my stitch dictionaries and found a way to combine a standard rib with a zig-zag. I know that it would show better on smaller needles and s solid color, but it actually turned out really well. I added a slip-stitch border to keep the sides nice and clean and she was very pleased. *Dramatically wiping my brow!*

Stocking number….8?

10 Dishcloths.

OSU Ruffle Scarf.

SInce WordPress isn’t letting me preview the post – and I cannot remember which order I put these in – please just roll with me.

1. The three (rather boring/ rather repetitive) things I have been commissioned to do this week is  20 dishcloth – 10 Christmas Colors and 10 Pink (these are not done yet).
2. Another Christmas Stocking – which is actually quite nice, but you’ve already seen a gazillion pictures of them. Sorry friends and neighbors.
3. AND of course, a few ruffles. I have an order for 5 OSU Buckeye Ruffle Scarves – all done *insert deep sigh of relief*

Yea Cables and Bobbles!

This is yet another concoction of the genius that is 60 Quick Knits – with some big changes on my part. The pattern is the Bobbles & Cables Cap by Suvi Simola and is a decent pattern. I changed the 1. The cast-on 2. The bobbles (which I made bigger) 3. The cable progression was continued another round 4. and I slightly felted the hat when I was finished (no pic of that yet…because I suck).

I made the hat larger and longer to felt the pattern because it does wonderful things to bobbles and finicky cables. It tightens everything up and gives is a delicious fit. I made the cap with Ella Rae Classic Superwash in Kiwi and chucked in into the dryer. The result? Pretty amazing – slight felting give the hat a denser feel and makes the bobbles seem more natural and less like a hanging hemorrhoid 😉

I need a Post-Felt Picture….bad Rachel.

Okay friends and neighbors, that’s all for me today. I will be back with more on my sock stashing, thanks to Knitting Sarah and her #sockswithsarah year-long Sock KAL. I am working the instep on my fourth pair of socks – pretty epic! I need to finish those mittens (yea for reading charts!) and I’ve unearthed my Fiori Autunnali and my Jayashri Pullover. Until next time – remember, if the gimp can try it you can too! 🙂

Time to Start Fresh

Holy crap I almost blog-faded! I could make loads of excuses (and more than less likely will do just that :)) but as my dear Lottie from Lottie Knits would say “it’s time to get off my bum.” Oh! Also, it’s snowing – which greatly improves my mood!

Knitting Weather!

So, for anyone that is still reading this languishing blog, here is what has been going on the past few weeks to contribute to my blog-neglect (see? excuses already!)

– The Excuses –

• No Dragon Speak Software – My NaNoWriMo gal has been plugging along so well with her novel that I told her just to keep it till it goes on sale on Black Friday.
• My Mom retired – Yea! 
• I had an order for 43 ruffle scarves – this brings my year total to….wait for it….319.
• I have gotten a boat load of questions from hospital workers since it snowed, and now have a nice little influx of non-ruffle knitting.
• 4 baby showers.
• 2 weddings.
• My father-in-law has changed Alzheimer’s medication and is being treated for skin cancer 😦
• My LYS asked me not to come in because they were afraid my hand would scare off new knitters.

– The LYS Experience –

Before I retell this story, if you follow me on Instagram you’ve already heard it, feel free to skip ahead (there’s a picture!). Also, I am going to keep this as short as possible – mainly because dredging it up makes me über cranky.

So back around the time I last posted my LYS owner called me to tell me knitting was canceled. No big deal. The week after that I called the shop to see if we were meeting that night and had the oddest reaction from a gal I’ve known for years. She told me _______ would call me back. About 20 minutes later ________ called me back and asked me not to come to knitting that night; they were having a meet-and-greet for new potential knitters (in a younger crowd than our knitting group (even though I am 28)) and she didn’t want my hand to scare them off.

My reaction was to go get on Instagram and connect with knitters who, in my mind, would be able to be objective because they’ve never seen my hand.

 

I. Was. Heartbroken.

The support from knitter’s on Instagram was so overwhelmingly awesome that I should have just snapped out of it. So what? I don’t have an LYS anymore…..

Nope, not going to work.

Instead of feeling the love from the  99.9% of  knitter’s who are freaking amazing, I ran down the rabbit hole of knitting all the time to prove that I could do it. This is a fun mixture of stubbornness, OCD,  and my very own Panic Monster. I have been eating, sleeping and knitting….and not a whole lot else. I have kept all my social obligations and haven’t become a hermit yet but saying I got a little obsessive would be putting it….lightly.

