Holiday Cheer

Ready? OK!

I love my comfy sweater.

I love my comfy sweater!

How cute are these boots?

How cute are my boots?!

Forget the jewels and cashmere.

Forget the... wait... no!

Hand knit sweaters.

And cowboy boots!

Sending you holiday cheer!

Best wishes for 2010!

Wooly & Michele :)

This is our holiday card for this year. Inspired by my favorite commercial. Every time it comes on, I drop everything, jump up and down and scream with the girls. Wooly frantically tries to find the remote & hit 'mute' while demanding that I stop. It's hilarious!

I told him, "Okay, one funny photo! Here, hold my leg!"

"What do you mean by funny? Do I have to?"

*click*

YAY! Needless to say, the funny one made it as our card!

It Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas...

"I think these pipes are going to work out!"

*click*

"What was that for? Oh, yeah, I guess it is looking like Christmas..."

Wooly is very happy with his new bagpipes. He already showed all his friends and they agree that he stole them. Now he's busy fussing around with reeds & bags trying to get the perfect tone. He even had me sew on a patch on his bag. He wanted me to show him how to use my sewing machine, but I don't want him messing around with it. It might get broken & I need it for my Norwegian sweater. Priorities man!

 

I wasn't about to 'forget the jewels...' and not get anything for Christmas. I got myself freshwater pearls this year, 3 different kinds - white is freshwater, middle is Tahitian ringed, right is Autumn keshi. Yes, I wear them all together at once. Kamati likes them too.

"...quiet! Here she comes!"

*click*

"What was that for?"

"What's going on here?"

"Nothing! Honest!"

Yeah, right! I thought the lamb went home... and turtle is still here? Sigh. No good, I tell you.

Wishing you lots of good cheer this holiday season!

Celebrate wholeheartedly... with gusto!

We'll see you next year!

Got your queue ready?

... and to all... a cheery night!

Delphine Amore

I finished Delphine just in time for the cold weather.
Never mind that face I'm making.

I shortened it by 2 charts because I'm short. Notice the odd pattern? Just before the V. It's a Twisted Tradition's trademark. I love this sweater.

When I showed Wooly, he said, "That's SPECTACULAR!"

I said, "Yep! It's Lorraine, she's spectacular!"

I'm her biggest fan. :)

 

Delphine by Lorraine Condotta

Jamieson's Spindrift

3mm & 3.25mm needles

size small

 

St Moritz

I'm going to try something new for the New Year. I've always loved those Dale of Norway sweaters, so when a KAL formed, I jumped in. 

Norwegian yarn isn't sticky like Shetland yarn (Jamieson's) and is thicker weight.

I decided it would be a good ideal to knit something small to see if I could get gauge & make the colorwork show up. Mr K's birthday is this month, so what better than a child's hat?!

St Mortiz Child's Hat

Dale of Norway Falk - wool

2.75mm & 3.25mm needles

For Mr K

We won't talk about how many times I started over... or who's evil plan it was to include a row with 3 colors (black + blue + white)... yes, that row in the center of the diamond with the white dot. Falk is heavy duty yarn, surviving all my ripping! I left off the tassel. Mostly because I didn't want to make one. :)

Mr K is going to be three! He's in Pre-preschool and has 3 blonde girlfriends. I wonder if they're Norwegian?! LOL!

 

I'm showing the inside because I want to share how I attached the edge to the inside.

 

You know how you cast on, knit so many rows for the edge, purl one row for the fold line and after you're all done making the hat, they tell you to sew the edge inside the hat loosely...

When I made Ruth Sorensen's hat, she has you pick up stitches on your cast on, then knit them together with the stitches you have on your needle. (Like a 3 needle bind off, without the bind off.) You end up with a really nice finished inside. Then you just continue knitting your hat as patterned.

It's Amore

 

Wooly & I were watching television...

Wooly says, "What's this commercial for? Oh pizza! Yum"

I sang, "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie... it's AMORE!"

Wooly starts belly laughing, red in the face & says, "What?"

Me, "It's AMORE. It's LOVE! It's a real song!"

Wooly, "I know. Eye in your pie... in the sky... it's Maury?"

Me, "No! lol! It's Italian, sing it with me..."

I was so thrilled! I got him to sing! He refuses to sing because he thinks he sounds like an asthmatic bullfrog. I've been hearing him sing it every now & then & it just tickles me! 

