Ten on Tuesday

ToT hasn't been around a lot here, as I usually remember on Tuesday afternoons!

Favorite places for online shopping in random order: (apologize in advance for enabling you ;)

1. The Plucky Knitter - well this is no secret I love her yarns, I saved you though, she had an update on Monday...that I behaved and bought nothing!

2. Madelinetosh - This is where she introduces new base yarns and colorways before they are available to the general public.

3. GirlsLikeBoysLikeFiber - aka (GLBLF) - get your fibery wants here :) no secret I love her colorways too :)

4. Pigeonroof Studios - lovely yarns, but I usually buy her fiber...yeah um..er..2011..the year of the yarn and fiber diet..

5. Hermosa Fiber Company - You want solids/semi-solid yarns, this is the place for you!! Gorgeous, saturated colorways and in various bases and weights....I have a couple of skeins and they are awesome.

6. Dizzy Sheep - ok, here's where you get the deal for the day and only $1 shipping...seriously!! At midnight (EST) a new deal starts.

7. Eat, Sleep, & Knit - great service and super fast shipping!

8. Sunshine Yarns - Dani can dye such awesome colorways from nature and she also is great at Harry Potter, Twilight, and Alice in Wonderland themed colorways.

9. Allspunup - Good handspun yarns and spinning fibers

10. Woolgatherings - More lovely spinning fibers!

There you have it! Try not to get too much in trouble here ;)

Cashmere Leaves

Ever since I knit my Oh Cashmere! cowl, I've wanted to find a hat to go with it. I didn't necessarily want a busy pattern, just one similar.

Well I finally found it and spent 2 days this long weekend knitting it up!


It's cashmere in case you were wondering why you see the halo-e-ness of the yarn. It is that soft!

Therefore, sorta hard to capture without it looking blurry.

I had one skein of this colorway leftover from my cowl, then I found about another 1.5 skeins from a Rav. destasher so I had plenty for the hat. I even have enough for some plain wristwarmers too. Look for them later this week!

November Leaves (beret shape) by Melissa LaBarre
The Plucky Knitter Aran Cashmere in Chandler
US 6 & 7 circulars
approximately 175 yds
No mods and it is not and will never be blocked...um..my last beret blocking incident resulted in a frogging and reknit...not happening this time.

I love it, warm and soft and hey, where the heck is the cold weather so I can wear it! Waaaa

Sorry it's been a bit quiet! I've been knitting, spinning, and yeah still decluttering! I'm pretty proud as I've gone through my fabric stash and whittled it down to 3 tubs. One tub is strictly quilting projects (UFO's), and the other 2 have various fabrics for curtains, bags, totes, and needlecases. I've donated a lot and parted with some weeny little fabric scraps too.

Anyhow, 4 days off and what to do besides some knitting & spinning. Well I cooked my first whole turkey in like 20 yrs. It ...was...awesome...sorry couldn't be patient to take a picture. My daughter was a bit worried that we didn't know how to cook one. Ha! Fooled her ;)

Another FO???

One would think I was a knitting machine...but..um..no... Lest you think I was only knitting on UFO's, I cast on this one day and finished the next.


Knit from my own silky cashmerino handspun!!

I'm a wee bit proud too!

I only had 120 yards of a sport/dk weight, as you can see below, not much left...

exactly 21" left that is. I did plan this...well sorta ;) I knit 2 pattern repeats and thought I would have enough for at least half of one repeat, so I went for it. While knitting the garter rows at the top, realized I wouldn't be able to knit the same I did for the base, so I bound off using larger needles.

Was still sweating a bit, but whew, made it!



Gray Gardens Cowl by Caryn Lantz
My own handspun--Pepperpants Silkycashmerino "Hard Days Night"
US 9's & 11's for bind off
Approx. 99 yds used
Finished size is 8.5" wide x 10" tall

Mods: cast on 91 sts, knit 3 garter ridges/rows, knit 2.5 pattern repeats then 2 garter ridges/rows. Bind off with 11's

No modeled shots as it's a gift, didn't want to stretch it out ;)

Bugle Boy of the Moor

Blue and berries....

sky/teal blueberries??

Pardon me for the picture heavy post, but..well I'm pretty proud of this..can you tell?