– The Fresh Start –

So here I am friends and neighbors, ready to get back to what makes me happy. I love writing and I love reading your blogs. Both of these things have been severely neglected. So there will be some catching up to do (lots of catching up to do) so please be patient. I am slowly going to try to work the comments and questions that I’ve received – especially regarding patterns – but it may take a little longer than normal.

Also, I follow loads of you on Facebook – I haven’t “liked” or commented on your blogs because my Facebook account and my WordPress account aren’t linked – but I have been reading your work. Rob’s Surf Report and A Tangled Yarn are just two that I read every single time they post. The Knitterly Hook-er is one of my favs to follow on Instagram. If you want to follow me on either of these sites click → FACEBOOK LINK ← or → INSTAGRAM LINK ←. Both of these sites get updated daily because I can use one hand to upload and type.

– SPOILERS!! –

Stick with me and I promise I will try to give you something awesome to read or stare at – as awesome as I can make it! Here is a itty-bitty preview of what I’ve got up my sleeve:

Second Pair of Socks – I never photographed the finished pair.

My Hat…No Sharing.

This took three and a half hours to type friends and neighbors, every minute both cathartic and totally renewing. I can’t wait to catch up, happy Tuesday!

Breaking the Ruffle Scarf Diet

I broke my ruffle yarn diet after I hit 100. Yuppers friends and neighbors, this girl right here has made 100 ruffle scarves – and all but 7 are sold! There are still orders for 5 more and I am waiting to hear back from a few groups, but I have decided to put them aside for a bit. Here’s how it happened….

** The Break-Up **

I awoke to Trevor and Gloria unfurling ruffle scarf yarn for me on Saturday. I am not ashamed to admit that I teared up looking at the two of them pondering the inner-workings of the complicated yarn, as if it was an awesome mind puzzle. I can knit the scarf in less than an hour if I don’t have to pull apart the yarn so this saves me a ton of time! I decided right there and then that I was going to take a break, I was going to be able to knit them so much quicker that it was time to do what I was dying to do. I guess you could say the ruffles and I are on a break.

So I got up my needles and made three baby hats!

With a little flower.

Plain and simple

Yes, the baby hat is on a balloon.

Baby hat flat.

I have a love/hate with making baby things – I am choosing to look at the love part at the moment. The hats are adorable and they knit up so quickly. Working with circular needles, heaven! I was going through all my baby patterns trying to find my next thing to conquer when something changed…..

** The Email **

So this morning I received an email from Lolly over at Lolly Knits and (take a deep breath) it was the Katniss Catching Fire pattern! If you are new to this blog or didn’t read the post, I made a desperate call to anyone that could help me figure out how to make this for my niece. She did it and it is fabulous! I was so excited that I printed out the pattern, got in the car and bought everything I would need to make it.

I got home in a mad flurry, rushing around trying to plan how to make this as quickly as possible when I saw my loving hubby shooting me the stink-eye. When I asked what was wrong he said ” you have so many things started and you haven’t finished them”. I tried to explain that I was NOT a monogamous knitter and that I just had to make this Katniss Cowl right now! Trevor being the sage that he is proposed something then….

“Why not use the pattern as a way to motivate you to finish started projects?”

Well that adorable butt-head had a point, and I’ve started to run with it.

** So Much to Do. So Little Time (and Patients) **

So I sat down and looked at my UFOs, and tonight I finished my super thick, warm and comfy scarf.

So Colorful….

So Warm and Fluffy

I have quite a few other things on my list to do before I get to knit the cowl, but with the motivation instilled in me by Trevor I am hoping to plow through them. Imagine, an empty UFO basket! It won’t last but I am going to run with it!

** UFOs Begging to be Finished **

My First Sock! – Needs a Sole Mate

Magical Thinking Scarf

Super Soft Scarf

Roman Pillar Baby Blanket

The Fault in Our Stars

I think that is all of them (oh God PLEASE let that be all of them!!!!)

** For Your Viewing Pleasure **

Well friend and neighbors, you’ve made it through my rants and my newest goals. Coming soon to a computer near you will be a segments on: What I am Drooling Over on Ravelry and if I can manage it Interviews with Bloggers. Until then, here are some super adorable pictures!

Have a great Wednesday!