So, this morning we're eating brunch & Wooly says, "I bought a set of bagpipes... they were on sale... I saved a thousand dollars!... what's wrong with you? You're so mad you can't even look at me! Oh, there we go, the eye roll! What is it? (and he sings) IT'S AMORE!!!"

That did it! I busted out laughing! 

So guess what I ordered?

Unconditional Love!

LOL! :)

Okay, so hope you have a wonderful holiday full of laughter & love!

Happy Knitting! :)

Green Dragon

 "DUDE! You're awesome!"

"I know. Hold up, I've gotta do something..."

"C'mon Penguin Boy..."

"I'm coming... I thought I was a cat..."

"Okay you two... for the BLOG!"

"GRRR... Mighty Green Dragon!!"

"Geez... who invited Godzilla?! What's a blog?"

"You know... Auntie Michele... sends stickers..."

"Oh! I got stickers! Anyone want a sticker?

For your shirt, camera, phone, remote, floor, foot..."

I've got the cutest nephews ever...

In Knitting News

Anne's Hibiscus Cardigan is OUT!
I shamelessly begged Village Yarn & Tea to order the pattern.


I showed Mom and she wants one too... :)

Anne use to be my Spindrift yarn supplier. She spoiled me. She's focusing on designing & closed her online shop. She's fairislefanatic in Ravelry

I can't wait to start, but first I'm going to finish Delphine...

One more chart & I'll be at the shoulders!

I realized I wanted it shorter, so I cut out 2 charts.
I'm knitting checkerboard steeks for the armhole & vertical stripes for the neck steek.

This is designed by my buddy Lorraine. She's Knittingham in Ravelry.
I love this sweater & can't wait to wear it.

If you're not in Ravelry, you're missing out. Just saying. I'm glad I joined.

And I started The Queen...

"I want the tiara!"

After much thought, I decided to knit it inward. Work & turn so I garter stitch.
I've got 68/208 edge points done.

This is the Phoenix yarn I dyed this summer & it just happens to match my Japanese Iris. I love knitting with this yarn. Sorry I didn't pin block it, but I'm kinda scared, it's so thin!

I'm being very quiet about this because it's going to take forever & I'm enjoying sweater knitting right now.

So, got Thanksgiving plans?

We got invited to one of Wooly's friend's house last month.
Just now, Wooly's friend informed us that they WON'T be doing Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, we told everyone else who invited us that we already had plans.

The 'cheese' stands alone...

I'm kinda pissed.

Wooly thinks we can just call one of our other friends & tell them we're available... basically invite ourselves over. I hate it when people do that.

I told Wooly we're just going to make our own dinner & have a quiet day by ourselves.... which is really fine with me... no stress... no expectations...

What makes it worse, is this is the second year in a row that this 'friend' did this!

Okay, I'm done venting.

What's on your list for Christmas? I'm thinking better 'friends'. LOL!

Happy Knitting! Peace out! :)

Percy, Get Your Guitar

Percy Shawl hugging Hydrangea

Nuppy goodness! Another chevron block.

The details:

Percy Shawl by Sanne Kalkman

Knit Picks Bare Merino - 53 grams - 467 yds

Jacquard dyed lilac + a touch of hot fuschia by me

Size 8 beads - TR light marine blue with gold luster

Addis Lace needles - US5 or 3.75mm

27" x 52"

Mom's Christmas present

I know why some people skipped Chart B. Purling in pattern took total concentration! Was worth the effort. I also love all the nupps. (No! I'm NOT crazy! *wink*)

Changes I made: On the edge- YO, Ktb, YO on odd rows, on even rows I added the bead using a crochet hook. Learned this from Romi - Bluebird. It makes the beads show in the front. I also Ktb on the Center stitch.

The double stranded cast off used 4 grams of yarn. I love that look.

Road Trip

We went to Ellensburg, WA because Wooly researched and found a Martin J40 guitar there. It was the only one in the USA besides the 2 at Martin. He wanted to play it & find out if it was really as good as everyone says.

He finger picks, early 1900's Blues style

Meanwhile, I was making friends...

"Hey lady, why don't you make yourself useful & rub my belly?

Easy now, I'm NOT a dog.

Ohhh, yes... right there" *puurrrrrr & kneading*

This cat is the resident shop cat. He followed me everywhere. Rubbed against my leg, and threw himself down, belly up in front of me. Very dog-like. I kneeled down to pet him. Started humming to Wooly's playing while rubbing his belly & he turned into a purr machine. Then the kneading started. I think he was ready to follow me home.

Then Wooly says, "I'm buying this guitar."

Me: "What?! That was fast!"

