Update: 140 Square Blanket of Death

Some of you may be wondering 'what happened to that very ambitious blanket Megan was hooking??' Prepare to be answered - and hopefully dazzled.

I took a one-week hiatus from the blanket because I had packed it for the Fair and did not feel like climbing into the very back of my cavernous truck to unpack between our two engagements. I also took a break to knit SockS! and Cupcacke Hat. But I have been working as is evidenced here:

That my friend is 104 squares out of 140 completed. I only have two colors left - black and white and I need the most squares of these two.

I hate finishing things - sewing up seams is not my style for some reason and that it all comes at the end only further paralyzes my process. So, I think I'm going to start piecing this blanket together now a little bit at a time, more 'middling' than finishing. Perhaps it will be less daunting that way. We'll see.

I found this cool thing on Lolly's blog today and had to try it myself. It makes a cute little table of your fav music.

http://www.hotfreelayouts.com/music.php

A cupcake a day

Or in two days will give you arthritis. Which I do not recommend on top of pregnancy. Luckily, my fingers seem to be back to normal and Nicole loved her hat.

Sorry for the funky coloring, but the camera is crazy and this pic was bright red madness originally.

I knit the hat modifying the pattern from Chile con Yarne. She had only listed baby and kid's sizes so I had to take a stab at knitting it bigger. I started it on Monday at 11:30AM and wove in the ends at 3:30PM on Tuesday - speed knitting at its best. It could use a little more length in the frosting section, but Nicole loves it so I will not fret.

It reminds me of those Arby's commercials where people have Arby's hats over their heads when they're 'thinking Arby's'. It sounds a lot more fun to be 'thinking cupcakes'. :)

Speaking of cupcakes, Wayne organized a little birthday bash for Nicole on Tuesday night and we ate cupcakes. And looked adoringly at cupcakes. And got some cupcake up our noses.

Happy Birthday Nicool!!

5 senses friday

sight
alison's sequin-covered recital costume
pink and purple everywhere
wayne sleeping in

smell
kool-aid
freshly mowed grass
sweaty brewski

touch
soft wool yarn
hugs from friends
adrienne's super-soft baby bunting

sound
ali's dance party
people screaming at the fair
the new and improved air conditioning in our room

taste
funnel cake
light lemonade
pf changs deliciousness - i haven't tasted this yet, but will tonight :)

I made something pretty

And Alison helped.

We went to Michael's yesterday and bought some Patons Merino wool, then we went to Publix and bought some Kool-Aid. When we got home we 'made pink and purple' in Mason jars and soaked our yarn. Ali went down for her nap and when she woke up, our pink and purple had gotten all over our yarn.

Here are some Kool-Aid dyeing items of interest that I will remember next time:

1. It smells so good.

2. I think I needed to use more and put smaller amounts of yarn in each jar. The color turned out a little uneven. (or see #4)

3. The actual dyeing time is fast! I expected the yarn to be in the pot/jars for at least 15 minutes before much happened, but it took 5.

4. Maybe Patons Merino Wool is not the best for dyeing. I noticed while it was soaking that it wasn't soaking evenly. Next time I'm going to try KnitPicks Dye-Your-Own.

On another knitting note, I finished SockS! Both of them! No slacking here. And the pink and purple is for striped Alison-size socks which I'll start today.

FO: Sock!

While sitting at the Fair on Saturday, I knit along the length of Sock without a care in the world. Then it occured to me that I should see how long it is, so I asked Nicole to try it on. It went all the way over her toes. Everyone was so happy, but I was not. I explained that I needed to leave 1.5" for toe shaping which if I did at this point would be much too long. I needed to frog.

But I didn't want to frog, so instead I pouted. And everytime I thought of my sock over the course of Sunday and Monday, I pouted some more. I was too overwhelmed to think about not twisting my stitches when I picked them back up and making sure they all got back on the right needles. Until after dinner last night, when apparently a full tummy made me brave.

I frogged almost 1.5" and only ended up with 3 twisted stitches which I fixed on my next round. I finished out the toe shaping and then sewed the whole thing shut. I will not call what I did grafting - it's more of an application of lots of yarn to holding something together.

All that said, Sock! is finished!!!!

And if you look to the right of my finished sock you will see that I've very responsibly started the second one already. Maybe by next week we'll be celebrating SockS!