Flowers in the Park – Before the Foot Injury.

Look Who I Found Again!

Manly Duck…Just Relaxing.

The Heron.

Hello Babies!

Hello Squirrel!

Bird on Fence

I Love My Camera, Look at this Bug!

Sky at Sunrise

I Just Don’t Think I Can….

Knit another (censored) ruffle scarf!

I know I am complaining and whining for no good reason, I really am self-aware enough to know I sound like a brat. The scarves are getting my name out there, they are bringing in extra money that we desperately need and people really like them.

Honestly though, after I hit 50 I just started to stare at the yarn with wild contempt – like it had killed my dog wild contempt. The knitting I’ve gotten used to, can even do it fairly quickly now but it is the pulling apart of the ruffle yarn that kills me. It takes me about 40 minutes to unfurl 30 yards and is killing my hand. Knitting I am used to, pulling apart miles of lace I am not. Not to mention the tedium – I just want to purl!

I am whining again…I CAN’T HELP IT! My Mom has been selling these things like hotcakes and my husband is so happy for the extra fundage – there is no way I would dream of complaining to them. So sorry friends and neighbors, but I needed to vent.

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠

** On the Plus Side **

I gave away a few knits today – which felt wicked awesome! My Grandmother received my first lace shawl (Oh no! I didn’t take a picture!). My niece got her Link-like Hat and my Mom received a boatload of OSU Buckeye Flower Pins and a cowl I was making before the orders got too crazy (Oh no! I didn’t take a picture of it finished! I suck!). I (censored) LOVE giving presents!

My Baby Being Blocked.

For Gloria

Mom’s OSU Buckeye Pins

Mom’s Cowl

Another awesome thing I got to do today was mail out the Surprise Mystery Box for whatimuptotoday – winner of the 100th post giveaway! Oh – I cannot wait to see what she thinks of the goodies!!!

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠

** Moving Forward **

So I’ve had a few ideas of what to do with my blogging time (which I am really, really missing right about now) with no new knitting to blog about. So again, I am asking for comments, questions, considerations and suggestions. To start basic though, here are a few brainwaves I’ve had so far:

Also: Seriously thinking of starting this Knit Along the second or third week in September – any thoughts?

Jayashri Pullover Pattern on Knit Picks  (Finished Bust Measurements 34″-62″)

I AM REALLY

Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks

MAKE THIS!!

Sorry for Going AWOL!

 * * Quick Reminder * * 

You have until Wednesday the 21st (my hubby’s birthday ;)) till 11:59am to enter the GIVEAWAY! Click →HERE← to enter!

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 * * I Have Been Negligent! * *

Oh friends and neighbors, I am so sorry for dropping a giveaway in your laps and then disappearing for days – this is the first time I have ever done that. You know, if there wasn’t a natural disaster occurring that is 🙂

I would love to give you a really good excuse like 1) I worked 60 hours last week or 2) I have almost 40 orders for ruffle scarves or 3) I was at the Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair and lost in a great euphoria of fiber and yarn or 4) I was crazy busy getting ready to get Trevor ready for work, which starts tomorrow.

But honestly it was a bit of laziness. I should have been able to keep up with reading all your wonderful posts and promoting the giveaway every day but I was just so burnt out that I felt kind of foggy all the time. I like to put a piece of myself in my posts, and all my pieces were just a little too tired to do it justice. For that I feel a bit guilty – okay, a lot guilty. Hopefully this week will slow down enough that I can give all of you the attention your blogs deserve and make a post that won’t bore you to tears.

It’ll be a busy week! The giveaway ends Wednesday at 11:59 and Thursday a post announcing the winner and listing all the wonderful shops and small business will be listed for your viewing pleasure. I am so excited to see how it turns out and who I am going to get to make a care package for! After that it on to more ruffle scarves!

Cannot wait to catch up with every single last one of you, I’ve missed you through my haze of ruffles! 🙂

Just When I Thought I Was Out….They Pull Me Back In!!!!

First off, I want to thank everyone that has responded so kindly to my 100th post – you guys are just too cool for school! 😉 Don’t forget you have until Wednesday the 21st of August to enter the GIVEAWAY! Click →HERE← to return to that post and share your love of small businesses.

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I am going to have to be a lean, mean, knitting machine because guess what friends and neighbors – I got my first order today! I was so overjoyed to see that there were over 15 orders in my inbox that it didn’t occur to me what they could all possibly want. Should I let the Dramatic Chipmunk prepare you for my revelation?