Sale guy: "It's an excellent guitar, I don't know why it's still here. We've had it since 2002."

Me: "Bye black kitty..."

Kitty: "dammit. I get you trained & you leave."

Needless to say, Wooly is thrilled to have his perfect guitar. He feels like he stole it from them, it's brand new. It sounded great with old strings and he knew he was buying it after the first strum. Now that it's got new strings, it's even better.

Here's some photos taken on the way back.

The sign says 70mph. We were going 75 & everyone was passing us.

We must be getting old.

Some Fall colors. It was really pretty.

Now Wooly wants to move to Ellensburg. Don't worry, he always wants to move to wherever we visit.

Next time I'll have some Fair Isle sweater knitting to show you.

Until then, happy knitting!

Peace out! :)

Bluebird

"Look! We're a bluebird!"
"Shut up. It's too hot. Hurry, take the photo."

The details:

Bluebird by Rosemary Hill aka Romi

Knit Picks Gloss Lace - merino & silk - Mermaid

2 skeins = 880yds = 100grams

Size 3.75mm or US5 Addis Lace circular needles

S/L blue green beads - size 8

21"x 72"

I did 30 repeats of the center pattern. I had 2 grams left - like to live dangerously! lol! I remember when I first saw this stole on Romi's blog... I knew I had to make it for Poohla. It was an enjoyable knit and well written pattern.

Swatching

Everytime I look through Haapsalu sall, I love Karukellakiri 1 - page 77.

So, I asked in Ravelry what it means and it's a Pasque Flower - purple.

They have rules about what defines a Happsalu sall. Now that I know, I'll probably break every one of them! lol! :D

I swatched using 2mm needles in Cashwool (left) and got 9x8 cms.

I swatched with Zephyr and 2mm needles (right) and got 10x9.5 cms.

But notice how the nupps show up better in the Cashwool?!

I love that twisty thing in the middle too.

I was so excited, I ran out to Main Street Yarn to buy some Cashwool.

I bought 2 skeins - pale yellow & pink. Brought it home and decided I hated the colors, so I'll overdye them!

The yellow one I dyed with Jacquard lilac & a touch of hot fuchsia.

It ended up being a sad mauve. Wooly said, "This is sad, sick, putrid... You're NOT going to knit with this are you? DO OVER." He doesn't hold back his opinion! lol! So I decided to throw it back in the pot with one package of grape Kool Aid and ended up with the top skein! I love it now and think it looks like lilac flowers.

The pink one I overdyed in one package of orange Kool Aid and got a peach color - lower skein.

I might throw it back in the pot with another package of orange to make it darker. Haven't made up my mind yet.

So, I'm all ready to use the lilac skein for Karukellakiri 1. Then I noticed it's similar to Maikell in Knitted Lace of Estonia - one less nupp. Funny, I have Maikell in my queue. I guess I like what I like!

The Gossamer Web

Fleegle opened her Etsy store, and guess what else I like? Maybe too much!

"They're bigger that me!"

Top 3 are Love Potions 3 (hey, it has 3 in it's name, I had to get 3 of them!)

Left is Poppy (Padma), middle is Violetta (Vesper), right is Tequila Sunset (Fiona)

2/36 merino (35%) cashmere (35%) silk (30%)

They're so soft and have that shine from the silk. They live up to their name - Love Potion 3. I want one in every color! Yes, I gave them names, wouldn't you?! :D

Bottom left is Sheherazade in Ultraviolet.

2/36 camel (50%) cashmere (20%) merino (20%)

I'm calling her Shohreh. Deep, dark & mysterious.

She's my favorite. Who knew camel was soft?!

Bottom right is Vorpal Bunny Ranch in Quince.

2/36 merino (50%) angora (40%) cashmere (10%)

I'm calling her Miyamojo. If I were a color, I would be quince.

I've been looking for that color, so I'm thrilled!

What am I going to make with them? Huh? Can't they be pets?!

Well, I haven't decided. One will be Lerwick. One will be Spring Shawl & one will be Spider Queen. I would love to make The Wedding Ring Shawl out of Poppy, but don't think I have enough, not to mention, I don't have the pattern yet.

Be sure and stop by The Gossamer Web and read her stories/descriptions of Vorpal Bunny Ranch & AK47. She's very funny and a dyeing expert. I'm so thrilled that she's making these luxury yarns available for us. Thanks Fleegle! :)

OH! and look in the sold section. She dyed Phoenix Peacock. I almost died! I love that color! NO, I didn't buy it. I wanted to though.

