good morning and I love you Mr. FedEx man!

Ahh, there's nothing like having your morning coffee and seeing the FedEx truck pull up in front of your door!  I run over and open the door as he's bounding up the steps (they're always so fast moving, those FedEx folks!)  Whee!  Yarn!  "what's in the box?" asks the BF.  "Yarn!" I say, then add "but don't worry - it's not all for me!"  Ok, so really like 80% of it's for me, but I keep that to myself.  I had to order it all so we'd get free shipping!  I know, I know, I've said this all before.  I got 10 balls of Ella Rae Classic (and 10 balls is a LOT - nearly 2000 yards here!) in what they called Jewel Green, but it's kind of more blue-ish than I expected. 

 I still like it though.  I also got 10 balls of what they called baby yellow, but it's less yellow than I thought it'd be - like yellow-ish off-white.  

But I still like it too.  These were crazy cheap from Little Knits - like $26 per bag, I think.  Then, because I have no self restraint, I added 10 balls of this Sublime angora merino because it will make the best cardigan in the world, won't it? 

 The part that wasn't for me was 8 balls of Ella Rae Classic for Emily in a really fantastic grey - it's such a great color, I kinda which I'd have gotten some.  what don't I wish I'd have gotten though?  really.  

It seems like I talk way more about new yarn than about what the heck I'm actually knitting!  Well, I'm still working on my Amelia, which I'm loving! 

 I'm adding button holes up the whole front instead of just at the top.  I fear that it's going to be shorter than I expected - when I look at the finished ones on Ravelry, I see that it's coming out shorter than the Knitty pics.  It's probably one of those things that all depends on the ease - the one on Knitty says it was shown with zero ease so there's not going to be any stretching width-wise that would shorten it.  I think mine will be pretty much zero ease, but certainly  no positive ease.  Perhaps if I want my sweater to be longer, I need to stop eating so much fried rice!  This feels like it's going slowly, but maybe it's because it's on size 6's, which is fairly small for a worsted weight wool.  I love love love the way it looks on 6's though!  I so much prefer a tighter knit!  I'm also still plugging along at my Child's First Socks 

I hate that name because I always have to add "but they're not child-sized!" I just love this yarn - it's CTH, which is always  nice, but the colorway is great!  a little variation in tone, but not crazy variegation. It's much more aqua colored in real life - my camera kind of makes it come out on the green side.   I'm on the foot of sock #1.  I guess a did a bit too much talking and laughing and beer drinking at the last knit night, and too little chart reading, because I kind of fouled up the pattern a bit, but eeeh, it's fine.  Yeah, it's on the top of the foot, and yeah, it'll show if I wear them with mary janes or something, but I'm still not ripping back.  I'm just not.  

Come on now!

How many goddamn Classic Elite pattern books am I supposed to buy?!  They're just pumping 'em out and trying to kill me I think.  I need 9101, 9098, 9097, and 9096.  Oh yeah, and all the new Berroco booklets too.  geesh, I'm gonna have to put on some pumps and work the block to fund my knitting habit!  

aaaaaargh!!

Didn't I tell you that I'd jinx my Selbu Modern by talking about how every one I'd seen on Rav was just perfect?  didn't I?  well it worked.  I hope I'm happy now!  hrumph!  I looove it color-wise, but nice color does not a well fitting hat make.  It's just too slouchy.  too loosey-goosey.  This picture just doesn't even show how slouchy it is - I couldn't capture the crapitude!  I kept thinking that it seemed like my stitches ought to be tighter.  I used size 2 needles because that's what I used for another fingering weight beret I made.  I think I'm much looser in colorwork though.  apparently.  I guess it isn't throw away horrible, but it isn't quite what I was hoping for.  Oh, yes, I did try to shrink it but the damn superwash I used is sort of made to not shrink!  ugh!  once when I want my wool to shrink!  