RUFFLE SCARVES!……28 MORE RUFFLE SCARVES!!!!

I hope you all won’t get tired of me, blogging about my struggle with the great ruffle yarn. I have to say that it is great to be bringing money home from my knitting, giving Trevor a little extra cash could never be a bad thing.

So onward I go, putting aside the adorable baby hat and jumper to get down and dirty with some ruffle scarves. Keep in touch, please try not to get too bored with me and remember – while I am working with the ruffle yarn I am dreaming of all the amazing things I am going to do when I am done!

A Quickie – I Believe I was Buried Under Ruffle Yarn

I have been working doubles for the past few days, thus no posts. Add to that the pressure of 1) trying to figure out how to organize a Knit Along 2) work being so busy I cannot even read my blogs and of course 3) F&*King Ruffles…

These are just the NON-dupliaceted ones.

These are just a few – a few – of the ruffle scarves I have finished. Basically what you are looking at is all the different yarn colors, if I had taken pictures of all the ruffle scarves in my house right now I never would have gotten around to actually writing this post. I’ve missed blogging, I’ve missed reading your blogs. I miss living in a less ruffly world 😉

These are just the NON-dupliaceted ones.

These are just the NON-dupliaceted ones.

** WHAT I’VE BEEN READING**

Since I didn’t have time to check my book reviews with Rob over at Rob’s Surf Report (my new best friend for helping me figure out how to write a decent book review) I am just gonna show you what I’ve been reading this past week or so.

5 out of 5 Stars.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

4 out of 5 Stars.

5 out of 5 Stars.

A special thanks to Hannah Rose over at A World Created for suggesting Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. This books was a rarity, something as hard to find as good Mexican street food in Ohio. It was incredible, anyone interested in period pieces, not shy of a little gruesomeness and a truly unique experience go check it out.

**  WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO**

XX – XX

The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

Cary Brothers – What You Are

This is my favorite Bon Iver song – Skinny Love

** MY PLANS FOR THE WEEK **

• Get my Ravelry Page updated – it is so far behind.
• Get all the Stitch Patterns put in the upper header.
• Make a bazillion more ruffle scarves.
• Organize this Knit Along -or at least get a good idea of it.
• Write my 100th post!! 🙂
• Figure out what to write for my 100th blog post 😦
• Knit squares for the Get Well Soon Blanket (more on this is the person I am knitting for will let me discuss it).
• Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair in Saturday!
• Sleep.

** THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND **

I have no idea where the next 100 posts will go, what direction content wise. All I know is that, just in case I forget to mention this in my 100th post, without you bloggers I wouldn’t be becoming the knitter I always wanted to be. So, thank you.

Oh yea! This is the cartoon my husband gave me this weekend assuring me this is how he felt. Well friends and neighbors, even though it was a joke you have to wonder!

Poor Trevor is Living in a House of Ruffles!

The Great Ruffle Scarf Conundrum

If you remember from last Friday, I had decided to cast of (haha) the idea of making ruffle scarfs in an attempt to make money just for the sake of making it. I thought filling my Etsy store wall to wall with ruffle scarves might bring me a profit – but I was missing “real” knitting. So after a very rejuvenating weekend of knitting whatever I wanted – including another ruffle scarf for my grandmother, go figure – I was feeling like myself again.

Till Monday came around….

Monday morning I received a very excited phone call from my grandmother, she loved the scarf. Fantastic! I love giving presents that someone is going to use and love. Good times. She quickly handed the phone to my Mom, who was there visiting, and my Mom asked how much I would charge per scarf if she bought the yarn. I named a fair price and figured I was in for making two or three more scarves.

Holy crap Batman….I was wrong.

28 Skeins of Ruffle Yarn.

There are 28 (TWENTY-EIGHT) skeins of ruffle yarn in the bin that showed up this morning, along with my very enthusiastic mother. I am going to take this as a good thing – if I don’t I will be contemplating how to stab the yarn to death with my knitting needles. So here is a rundown of what I’ve learned about ruffle yarn so far.