Can't live by lace alone

And look what else I scored! St Aula in Calluna (dark green) & Pebble Beach.

So, yes, I will be knitting something other than lace in the future.

It's all Brigitte's fault! She showed her St Aula on her blog & I died. That just shoved me over the edge. Hers is blue & green. Beautiful!

I enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars. It's all smiles for me. I record it, so I can race through the commercials. I've got to say that I'm so proud of Kelly Osbourne. What a transformation! Gotta give Louis - her professional partner - alot of credit too, great teacher!

"Jonathan is a Smooth Champion like me... Smoothie!"

"Well, all the professionals have turtle tummies like me... Tale Telling Turtle!"

"SHUT UP you two!"

Okay, so I guess Kamati is tired of the peanut gallery. lol! :D

We're officially in Fall now, so I hope you're all gearing up for the holidays and cooler weather.

Until next time, happy knitting!

Peace out! :)

Red Fall

"Here comes Smoothie Cottontail...
hopping down the bunny trail...
WHOA! That's the biggest maple leaf ever!"

Blocking shot. I never get tired of these Chevron blocks!

Post blocking. You can really see the beads shining & nupps popping.

The details:

Aeolian Shawl by Elizabeth Freeman

Knit Picks Bare Merino Laceweight - Geranium

(dyed by me using Jacquard Salmon & Fire Red)

S/L Gold beads size 8

3.5mm or US4 Clover circular bamboo needles

32" X 64" inches

I knit 8 yucca + 1 agave & beaded the edge.

It was a total joy to work on and I love everything about it.

I love Estonian Lace!

I'm ready for Fall... bring it on! :)

Speaking of Estonian Lace... look what came in the mail for me!

Direct from Estonia! If you love nupps, you'll love this book. I can't read Estonian, but the photos are breathtaking. It's full of patterns so you can design your own nuppy shawl. I've been hearing about this book via blogs... the final enabling happened in Ravelry.

I thought my nupps were pretty good... until I saw what they are suppose to look like. HAH! I'm always striving for perfection. :D

Now I want to learn Estonian.

More Red

"I wanna be a bagpiper!"

Poohla's second birthday. Can you spot Wooly? He's 5 years old & brother Snotty is 4.

Look! He's wearing this hat! LOL! I love it!

"Hey Merry! Is that YOU with the red ribbon in your hair? Looking pretty feminine! Who knew?!"

"Yes Michele!... That's me!... YEAH! Who knew?!... I was YOUNG once!"

Which poses the question... are bagpipers made or born?

I don't know either.

Wooly was just singing, "I wanna be a COWBOY..."

He's excited for Fall because he gets to wear his cowboy boots & jeans again...

Bluebird

I'm making progress on Bluebird for Poohla. The only blue bird I've seen are Blue Jays. I just happened to have one and he agreed to stand on the edge.

Blue Jays are really noisy, so you always know when they're around. I was standing in the kitchen thinking it would be nice if I had a photo of a real Blue Jay. Then I heard one... then I saw a flash of blue. I grabbed my camera & there he was standing on the fence holding his nut!

I can't believe I got a photo of him! I love that blue. I'm usually saying, "Hey Jay! You're disturbing my calm! What are you squawking about?"

Speaking of squawking...

Did you notice a familiar photo in the July/August Piecework Magazine on page 3?

Someone from Piecework saw that photo on my blog and emailed me and asked it they could use it. I said they could. Then they told me to write something to go with it. So I did. Then I forgot about it.

Early August I get an email from Anne - who's photo of Harry Bear wearing the bonnet she made got me started on this madness. She congrats me on my photo. Then I get an email from Monika - congrats on the photo.

What's funny is that Anne is in Canada & Monika is in Germany and they BOTH knew about it before me! lol! What a small world! So I called around and got 2 copies, one for me & one for Corey. (Hey Corey! Look! Your bonnet!)

I showed Mom and she asked why Corey's photo isn't in there like those 2 other cutie kids. Corey wasn't born when I sent the photo in and they wanted the 3 hats photo.

geez.

So, I hope you're ready for Fall. It was cool and rainy this morning, so I think Summer is over. That's okay with me, I've got my shawl!

Happy Knitting! :)

Dyeing for The Queen

My first attempt at dyeing yarn ever, in my entire life...
I say I got lucky! Beginner's luck for sure! LOOK!
Same color as my Japanese Iris! I'm calling her my Japanese Iris Queen!
I used Jacquard Lilac + Hot Fuchsia.