5 Senses Friday and Sock update

sight
alison's delight at three seperate egg hunts
making a dyed "brown" egg
vivid yarn dyeing tutorial

smell
lovely lilies
fresh rain
all the perfumes at the makeup counter

touch
little bowl after felting
wayne's hand as we walked through the mall
new trackball mouse

sound
solsbury hill by peter gabriel
brewski barking in the middle of the night
happy nicool

taste
blackened chicken @ bahama breeze
GARLIC mashed potatoes @ bahama breeze
salsa with a kick @ girabaldi's


With a little help from Adrienne after my freak out, I successfully completed the heel turn and gusset of Sock. Now to just make it big enough and get through the dreaded toe . . .

Swap-tastic

Before I started the socks, I mentioned a DPN-intensive project I'd been working on, and my partner rec'd it today, so now I can post about it.

I made her a little pill holding dish from the pattern MancalaMia at knitty. It was a little difficult to get started, but knit up really quickly (under 4 hours) once I stopped being awkward.



Once it was finished, I threw it in the washer to felt it. I expected it to take 10 - 20 minutes, but it ended up taking closer to 45 minutes to felt all the way up.



And then, viola! A much better picture of the finished piece, taken by the recipient Kristen. Thanks!

Sock!

I've got about 6 inches of my Joan's Socks finished. I just started blindly following the directions for the heel flap and from what I've done so far, they're fairly clear. I'm using the 'just do it' mantra - whatever the pattern says I do, no matter how screwy it sounds.

I tried it on. Its a little snug for me, but since they're for Aileen I think they'll be great.

I'm a Super-Starter

I'm starting to figure out why it took me over a year and a half to finish Aileen's sweater. It seems that when I work on a long, labor-intensive project, I get really easily distracted from it and start new things. So, since I've been hooking the Color Bar Blanket for a little over a month, and its starting to lose a little luster, the last week has been a testament to procrastination by new project.

I was originally pulled away by the craftster One Tiny Thing Rnd. 5 Swap, which led me to challenge myself with DPNs. Once I figured out that I could use them, I couldn't help but want to make a pair of socks - or really just one sock to prove I can do it, but a pair is much more practical. Plus I can give them to Aileen and they should fit better than the aforementioned sweater. So here's the start of Sock 1:

In addition, when I learned to crochet, I skipped learning the Single Crochet stitch because I didn't need it for what I was making. Then I found this blanket pattern using all single crochets and I started thinking how cute it would be to make Mini-Golf a blanket. So I picked up the yarn and started that too. Needless to say, crochet was a lot faster when it was double than single.

Ali the Egg Hunter

Not at all craft related, but here are some pics of Alison at the Ocoee Egg Hunt this morning. One of her many eggs contained a prize ticket, so in addition to her bucket full of eggs with little prizes and candies, she won another bucket full of larger prizes and candies. :)

"What?? Is the camera on?? Yes, this is Alison, live in Ocoee. . ."

I think she would have flown if she could.

5 Senses Friday

A recap of senses over the course of this past week.

sight
mountains of yarn at joann's
my husband getting more in shape everyday
Emily kicking on the outside

smell
something sweet is blooming in the front yard
clean Brewski
not much due to a stuffy nose

touch
Ali's clean hair
a chilly breeze in the evening
tissues on my nose

sound
Alison's belly-laughs
click-click of DPNs
snarky comments during Survivor

taste
coffee, and more coffee
sundried tomatoes in pasta
chocolate brownie cupcakes

Proverbs 31:13

I happened upon this verse in my reading today about a Godly wife.

"She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands." Prov. 31:13

I'll have to tell Wayne I'm one step closer to perfect. :)

Also, I spent yesterday evening and this morning working on an ambitious project for a craftster swap. Everything went well and once my partner receives her goodies, I'll post about it.

On the 8th day God created Post-its, Ziplocs and Sharpie Markers

At least that's what I think. Without these things I never would have made it through high school, college or being a busy mommy. They sure helped out this morning.

When I started knitting, my lovely husband bought me a basket to keep my knitting in. It sat next to my knitting chair in the living room and I had all my latest projects handy and organized. A few months ago, we rearranged the living room furniture and my knitting spot moved away from my knitting basket. This made the basket more of a catch-all than a functioning organizing system.