Starting 2009 right

My parents came for a visit today - for like the first time in 7 years or something!  They live only 30 minutes away, but for my mother driving to "the big city" is a major deal!  They live in Monroe, which is pretty small, and she's just not very confident with going places she doesn't know well.  My dad decided this morning to come with her, which I think she was a little disappointed about since we'd planned a big day of shopping if she'd come alone.  I know she was pretty relieved to have him driving though!  I told myself I wouldn't freak out and try to clean like crazy - but as I was laying on my stomach over the toilet to wipe built up dust off the baseboards, I realized that I was indeed getting a little crazy!  And stupid - they were certainly not going to notice the yucky baseboards, but were surely going to notice the guitar case laying over the living room chair, and the blanket balled up on the ottoman and other crap that I'm just so used to looking at that it doesn't even seem like clutter to me!  But, just as I was trying to convince myself, they were just happy to visit and definitely weren't there to nitpick or compare my housekeeping to my mothers (which I'd never win anyway - she does things like wipe out the oven after dinner - give me a break!)  I think, if I'm being honest, another reason their visit to my place kind of freaked me out, was because when I go to their house I can maintain the regular me and present the me that I think they ought to see while I'm there.  I mean it's not like I'm cutting cocaine on my coffee table or something, but it's just comfortable privacy,  you know?  But anyway, My mom seemed to love looking at all the stuff sitting around - I'm a nick nack-y kind of person, and her house is much neater and less filled with little things everywhere you look.  For some reason I kind of thought she'd see it as a lot of crap everywhere, but I think she just though it was very "Chris".  I really don't know why I worry so much - I'm nearly 35 and I guess it's time to stop worrying about being who I think my parents want me to be (really, I'm the one who puts these rules on myself - my parents have never given me grief about anything!  I don't know why I do this to myself!)  Anyway, they also got to see my loom, and I warped it last night to show it to them in action - they were impressed.  I used some Cascade Sassy Stripes that I've had forever because I thought it might do some pretty cool things when woven, and I was right - it's neat looking:  I decided just to make a decent sized piece of fabric just for the sake of weaving it, and maybe if I do this several times I can sew them together into a crazy blanket.  Hmm, now that I see in in the picture, it's a little country-ish, eh?  it's really navy and light blue - not blue and white, but I don't guess that makes it any less country, does it?  Perhaps when it's all together with other stuff it'll be better.

 I took them to the North Dayton Garden center and, as I suspected, my mom loved it!  I got a couple new plants for my terrarium (i.e. replacements for things that have died in said terrarium) and this funny owl planter.  All in all, it was a really nice visit, and my mom says she'll come back up now that she sees it isn't such a bad drive.    It was a nice way to start the year!

Another thing I promised myself for this year is to always have a pair of socks on the needles, so on Friday I cast on for the Child's French Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks - they aren't child-sized, but the original pattern was.  She updated all these vintage sock patterns and I really love a lot of them in this book. This will be my first pair, which is ridiculous considering how long ago I bought it. 

 I'm using some CTH that I got at the Busy Beaver - it's hard to capture the color in the picture, but it's very subtly shaded with bright aqua and then slightly darker and lighter variations of that color.  Lovely!  I've also been working on my Selbu Modern which is coming along pretty quickly!  I think it's going to be fantastic when it's done - honestly I haven't seen a bad one on Ravelry yet, so I think it's just a great pattern and a beautiful hat that can't be ruined!  I probably shouldn't have said that - now mine will somehow go south before it's finished!  

Aah - going to go relax and knit since my cleaning is all done and there are none of the usual Saturday chores!  

Is it wrong to base fashion choices on crazy old ladies?

I watched this very strange japanese movie yesterday.  The little old sisters, on the left, went out every day looking for cool junk in people's trash, and they'd both wear matching capes with fur collars and pompoms on the ties (which unfortunately you really can't see in the picture - that totally made the look!)  I really really want a cape with a fur collar and pompoms now.  Well, not really fur, but I'm thinking maybe a short dense eyelash or maybe, oh yes, perhaps even better, a really loopy boucle, like my single skein of Drops Puddel, which will never be enough, I'm sure.   Why are old ladies so darn cute?

Post Christmas report

There's something relaxing about the post-holiday time - no more rushing around or trying to remember things you're sure you've forgotten to do.  The pressure is off and you can just sit on the couch watching the first season of Pushing Daisies, for example, without feeling guilty.  Which I highly recommend, by the way.  

