A bearded Iris really. These grow in my teeny patch of land in front of my condo.
My neighbour Betty has yellow ones.
All of these pics are linked from flickr, so if you want to see them even bigger (you know you wanna on that first one anyway) go ahead. That first one is my desktop background. It's mesmerizing. I'dnit?
A local Sewing shop - The Sewing Bird - is closing up shop soon. Everything, and I mean everything, in their store was 25% off. What's a girl to do but whip out the credit card and go hog wild?
I got 10 Balls of Linie 11 Alpha
5 Balls Karabella Aurora 8
10 hanks Berroco Cotton Twist
10 Skeins Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
This is the Alpine Lilac
And what they call "Nymph"
3 balls Plymouth Royal Bamboo
Some sock yarn of course. And I finally found solids!
That's Opal Gems in the hank on the left, and the rest is Fortissima Socka.
I nearly fell over when I stopped by and saw "Store Closing Soon! 25% off Storewide Sale". I had to sit down inside as I looked at all the possibilities before me. I know I'll be back. They're most likely closing down completely in July, but have the ability to hang around until Dec. 31st if need be. But I know everything I get from here on is at least 25% off. I saved $84 this trip! Oy, the credit card is smoking.
Also, I've been saying "Oy" a lot lately. It might be spelled "Oi" but at the very least, I wonder what's with the Jewish undertones in my speech lately?
Also also, I got home from the S.E.X and checked the mail - after going to the tennis courts to take those photos, I went inside and while I downloaded the pics, opened it up. Look what Bezzie sent me!
I think the mailman stepped on the package or something. That is strangely marked up. But look! White Chocolate M&Ms! I'm in heaven. They are so, so, so GOOD! I hope they aren't a limited time only for Pirates of the Carribean thing. I haven't been able to find them around here, but I'm going to keep and eye open and stock up! Thank you so much Bezzie!
I love taking photos of flowers. If you look to the left, you'll see I've added yet another flickr badge to the page. I upgraded to a pro-account on Flash Your Stash day since I had taken up all my download capacity for the month in only one day. I had uploaded a couple flower photos and gotten some feedback! I was hooked. My best friend even complimented me on my photo-taking abilities - and she's a semi-professional photographer! Hence the addition of more yarn pr0n lately too. That'll be a regular site on ye olde bloggy thing. So stay tuned. And I'll be updating the flash your stash badge with better pics of my stash over time as well, so keep an eye on the badge to your right.
And I'll bet you can guess what "I" will be if you look closely. That'll be posted tomorrow.
And the specs:
Beautimous huh?
And then some Arucania Nature Wool I scored at A.C. Moore on Sunday with Stephy.
And some Magic Stripes in Regatta Blue I found as well:
I tell ya, sock yarn shouldn't be as hard to find in these chain stores as it is. I feel bad for the folks that live in small towns where their only source of yarn is Joanne, Michaels, and places like A.C. Moore and Ben Franklin Crafts.
Yesterday I received the yarn I ordered from cmtigger's etsy shop Cavy Shops. It's a cool rainbow colored sock yarn. Smells a wee bit funny, probably from the hand painting - I think it's the vinegar I smell.
And that's it for yarn pr0n Friday. I may just try to make this a regular thing. I love taking pics of my yarn, and y'all seem to like it. So why not?
Oh, I also found some awesome bamboo handles for the Chinese Charm bag I want to make in a larger version than the pattern specifies (that's from Stitch 'n Bitch y'all)
They were like $8 each, but I've been searching for these for ever, the $3 version they have at Hobby Lobby is never in stock, so what's a girl to do?
Now, I've turned the heel on my second Sixth Sense Sock (from the yahoo 6 Sox KAL) - withOUT holes this time. I had to rip out my first run at it. The first sock will just have to suck it up and deal with it's holes. Who knew the wraps were different on garter stitch short rows than stockinette? Huh. Ya learn something new every day.