I know a worsted weight shawl is sorta cheating...
But you'll most likely not ever see me using actual laceweight...(see I didn't say never :P)

(sorry hard to make the picture upright, shouldn't have turned the camera huh)

As you can tell I blocked the points. Some people didn't, but hey to each his own. Oh, btw, I loved the bind off for this too. Took a while, but it added some bulk to the edge, which made it easier to block.

Thanks to patient daughter. Once in a while I can con her into modeling for me!

Wandering the Moor Shawl by Celeste Glassel
Bugle Boy MCN Worsted by The Plucky Knitter 2.45 skeins
US 9's
Pre-soak was 42" W x 21" deep
Finished is 55" W x 28" deep
Started: June 25, 2010
Finished: November 11, 2010
No mods, just used worsted weight yarn. Why did it take so long..come on, you know me, too many Wip's! Trying to finish them..one at a time!

What can I say. It's no secret I love The Plucky Knitters yarns ;) When I saw this colorway for sale in June I grabbed it all. This is my 2nd lace shawl and I'm sure it won't be my last. I try to knit using charts, but this one had me using written too. It's not hard, it was just making sure I knit the correct sections at the correct time. You could hear me chanting the pattern repeat many times ;) This was not an in the public knit for me.

It's lovely, squishy and cheery I think. I look forward to wearing it somehow ;)

16 Cables???

I first saw this hat last winter in the Plucky Knitters group as one of the members had test knitted it. I liked the design of it...the waviness of it, who knows, I just liked it!

I found the yarn via one of my favorite hand dyed yarn pushers and cast on...March 29, 2009. I usually cable without a needle unless it's on a bulky yarn. Well, when you are cabling 16 stitches, you are so not doing it without a needle for sure!

Hard color to capture, here it is in skein form. I started this last March, just never finished it. Not a hard pattern to follow, I guess I got distracted or it got hot..who knows.

Fast forward to this fall. My quest to make my Wip basket a bit smaller led me to finish it finally!


I just love the cable scrunchiness of it. Pardon the sunlight affecting some of the pictures though!

How hard is it to take a picture of the back/top of your head huh!

It has a wee bit of slouchiness, which is just what I wanted. I had cast on for the extra slouchy version, but when it was time to knit 10 more rows to do so, then the decreases, I didn't have it in me to do it. Don't get me wrong it's not the pattern, although being a tight knitter, those 16 stitch cables about killed my hands! I did get the usual holes after the cabled stitches, tried to tighten up by knitting/purling TBL. It did work a bit.


After a soak and drying (which I did flat) it poufed up and you can't see those pesky holes at all. It fits great and so glad I didn't extra slouch it!


Cannot wait for colder weather...if it ever gets here! hrmphf!

16 Cable Hat by Annette Petavy
The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino Worsted, Charcoal and Cordial colorway
US 8 circulars, 16" and 40"
Started: March, 2010
Finished: November, 2010

Next to knit a matching cowl for it. I found this one. Let's hope it doesn't take a year for me to knit/finish it LOL!

ETA: Thanks to Rosi reminding me, I'm thinking of knitting hers as the cables are vertical instead of horizontal. Also, another hint on hers I picked up is putting the stitches from the cable needle back on the left hand needle to knit. I'm definately trying that one!

Fairgrounds of Kate

I had never knit a sock pattern more than once....that was until I knit the Cotty Sock pattern by my friend Carrie. Proof is here and here. I think it's a great pattern for semi-solids and variegateds. I've not seen a self-striping version yet.

I needed a quick knit for my September SAM 10 socks and I saw this skein already wound up into like 4 little cakes, so the decision was made.

Why 4 little cakes...well..um..I had planned to knit a baby hat with this colorway for the 2008 Ravelympics. I had wound the skein doubled. Then I was going to destash it so I was trying in vain to un-double the yarn. Yeah..note to self...do not pre-wind a skein doubled....either make 2 separate cakes of yarn or knit from the inner/outer of the cake.

This colorway was the 2nd shipment in the very first Rockin' Sock Club a few years ago. I hate to say it, but I've never liked it. I just set it aside and figured I'd knit something for a baby, as I knew it would be perfect for it.


They are so wee I love them, and they go pretty fast too! They are the smallest picot cuff I've ever knit. I thought it would be tough, but not really.