Christmas gifts went over well - my mother LOVED her sweater and it fit her sooo well!  I was really afraid it'd be too big on her, but it was just perfect.  I can't believe I forgot my camera - I wanted to take a picture of her with it on,  and the button in place.  The socks that I started for my father last Tuesday were nearly finished by the time I left their house (I just knit until Christmas morning then put them  in a gift bag, needles and all, and said "look!  it's an unfinished pair of socks for you!) They probably would have been totally finished if I hadn't gotten carried away with the foot and done an extra inch and a half, while chatting, before realizing that I should have been decreasing for the toe.  I ripped back and finished up at home last night.  As I suspected, they were a little loose on him - not as much as I feared, but we talked about what he liked, and I think next time I'll make something that's ribbed all the way down and maybe across the top of  the foot too, so it's more fitted.   My mom also really liked the placemats, despite the weird coloration - which totally could have been fixed had I read cosymakes's comment before Christmas - that would have been perfect!  oh well.  My mother isn't too difficult to please!  

My sister-in-law's birthday is coming up next month and since she's been threatening to steal my newest mittens (the ones made with the Hand Me Downs handspun - who can blame her!?) I decided to make her a pair of mittens and a matching hat. 

 Sure, I could have used something from the stash, but of course, I didn't!  I got some Crystal Palace Taos, which I've always liked the look of, and because it's a two ply with each ply a different color, it kind of reminded me of the handspun that I used on mine.  I really like the way it knits up! 

 I only got two balls, so I'm striping in some of the leftover off-white Cascade 220 from my mom's sweater, and I'll do the same on the hat.  I think it'll stretch the Taos so that it'll be a perfect amount.  

Oooh - I also splurged on a little post-Christmas gift for myself! 

 A Namaste knitting bag!  It's the Zuma, in my new favorite peacock blue color!  and it's not leather!  Unfortunately, when I saw the pictures on the website, I thought that the interior of the bag was divided into sections by a mesh part, which was where you'd keep your knitting projects - but it's not.  Oh, for anyone who doesn't know, Namaste is a line of bags that are designed to be snappy enough to carry as a purse, but also very functional as a knitting bag (and big enough to hold both!) 

 That mesh part that I saw in the pictures is actually their Oh Snap! mesh bags - shown doing their thing, holding a project inside the bag.  duh.  Well, needless to say, I had to order the mesh bags too. I justified it by telling myself that this will easily allow me to fulfill my plan of always having a pair of socks on the needles this year!  And honestly there are a lot of times that I get stuck somewhere and wish I had my knitting with me - now I always will!  She's a beaut!  

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I also hope you all ate far less candy than I did!

A not incredibly crafty Christmas

Originally the BF and I agreed that we wouldn't buy each other anything for Christmas this year, but instead make stuff.  I requested a gold spray painted macaroni covered pencil holder like everyone made for their parents in gradeschool.  Seriously, is there anyone out there who didn't make one of those?  Anyway, after a while of not being able to think of a single thing to make him, I asked if he was struggling as much as I was - he said yes, so we tossed that plan and just shopped.  I'd like to think we're both pretty creative people, but when under pressure, we produced nothing.  sheesh.  But I did do a little bit of handmade gifting - there's the aforementioned sweater for my mom, which is now blocked, dried, and wrapped.  Oh, and I found these little labels at JoAnn's that say "Handmade with Love" which I sewed on - so cute!  I also made these mittens for my friend at work, HelenI used SWS in the natural earth colorway, because she's into neutrals, then I embroidered on some snowflakes - because snowflakes will never be out of season when you're wearing mittens!  I also wove two placemats for my mother, which only seemed appropriate since she bought me the loom for Christmas!  I'm still not sure that I'm loving them - I don't really like how I did the warp colors in two blocks like that.  I wish I'd had the forethought to stripe them or something, but I did go back and buy more of the warp yarn so that I could make more in the same colors, but with different patterns, so they'd mix and match with the original set.  I used some brown Lion Cotton and Lion Incredible ribbon yarn as the weft, and I really like how it came out, colorwise! Ok, off to do more wrapping!  Have a great holiday everyone!!