But I was restless. I wanted to start some new socks. I wanted to take another shot at 2 on 2 - but I didn't want to get discouraged again. So I cheated. I started one sock, did it's K1P1 ribbing - transferred it to some DPNs - started the other sock and finished it's ribbing, then returned the first to the needles. So now I have this:
It's not twisted, I can see what I'm doing, and don't think I'll have the problems I had the first time I tried. Call me a cheater if you want, but this is the way it's going to have to be. Hmmph.
Thank you for your patience, and please, remember - feedback!
This was the Mid-Month KAL from my Monthly Dishcloth KAL group on yahoo. I treated myself to some Plymouth Fantasy Naturale for this one. I'd tried knitting it up in a few other stitch patterns but ended up frogging them all. When I saw the stitch pattern that the mid-month cloth was - I knew. I'd had my Stitch pattern a day calendar set to the butterfly lace stitch for some time. I've been wanting to try it. It turned out beautifully. Ahh....see, cloths aren't always dishcloths you know. It's all in the yarn. And this stuff is so soft and silky. It shall be a face cloth. I love it.
Oh my. I stopped by my LYS after work, and was introduced to Blue Heron Yarns. Look at this pr0n:
Oh my. It's a Rayon/Metallic blend but oh, so - so - soft! It will be a shawl, I just don't know what pattern yet.
And of course more sock yarn:
And some Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Rhapsody and Ragtime. But I simply could not come close to reality when taking their pic. I'll try in daylight. I promise.
And I also hit the sale shelves:
This is Cascade Bollicine Dolly. I got their last 6 skeins for 40% off. It's soft otthe touch, superwash 100% Merino. I shall have much fun with this I predict.
I also picked up a little something for my SPs final package. I know, I gotta get that sent. I've been in contact with her, but I've been keeping an eye peeled for more stuff and just couldn't be satisfied until I hit Charlotte Yarn one last time for her. She has no idea who I am, but perhaps a little turtle enclosed in the package will help clue her in?
Are you comfortable?
I had some help seaming up the "Missing Tee" last night. And after much trial and tribulation, some false starts and whatnot, I finally got it seamed up and the neck ribbing done!
Pattern: "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Tee" from "The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics"
Yarn: Berroco Touche (Blue - 7906 Green - 7930 White - 7900)
Needles: Ribbing US 6 Body 8 (pattern called for 5's and 7's but I subbed the yarn and it knits at 5 stitches to the inch on 8's so screw the pattern)
Here's a more detailed pic:
And the neck.
The neck is a wee tight. But I can get my head through it. I blame the pattern for that. I even skipped a row of ribbing. Bah. I was going to lengthen the pattern, as you saw in my original post about it - the pic leads you to believe it's going to be a belly shirt. But no, it all was fine the way it was patterned out. I think that model is a medium and they stuck her in a small.
Yay! My first fitted thing with arms! For me! Yay!
She's a natural model isn't she?
The beautiful Malabrigo yarn that my SP Jochibi sent me.
This is a much smaller image than the one I took. Mmm...macro high res. Please, click on the pic for macroey goodness. Zib, this pr0n's for you.
Malabrigo Yarn! (In Saphire Green) KP Dancing Yarn (quiet Zonda, I know I have a drawer full, I can always use more), a Katcha-Katcha (I've been eyeing one), Size G Crochet hook (for the inner prostiturtle) yummy candles, a kitty bookmark (I think I can insert my own pic of Ripple and Morris in there) and seeds! But the Chocolate, oh the chocolate. I was talking to my photographer friend just last night about how you just can't find solid white chocolate Easter bunnies anymore. Boy was I wrong! And glad of it! Yay! Thank you so much, Jo!
And I cast on for the front. I WILL have this done for Monday.
I managed to destash a bit last night. We have a brand new knitter in our knitting group, so I took the opportunity to offload some yarn onto her. Homespun in Hepplewhite (4 skeins or something equally horrifying) gone - 2 skeins of the rest of that green yarn from the baby blanket and Odessa - gone - and entirely too much Paton's Bohemian - gone. Phew. That felt good. More room for the good stuff!