• Patons Pirouette – This is my favorite. It is the easiest to work with and knits up the fastest. I also like the different types of layering (sequins, metallic floss, even roving yarn) that creates a great deal of depth.
• Premier Yarns Starbella – This is my second pick for ruffle yarn. It takes a bit longer with a little less effect and the yarn twists a great deal. I think I spend more time untwisting than I do knitting.
• Red Heart Boutique Sashay – Is my new least favorite yarn to work with in the world. It has a weird, super synthetic silky feel – but not in a good way. The yarn wants to splinter so badly that you really have to take your time. It twists far worse than the Starbella and the scarf, following the instructions, is too long. Frankly – it is like knitting with fish net stalkings that had a long night on a very busy hooker. I hope I have made my point.

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With that said I would never turn down the opportunity to bring some money into the house, even a little goes a long way with two people who know how to budget. So I am on a ruffle pilgrimage and so far have made four scarves in two and a half days. Wanna see some photos?

** Patons Pirouette **

28 Skeins of Ruffle Yarn.

** Premier Yarns Starbella **

OSU Ruffle Scarf.

** The Evil Red Heart Boutique Sashay **

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So there you have it, four down and twenty-four more to go. I have a horrible feeling that there will be more ruffle yarn in my future but for now I am going to take it in stride. I am timing myself so that I don’t work with this yarn for more than 75 minutes a day, this seems like a good amount of time and I can still work on my other knitting and spinning endeavors.

So, friends and neighbors, what gets you through a project that makes you want to pull your hair out?

 

What a Wonderful Weekend ♥

This weekend I turned off my computer – turned off any access to the internet at all and embraced a simpler life. I gardened, I went for long walks, I read and most importantly I rediscovered my love for knitting. It sounds strange that just three days could change my perspective – I guess I owe that in large part to all of you. My own version of the constant readers. 😉

I owe all of you a great deal of thanks. Praise and admiration for all of you that helped me clear my head and rid me of my Panic Monster. All of your comments, your feedback and you kind words reminded me that if you love something, well, that’s all that matters. I could write thousands of words in this post, but I think I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Thank you so much for reminding me that I truly love my craftiness.

♥♥ The Shawl ♥♥

My Baby Being Blocked.

It’s had a bath, it’s being blocked and I am just head over heels in love with it!

My Baby Being Blocked.

♥♥ The Cowl. The Cape. The Shrug. All in One ♥♥

The Stash Busting Beauty.

I have been sitting on this pattern for months, the beautiful little stash buster that it is. So my aunt Kathy’s Christmas Present is all done!

The Stash Busting Beauty.

♥♥ Hexipuffs for My Beekeeper’s Quilt ♥♥

Hexipuffs.

I haven’t made a single hexipuff for weeks! I’ve been so busy worrying about selling that I forgot how much I love this quilt. Even though Max ate part of the brown one (no great loss, it was super cheap sock yarn) the Yarny Cakes yarn – the gorgeous purple color way – was a freaking delight to work with! Here is Yarny Cakes BLOG, the FACEBOOK PAGE and of course the ETSY STORE.

♥♥ The Stitch Pattern That Became a Scarf ♥♥

Horizontal Weaving -or- Waves Scarf.

Another wonderful stash buster! The scarf knit up in a few hours and I was pleasantly thrilled with how it turned out, front and back. Just wish I had taken better pictures, after I blocked it but before it got mailed to a friend. 😉

Dressmaker Dummy Overload

Front of the Stitch

The Front and the Back

 

♥♥ The Ruffle Scarf for my Mimi ♥♥

Yup. Another Ruffle Scarf.

I know I was going to swear these things off but when your grandmother (my Mimi) tells you she loves it and would you pretty please make one – you do. You know what’s funny? I really liked making this scarf….perspective is everything.

Yup. Another Ruffle Scarf.

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So for a weekend I put the outside world out of my mind and knitted. Knitted so much in fact I cannot believe my needles aren’t smoking! Now it is time to go back to the real world, but that doesn’t seem so daunting now. It has its perks – now I can catch up on all my favorite blogs! So I wonder friends and neighbors, do you have a favorite pattern?

I’ve missed you, I thank you. You are all overwhelmingly amazing!

 

Last Night I Dreamt of Ruffled Scarves Again…

So with – nope not gonna tell you how many of these things I have made – ruffle scarves under my belt I can finally say that all the ruffle yarn has been stash busted! Of course, I think there is actually more hiding in the bowels of my stash somewhere, a gift from someone who didn’t know what a pain it is to work with. The scarves are fun, frilly, ruffley goodness though.