So this morning when I went to look for a simple pair of needles, it looked like this:

I got out my handy-dandy gallon-size Ziploc baggies and went to town putting each individual open project in its on place. I put all my needles away in their respective needlecases and cleaned house.

And in the end I have a much more organized basket and may even take a crochet-break and do a little knitting today. :)

96 squares of this blanket to go . . .

You can sing it along to "99 bottles of beer", or maybe you won't 'cause you're not square-crazed. :)

Anyway, here's what 44 completed squares look like.

Knitting Field Trip

I met Debbie Stoller!! And she was wicked cool.

We left in the early afternoon, drove to Tampa and met her at a book-signing/trunk sale. I was accompanied by my knitters-in-crime: Nicole, Jessica, Carmen, Eve and Adrienne. We spent a few minutes each getting our many books signed and chatting Debbie up and then took some pics.

I haven't gotten Eve's yet and this one is a little wonky, but here's a pic that Jess' camera got. Excuse the awkwardness of some facial expressions and the fact that I'm mostly covered. :)

color bar insanity

My yarn arrived last Tuesday evening and after taking a short break to crochet up some star-shaped coasters for a craftster swap, I dove right into making the 140 sqaures required for the Color Bar Blanket from the Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller.

As of this morning, I've completed 18 squares. I have a lot to go, but I'm optimistic and they work up really quickly.

At left, a picture of the squares thus far.

Maybe meeting Debbie Stoller on Wednesday will inspire me to crochet even faster. :)

hey mr. postman

Or UPS man rather...

My yarn for the Color Bar blanket from the Happy Hooker arrives today! I'm excited to start it.

I'm more excited to bring what I have done of it by next Wednesday with me when I go meet Debbie Stoller!!!! She's going to be in Tampa for a book signing and some of the NYGK chicks are heading her way. I can't wait.

Crochet-O-Rama

More finished crochet projects. Each only took me a couple of hours. Hours!! Its crochet-mazing!

Another swap success

Here is a photo of a little outfit I made for a recent Baby/Kid Swap for craftster. I think it turned out darling. :)

Modeled by the recipient, Elora, who has that whole runway pout thing down.

Ta da...

In just under 2 weeks, one completed baby star blanket.

a renewed me

I am renewing my commitment to keeping this blog up-to-date. Its not like I don't knit everyday in some capacity, why not take 5 minutes and tell others about it.

The main reason for the longish hiatus is I am now currently 5.5 months pregnant and that takes away a lot of your energy. Especially when you still have an active 3-year-old to entertain. That being said, no more excuses. On to the update.

I learned to crochet!!!

I was convinced that I was crochetarted and would never master it, but then I found this amazing pattern that I NEEDED. And with the patient help of one Miss Adrienne Magnificent at SnB two weeks ago, I mastered it. Or at least I mastered this pattern. The blanket needs one more round and then its off to new baby Amber. :)

I bombed out on the Knitting Olympics. Not quite my finest hour. I didn't even get 20% of my project finished. Please note aforementioned sleepiness as my excuse. I did however start Knitty's Tasha bag which I've wanted to knit since I learned to knit and that's something. Its hard to admit that I have more in common with Bode Miller than Sasha Cohen.

So currently on the old needles I have Amber's blanket, Tasha bag and other stuff I'm not really working on. When I finish Amber's blanket (should be later today) I'm going to start another one, just to make sure I can.

I'll post photos of the finished blankie soon.

Happy New Year (a little late)...

Aileen's sweater arrived and she tried it on and it was too big. I was devestated at first. I didn't want to knit anything else but a scarf for the rest of my life. But I thought it over and have decided to try to knit another sweater soon, maybe something smaller for Ali. I figure if I just jump right back in the discouragement will go away. I did mention to Aileen that the sweater is really densely knit and she could probably get out her trusty sewing machine and take it in. We'll see.

Here she is holding it up, things weren't looking sooo very grim yet.

And here it is on.

I've been keeping busy with other projects that have been given away and I'm waiting on pictures of. Hopefully I'll be posting again soon.

el fin

I have finally finished Aileen's sweater and it is on its way to Colorado as I type. Hooray! I'll post pics once she sends me some.

a whole month...ick

needless to say, its been a busy month.

I finished knitting Aileen's sweater and it is now in the assembly stage. That sucker will be there for Christmas. Hooray.