I have plenty to knit the hat, which will be very soon :)

Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Fairgrounds (from the first RSC)
Sweet Baby Kate by Irishgirlieknits
US 2.5 circular via Magic Loop
September 2010

Will go in the gift drawer as I don't know of anyone having a girl yet.

Psst....now I'm just waiting for the wee version of her Uncle Frank socks

Some blasts from the past!

Hehe..look at what you may find when you are reorganizing, decluttering, tidying up ;)

Proof, well partially that I used to be a model in my younger years! I often modeled for Sears clothing as my Dad worked there. Here I am with my Mom, isn't she beautiful!

I don't remember all of the details for this specific one, I was only 5, but the big night of the fashion show we were doing to raise money, I got the flu and had to go home. Darn it I coulda been a contender...well I could have been "discovered" ....ok, stop your laughing now!


I was a budding artist...

no that would be my daughter, I got the crafty gene, just not the drawing gene. In 3rd grade, we were given a round disc of paper to draw on. It was then sent into the company and we got back the plate. I was so happy to have found it, it's put away safe again.


Halloween circa??? Awaiting the possible year from one of my partners in crime.

My 2 friends are the hamburglers and I'm the bag o'fries! We did this for a harvest party for our church. Many paper bags were mutilated in the design of this costume! I used opened ones covered with white paper to make the bag. Then I stuffed some lunch bags and put them together end to end and painted them yellow. Not sure if we won, but darn it we should have!

We found some awesome stuff that was packed away. We're taking our time going through it and repacking. It's been pretty cathartic too. Keeps us not dwelling on what could have been, but more getting us ready for what could be in the future. Trust me, I am sorta glad I'm not doing this all on a deadline for a move...well sorta...

Eye Candy Friday

Eye candy Friday post, not a new idea, this has been around the blogosphere for a long time. A bit different then Wordless Wednesday's in that I can write words.

Hubby just returned from a quick business trip to Maine. When asked what I wanted him to bring home, I first said, our son ;)

Since I couldn't have him home yet (next month) the next best thing is my most favorite doughnut in the whole world!


Chocolate sugared from Rebecca's Place in Augusta. We don't know if they make them on site or import them from somewhere, but they are the bomb! Ahhh had one before dinner and will have another for breakfast tomorrow...sadly he only brought 6 home....darn it! Guess I'll have to wait until June. We get to join our son on the last leg of his summer cruise! We will be aboard ship from Camden, ME to Castine, ME and see a tiny bit of shipboard life. I can't wait...

On another note, no moving for us this fall. Sniff...it wasn't meant to be. We are full of a lot of emotions on that subject and I won't bore you with the details....it just sometimes isn't fair...but then some things happen for a reason....we just have to wait and see what that reason turns out to be. Or until December 2012...retirement time for hubby if all else fails. Maine bound for sure!!

Sockin' it to Bella

Almost a year ago I knit my Fortnight Beret. Although I loved it, it sadly decided to grow a bit big after blocking. That's what I got for trying to block it over a plate. Oh well, the best part about knitting is your ability to "make it work" if you should choose to.

Since I had a rockin' cowl already, and the frogged matching yarn (yes I did frog that beret) I figured, try another hat. Oh..note to everyone, when frogging doubled yarn that is knit..have another person with you so you don't end up with like 4 little balls of yarn and tons of ends to weave in.

I saw the Sockhead hat and thought, yeah, that'll work. Fast forward many months later and here you are!


Don't think I'll wear it like this much, it's too heavy in the back and will fall off.

This is more like it!

So happy to be done! It took me forever! It was car knitting for a long while, and truthfully, knitting with size 2's on a hat wasn't something I looked forward to. In fact, it made my hands ache like I was knitting on cotton.


See the back, I got the blocking idea from Cristi, yeah the one whose knit like 3 of them...glutton for punishment or what...wait, she knits hers on size 4's...smart one she is ;)



Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure
Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Mediumweight in Bella Coola
US 2 circs, thankfully I found a 16" circ so I didn't magic loop all of it.

Mods-unwittingly, I only hat 140 sts instead of 144. I had no idea until the decrease row, after some maths...I ended up just skipping a decrease section. They went so much quicker than anything else.

Will I knit this again...not for a while and sure as hell not on size 2's again! It is a great use of a skein of sock yarn or heavier yarn, you know that single skein you bought for some reason ;)