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I knit up my first proper swatch yesterday. I washed it and everything. I ended up getting gauge (well, a good 90-95% of that 5th stitch is inside the inch mark - I'll call it gauge) and I cast on for my very first proper garment last night. This thing will have arms and everything! The last time I made a garment, was way back in October. I'm gonna make you find it in the flickr badge or the archives 'cus it's a bad picture and the garment wasn't much better. But it was a sleeveless sweater vest. It turned out well, got gauge (even though I didn't come close to using similar yarn) and I screwed up picking up the stitches for the ribbed edging, but all in all, it was a successful garment. But it wasn't for me. The only thing I've made for myself that was fitted has been socks so far. So I finally decided to take a step forward and make myself something to wear. I think I'll be lengthening the torso a bit, but beyond that, I'm sticking to the pattern. Wish me luck.
I finished my first of the Sixth Sense Socks (a yahoo group pattern) which feature a garter stitch short row heel and toe. This was my first time knitting a short row heel, as well as a toe, and I love the heel! The toe? Not so much. I mean, it feels fine, but I think it looks a bit funny. It kinda screams "HEY! I'M THE TOE!" Whereas the toes I've done in the past were more subtle. Click on the pic for a nice close up. That yarn is Trekking XXL Color #77 and lemme tell ya, everytime i look at it I see something new. I love this yarn! So cool.
In other news, I'm about to start an actual garment. For me! I'll be knitting "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Tee" from "The Yarn Girls Guide to Beyond the Basics" (it's on page 95 if you have the book). What's that? A pattern? From a book? Yes. It's high time I did something out of the dozens (yes, dozens) of books I own. Something other than the Reverse bloom washcloth from Weekend Knitting. I've chosen Berroco Touche (A 50% Cotton 50% Rayon blend) in Colors 7906, 7930, and 7900. Or, in human speak - Light blue, mossy green and white. I know I could wait for the new knitty tomorrow, but I seriously need to start using these books I have. I'm sure there'll be something in the new knitty I'll want to knit, but it'll have to wait. I'm putting my foot down. In handknitted sock.
The yarn is Trekking XXL Color #77. I LOVE that yarn. Every time I look at it I see a new color, I swear.
I have a question for you. Mother's day is coming. Now, my mother is appreciative of the things I knit her, but remember the hat I made her? She thought it was too loose, so she sewed some of the ribs together. Then the fugly scarf (that she picked the yarn for) was apparently "too nice" to wear. I had to tell her no, I wouldn't be making her things only to have them not be worn. And the dishcloths, she hates to use them. I dunno. She's hard to knit for. The woman is picky. And she's so hard to please when it comes to shoes and they way they fit her size 7 1/2 Narrow feet. Do I even bother attempting socks? I know I could do a plain ribbed sock with ribbing all the way down the instep, but that's boring. And I want them to be special. Any advice? Or screw it, knit up 2 more reverse bloom washcloths and call it a day? Help!
I tried to con her into doing the whole thing, but being that she's nice, not stupid - she didn't fall for it. She did start me off, and patiently kept reminding what the heck a double crochet was, and I still screwed it up. But in a good way. You see, this edging is on the Pinwheel Baby Blanket.
Sweet, huh? S'done. So, how did I screw it up in a good way? Well, you see, Jeanmarie taught me the shell stitch (and the Happy Hooker helped us both out) and when I took over, I promptly started doing 4 double crochets into 1 stitch rather than 5. So on the second round, I fixed it and did 5, then on the 3rd and final round I decided to do 6. This helped the border increase in size along with the pattern of the blanket, so it worked out perfectly and lays flat. Yay! Ripple approves.
So as I'm taking the pics this morning, I see this out of the corner of my eye:
Morris is in play mode. You have to be sneaky when he plays though. If he sees you watching him be kitten-like. All fun stops. So I casually looked away, and he pounced:
And proceded to give that pasta-sauce jar ring thing what-for.
Those things are way better than the classic milk lid. They're bigger, and can be caught in mid-air. And they're just as cheap. Heh.