I co-organized the Unconditional Swap on craftster with Nicool and that was very time-consuming. By the end I think there were something like 200 people signed up - I could be exaggerating. :)

Jason has been able to throw a lot of proofing work my way which is delightful. Presents to Wayne seem a lot more present-y when I don't buy them with 'his' money.

r & r

after hosting the 3-year-old birthday party to beat all 3-year-old birthday parties, i've been resting up. now, i'm back in the swing of things. here is a photo of the happy bday girl - i'll post photos of the kickass backpacks I made soon:

not quite knitting related . . .

but I've had some people request to know what stamp sets I have, and this seems like a good place to list them:

A Little Love
All the Best
All Year Cheer 1
Alphabits
Alpha Shadows
Baby Firsts
Bitty Bolds
Burst into Bloom
Cheery Chat
Classic Alphabet
Crayon Kids
Crazy for Christmas
Cuddles and Tickles
Fanciful Favorites
Fresh Flowers
Fun Filled
Funky Flowers
Gifts from the Orient
Handmade w/ Love II
Happy Winter
Holiday Minis
Holiday Print
Itty Bitty Borders
Just Journaling
Little Layers
Little Shapes
Love w/o End
Make A Wish
Paint Prints
Painted Garden
Perfect Party
Pretty Princess
Shapes & Shadows
Simple Somethings
Simply Circles
Sincere Salutations
Small Script
Stars and Swirls
Sweet Talk
Tags and More
The Fine Print
The Shape of Things
Wonderful Wings

a little bit about me...

X marks the Meg. . .

[ ] I've run away from home.
[X] I listen to political music.
[ ] I collect comic books.
[X] I shut others out when I'm sad.
[X] I open up to others easily.
[ ] I am keeping a secret from the world.
[X] I watch the news.
[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs.
[X] I own an I-Pod.
[X] I own something from Hot Topic.
[ ] I love Disney movies.
[X] I am a sucker for hair/eyes.
[ ] I don't kill bugs
[ ] I curse regularly.
[X] I paid for that cell phone ringtone.
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name.
[X] I've slipped out a "lol" in a real conversation.
[ ] I love Spam.
[X] I bake well.
[X] I would wear pajamas to school.
[X] I own something from Abercrombie
[ ] I have a job.
[X] I love Martha Stewart.
[X] I am in love with someone.
[X] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
[ ] I am self conscious.
[X] I like to laugh.
[ ] I smoke a pack a day.
[ ] I loved Go Ask Alice.
[ ] I have cough drops when I'm not sick.
[ ] I can't swallow pills.
[ ] I have many scars.
[X] I've been out of this country.
[ ] I believe in ghosts.
[ ] I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room.
[X] I am really ticklish.
[ ] I see/have seen a therapist.
[X] I love chocolate.
[ ] I bite my nails.
[X] I am comfortable with being me.
[ ] I play computer games/video games when i'm bored.
[X] Gotten lost in your city.
[X] Saw a shooting star.
[X] Gone out in public in your pajamas.
[X] I have kissed a stranger.
[X] Hugged a stranger.
[ ] Been in a fight with the same sex.
[ ] Been arrested.
[X] Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
[X] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
[X] Made out in an elevator.
[X] Swore at your parents.
[ ] Kicked a guy where it hurts.
[ ] Been skydiving.
[ ] Been bungee jumping.
[X] Broken a bone.
[X] Played spin the bottle.
[X] Gotten stitches.
[ ] Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.
[ ] Bitten someone.
[ ] Been to Niagara Falls.
[X] Gotten the chicken pox.
[X] Crashed into a friend's car.
[ ] Been to Japan.
[X] Ridden in a taxi.
[X] Shoplifted. (Hello Kitty gum at 5 years old. My mom make me take them back.)
[ ] Been fired.
[X] Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.
[X] Stole something from your job. (If sticky notes count!)
[X] Gone on a blind date.
[X] Lied to a friend.
[X] Had a crush on a teacher/coach.
[ ] Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
[ ] Been to Europe.
[ ] Slept with a co-worker.
[X] Been married.
[ ] Gotten divorced.
[ ]Saw someone dying.
[X]Driven over 400 miles in one day.
[X] Been to Canada.
[X] Been on a plane.
[X] Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
[X] Thrown up in a bar.
[X] Eaten Sushi.
[ ] Been snowboarding.
[ ] Been skiing.
[X] Been ice skating.
[X] Met someone in person from the internet.
[ ] Been to a motorcross show.
[X] Gone/Going to college.
[ ] Done hard drugs
[X] Taken painkillers.
[ ] Cheated on someone else
[X] Were so bored you took this survey.
[X] Have a tattoo

busy, busy, busy

The last couple of weeks have been busy...getting adjusted to a new schedule and whatnot. I have completed somethings though, and started some too.