My favorite flower... besides my pink peony.

It's 2/52 gossamer yarn. Merino (60%) Cashmere (20%) Silk (20%). It's Fleegle's 'Perfect Yarn' which she has named Phoenix. She bought it in Japan & loved it, then realized she bought the last skein ever. She contacted a mill in China who could reproduce it for her, but the minimum order was 50 kilos. She asked in Ravelry's Heirloom Knitting/Princess group if anyone wanted a cone or 10 skeins (both equal a kilo). I ordered 1 kilo in skeins, with the plan to dye it for my Queen. Fleegle is going to open an online store later this year. She's dyeing yarn like crazy & will have laceweight too. I'm pretty sure she will do well since lots of people know her & she's got a great reputation & an awesome knitter. I'm thrilled to be in on this from the start! I'm usually asleep when great opportunities arise.

I also dyed some Knit Picks Bare Merino laceweight...

and got this! Lilac + touch of Hot Fuchsia. I'm going to make Mom's Christmas present out of this.

I also made what I'm calling Geranium for my Aeolian out of the other skein of KP Bare laceweight. Fire Red + touch of Salmon. I was so anxious, I forgot to take a picture of the skein.

Which is good, because nothing has been thrilling me since I finished The Princess.

I've also started Bluebird for Poohla's Christmas present. This is KP Gloss - Mermaid. It's a little more green than this picture.

I asked Poohla what her favorite color is this year. She said, "Turquoise!" I fell on the floor, because turquoise is MY favorite color. I dug through my stash & took her 5 skein of various blue/greens and asked her which is her idea of turquoise? She chose the Mermaid. Then said, "But that (lacey lamb) is the color of turquoise stones..." which I consider turquoise! Good thing I asked!

I'm going to try and get Christmas knitting & maybe Delphine done before starting The Queen. Last year I was rushing and ended up hurting my shoulder. Don't want to repeat that.

I hope to be dyeing more for myself later too. I still have 8 skeins of Phoenix, which will make 4 more large gossamer shawls. Fun fun fun! Oh! and I found out that you can test the color you made in your pot by dropping in a little yarn. I didn't know that! Like I said, "Beginner's luck!"

Have a great week! Sending some luck your way! :)

My Princess

"Dreams don't matter, unless you make them come true..."

Look!

Can you believe it?!

Oh My GOD!

I knit this?! Me?! Really?!

Look! I can wear it!

I can fly!

Center feather detail

I'm in love!

Really smitten!

Can't stop smiling!

I can't believe I finished this!

Breathe. Okay. Now the details.

Princess Shawl - Sharon Miller
Heirloom Knitting Gossamer Merino - 220grams
2mm US 0 Knit Pick Circular Needles

70.5" X 109" point to point
140" around upper edge
134" around bottom edge
26" from edge through Border to Center edge
24.5" from edge through border's center feather to Center edge pt
4" edge points

Started 1/1/2008
I took Laritza's advice & knit 72 edge points, picked up 12 sts per point + 1 in the middle = 865 sts.

After Center completed, I knit 2 rows, yo - K3 tog - yo break row to mimic the break row before the Border. Knit 2 rows. Took Seaglass' advice & short rowed, so there was no jog.

On the final edge I ran out of yarn. Ordered more 20 grams.

After I finished, I wasn't thrilled. I thought the Border looked too short & the Center too big. It really looked like Havarti cheese.

Wooly called me out & said, "You need to block it. It always looks like shit before you block it. DO IT NOW!"

I was skeptical. Washed the kitchen sink & let it soak for 30 minutes. Blocking took me 1.5 hours ... I'm anal. Water spray bottle was my friend.

Couldn't believe the transformation! I'm thrilled with it! Love it! Can't stop staring & petting!
Finished & blocked 7/31/09.

Photo shoot 8/1. Almost had a major disaster. Zipper on my dress is NOT my friend! Shawl got hooked on it. Wooly saved the day. No damage. Whew!

Boy, this sure was an emotional roller coaster ride. I'm glad I finished on a high note. Glad I stuck with the wool too. It was really smooth & strong (2ply) and blocked out great. I kinda still wish it was a color other than natural white.

I need to thank everyone for their encouragement, support & advice. I would have never completed this without you. Love you all!

I still can't believe I knit this. ME! *happy dance*

So, what's your dream?

I think I've got a Queen in my future! :)

But don't hold your breath. There's a lot of thinking & planning to do for Her.

Onward & upward! :)