Friends and neighbors, let’s go look at some pictures courtesy of Flickr, Instagram, Phototoaster , Photoshop and of course my trusty Canon!!

** Monotone Ruffles **

This is, of course, the ruffle that started it all. A gift from a friend that turned into something that reminds me of The Great Gatsby a bit. I do love how this stupid  scarf looks.

It is so airy and flow-y, feminine and girly, delicate and gentle. Basically, it is a bad ass scarf.

If it sells, I will gladly make as many of these as needed – but I just doesn’t feel the same way I do when I am knitting. Time will tell!

** OSU Buckeye Ruffle Scarf – Shades of Gray, Red, Black and White **

After the first ruffle scarf in monotone colors were made, I received a lot of questions from fellow Buckeyes about whether or not this could be done in our football teams colors. We bleed scarlet and gray here in the Buckeye State and everyone want to wear the colors with pride – at home, tailgating or at the game. It’s like a state law.

So after visiting a few more yarn shops I found this beauty waiting to come home with me. I can’t say I was super excited about working with this yarn again (it doesn’t really feel like knitting – more like unraveling a ball an errant yarn) but the idea is to bring people into the shop right?

After a few curse words mumbled under my breath I gathered some momentum and pumped out a few of these bad boys. Football season is not all that far away – gnarled fingers crossed!

OSU Ruffle Scarf.

I’ve Been Real Busy – Promise!

When I think that I haven’t even gotten to read so many of your blog posts the last few days I have to sit and think…why? Well, my needles are steaming so I guess that means I have been keeping pretty busy!

Also, just before we get to picture-y goodness, I have also:

• Redone my About Page for the Blog.
• Am getting all the Stitch Patterns into their own drop-down menu on the blog – hopefully I will finish that tonight.
• Major amounts of photo editing.
• Updating my Etsy Store with things that most likely won’t sell – I still have hope.

Okay friends and neighbors, now to the pictures!!!

** THE LINK HAT – LONG STRIPED STOCKING HAT **

THE LINK LIKE HAT!

So I have made two of these in the past week, one for Sheri whose package never arrive on our swap (UPDATE: I just got an email that her package has finally arrived in Germany!! It only took one and a half months – God Bless the United States Postal Service). So now both hats need to be put up on the store.

Full Frontal Heavy Goodness.

For Gloria

The Back

So Heavy I Had to Hold It.

Covering the Face in Shame.

Right Side

** BOBBLES AND LACE AND SLOUCHY HAT GOODNESS **

 

So after starting down the road of super adventurous (and time-consuming) knitting, I needed a quick fix. This hat knit up very quickly and has all sorts of yummy bobbles, lace, ribbing, dimension and super fun stuff. I highly recommend it!

Top of the Hat

Face Left

Face Left – Up Close

Flat

Face Right

Another Face Left

** SWEET AS HONEY RIBBED HAT **

I forgot that I had started making another one of these after the first one – because I gave the first one to a friend. This may be the biggest hurdle in running a business for me, I love giving things away! So when I saw it all lonely at the bottom of my knitting bag I went ahead and finished it.

Face Left

Face Right Up Close

Full Frontal

Profile

Back of Hat

Nice and Flat

** THE RUFFLE SCARF FROM HELL – WELL… TWO RUFFLE SCARVES FROM HELL **

Okay, this baby was born from the very sweet gift from a friend. It is Patons Pirouette Yarn and it is pretty when it is finished. Working with it though made me want to punch a wall and pull out my hair. Oh well, the two skeins are gone and I have two scarves to show for it.

I Hate You Ruffle Scarf Yarn….Even Though You Are Beautiful

** MY NEW ADVENTURE IN LACE KNITTING!! **

This has been the project taking up the majority of my time here lately, my very first attempt into lace knitting! I am so excited….like a kid at Christmas. The lace yarn (Patons again) was found at the bottom of my yarn stash so I just dug in. Size 3US circular needles and a nice, simple pattern for a beginner. I cannot wait to finish my precious!

Humble Beginnings

At About 120 Stitches

It Keeps Growing!

Close Up of the Lace. LACE

 

Alrighty, that about catches me up I think. I need to go work on my store, organize the pages for the Stitch Patterns a week, need to do the stitch patterns for this week and last week, work on my lace….

Sorry, I got distracted there.

Okay, plan B. I am going to knit then I am going to catch up with all my delicious blogging friends. I’ve missed you and cannot wait to see what you’ve been up to!