I put together 2 more submissions for the Sampler, one for September and one for October. It seems to be bringing the etsy store a lot of traffic. Speaking of which, I sold something!! Two somethings actually, two scarves to a really nice girl from England. It feels really validating to have some feedback finally. :)

The spinning has been on hiatus because I've just been too tired to deal with it. Or sore - new personal trainer doesn't think that crafting is something to save energy for.

Aileen's sweater is still trucking along. I really think I can have it done for Christmas if I just keep on it.

Right now I'm in countdown to Saturday - I started a baby blanket on Monday evening that I need for a baby shower Saturday evening. I'm cutting it a little tight, but I think I'll make it(keeping fingers crossed).

swaps galore

Here are some things I made for a recent craftster.org swap. The theme was "Something you can put stuff in".

A wallet:





A mini-scrapbook:





A jordy bag:





And a really great bunch of cards I received from craft_t_chic for the Greeting Card Swap:

report card

here's what i've got going and how well i'm working on it:

* aileen's sweater: back finished, sleeves started. i really tend to just knit on this at knitting group so hopefully tonite will be a productive time.

* mary ella from knitty.com: all beads on cotton. all necessary tools present and accounted for. have yet to do even one stitch.

* spinning: took adrienne's free yarn off the spindle and started on my ebay roving. it is delightful to spin with, very soft with long fibers. i try to put in at least 1/2 an hour each day, but don't always make it.

* darci scarf from KnitWit: had to take it off the needles to lend them to someone. will resume at a later date.

* Jen's garter: ha! too difficult for me. i finished about 2 inches and gave up. too small, too many special stitches.

* unbiased from knitty.com: finished. i still haven't worn it anywhere, but its done. i'll post photos soon.

In addition I've been trying to keep my cardmaking going along so I can sell some cards on etsy.

the sampler

I'm in this month's (August) Sampler. My hand-stamped card samples were added as a Sneak Peek today. Woo hoo! Check it out here:

http://www.homeofthesampler.com

yikes...almost 10 days

since I last posted. sorry. we've been in potty training boot camp in preparation for uber-strict dance class dress code.

I'm organizing my first swap on craftster.org and so far its going well. Will keep that updated.

I have finished the back of Aileen's sweater - this seems like a miracle and is truly a victory to be celebrated. I even started on the sleeves right away so as not to lose momentum.

Adrienne, my lovely friend from Knitting group, brought me a drop spindle and some roving on Tuesday so I could try my hand at spinning. I like it, my yarn is all slubby, but its very cool. I can't wait to dye it funky colors.

My goal for today is to get my penpal letter out, or at least have it written for mailing tomorrow.

swap: craft your own knitting needles and goodies

So here at long last are the items I sent for my first Craftster swap.

Everything:



Case Inside:



Case Outside:



Needles:



The needle case was made out of an old pair of jeans and some remnant fabric. I embroidered the front with the help of Sublime Stitching. The needles were made from chop sticks (yellow) and dowels (red) with button tops. I also included stitchmarkers and note cards to give with knitted items that you could include the fiber/washing info.

littleone loved everything and I can't wait to see what people think of the craftster gallery.

neglect

I feel a little neglectful since its been a week between posts. But lets not dwell on that and push forward.

Last night was knitting night with the girls. It was a lot of fun, everyone is working on some great stuff. I finished another couple inches on Aileen's sweater back. I'm just about to start the raglan shaping and then that piece will be done. This sweater is working up so much faster that the last one, mostly because I only really knit on it at knit night. I knit much, much faster there. :)

I'm going to post another list of open projects and how far along I am soon.

etsy.com

so i just discovered etsy.com courtesy of leah at craftster.org and have posted some things to sell. i want to get some more of my knitting up, but first i have some linings to add and some ends to weave in. feel free to visit: http://megaknits.etsy.com .

Happy 4th!!

A little Independence Day craftiness - for Grandpa Bill's bday party: