All the Fiber, None of the Fat

Monday, April 30, 2007

FO and a found computer cable

Found it! Houston we have pictures.

First are the April socks for the Sock a Month KAL3

Notice the sock forms…..look close…..those are boxers cut out on the forms! How cool is that! These were gifted to me by my secret pal and waiting for me when I got home from work on Saturday. I LOVE them.

On to the socks….knitted from a pattern in ‘Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. Elongated rib, which is the same pattern I used for ‘Sweetness’s’ socks. Such an easy pattern repeat and so much fun to knit. The yarn was also gifted to me by my secret pal….it’s from Tidal Brook Yarns, Fleece Artist, 100% hand dyed merino. It went from this:

To this:

The socks fit me perfectly but it’s 80 degrees in Texas, so wool sock wearing weather has passed for the time being.

Next I finished the baby cardigan for my friends daughters baby in time to gift it to her at her baby shower.

I also managed to whip up a pair of matching booties. I paired it with a cute little lacey top with matching pants which rounded out my gift nicely. I got a lot of complements on it…..I’m pretty pleased.


Not pictured but also started and completed this weekend was a bath mitt for Mr. Man knitted in 100% cotton….

Yes I was a knitting fool.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Much weekend doings, much Saturday whining

Another Saturday and I’m stick at work. Sometimes I think it might have been easier when I was just an hourly employee rather then the boss. No I’m not complaining….well ok, maybe a little.

Mr. Man had a gig last night and has another one tonight….then working from me on Sunday for some MTV thingy happening in town. He didn’t get in until the wee hours last night, I’m sure it will be the same situation tonight and his load in on Sunday is ‘ugly’ early…..he’s less then thrilled, but hopefully the extra money will help ease the pain a bit. Our checking account is hemorrhaging because I miscalculated….I hate when that happens. Money issues ~sigh~ my mother always said “lack of money is the root of all evil”….and with gas prices at just under 3 dollars a gallon and the trickle affect as a result making every thing cost more it’s hitting every one hard. I’d love to get ‘off the grid’ and buy a hybrid car and fit my house with solar power. Ok….enough whining.

I worked on seaming that baby cardigan last night. Didn’t finish it yet, I have no idea why I’m so reluctant to just do it and get it over with. Well, not really true, I know why I’m procrastinating….truly I stink at weaving in ends and seaming things together. I need to get over it…..maybe there’s a class at my local yarn shop I can take? I’ll need to look into it.

I also worked on my April socks….I’m running out of time on all these projects.

Procrastination thy name is Monika.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Last night I ‘went-a-searching’

Hunting for computer cable-age …..bound and determined to find the interface cable for my camera. As I dug through my desk I found just about everything else….but the damn cable. Left over yarn, lancets, test strips (how the heck do these little buggers end up all over the damn place) mingled in between ‘important’ papers. I’m a packrat….bordering on slob. I have cables to printers I don’t own anymore….connectors to things I can’t identify and bread ties. ??? Bread ties? Weird.

One thing led to another and I decided that I should clear / organize my yarn. More bits and pieces of fiber in shopping bags hanging on doorknobs of every closet in this house. Yarn….pattern directions….knitting needles….test stripes…..wait? Yep test strips….damn; I’m finding these suckers everywhere.

This of course led to my cleaning out my purse. Apparently I’m incapable of throwing out any receipt….no matter how insignificant. Chap stick with enough lint on it to make it difficult to determine what kind it once was. Phone numbers written on little pieces of scrap paper with no names to identify to whom the number belongs (that’s always helpful) Knitting needles, yarn bands, cell phone, makeup, glucose meter, empty test strip vile…. and more lancets and test strips lose on the bottom.

As I type (at work) looking to my right….on the floor….in front of my scanner….I spy another test strip. ~sigh~

And still….no damn camera interface cable.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

I got Stitch Markers

Pretty itty bitty ones....red....from my secret pal. Thanks Pal!

Pictures to follow, hopefully tonight, when I find the cable for my camera....because if it's not one thing it's another.

I finished knitting all the pieces to the baby cardigan I’m making for the shower on the 28th. It’s cute….super fast easy knit because it’s basically 5 rectangles. The pattern calls for a garter stitch but I did it in a seed just to change things a bit. Pattern is here and was featured on an episode of The Carol Duvall show. All I have left to do is seam it together, once I figure out which seaming technique best suits the seed stitch pattern (Ideas? Comments? Suggestions?) ….I plan on attaching little pink ribbons randomly on the front and back and add a pink ribbon tie. Like the picture below (also from Carol Duvall's site)....but I'm not weaving ribbon around the bottom. Let's hope mine turns out even half as nice...I'm horible at 'finishing' and seaming. It really seems to be an area where my skills are lacking.


I also knitted some matching baby booties using the same yarn (Baby Bee – Little Britches ‘frolic’) which is a black yarn with pink and white weaved into it that I found hiding in my stash. Still need to buy the ribbon and a pink shirt and black baby pants to complete the gift. Wish me luck.

My April socks are still unfinished…..looks like I’ll be cutting it close again this month. But I really needed to get this baby gift figured out and finished.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Randomness for a Saturday

Stuck at work today….and I’m just about as happy as a person can be that’s stuck at work on a Saturday. In case you missed it that would be sarcasm.

Much clock watching going on….is it 3pm yet?

We had a major storm here yesterday. I was caught completely off guard even though the weathermen (persons) had warned us all day about the potential. Friday nights are my hot tub nights….a glass of wine and a soak in 110 degree water under the stars. It’s a ritual I rarely miss. So true to form I was neck deep in water when I noticed the lightening….and then preceded to disregard it thinking it was nothing….Plenty of time for a soak before the weather reached me. Ahhh….wrong….one big ‘crack’ and the sky completely opened up. In the time it took me to jump out of the tub, grab my clothes, put them on (can’t very well run naked across the yard….well I could, but I’m trying not to scare small children) and run to the house I was drenched head to toe and the lighting was directly above me. When I reached the house….out of breath and dripping, Mr. Man took one look at me and said “you know there’s a tornado warning….right?”….do now, damn it, thanks for the heads up….sheesh…

It did blow in a nice cold front that knocked the humidity out of the air, but the wind was pretty bad and today….well 20 mile an hour gusts are predicted which made driving into work this morning thrilling.

I’ve managed to make it to the heel flap on my April socks….talk about taking it slow. I’m only able to work on them a little bit at a time before my fingers start complaining. Old age stinks. These socks sure are pretty and taking this slowly while frustrating because I want them done now…is keeping me from making mistakes. They are turning out great.

I have a baby shower to attend on the 28th and I had hoped / planned on knitting something ‘baby’ inspired but I haven’t even started yet….ok….haven’t even picked a pattern….yarn….nothing. I need to find something quick and easy and I need to find it….yesterday.

Off to search the web for some inspiration.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Secret Pal strikes again

Waiting for me when I got home from work last night was this:



No…that’s not an actual picture of ‘my’ wool winder…but I can't find my camera. I’d bet money ‘the daughter’ has it…..she will be flogged….come to think of it... I think she has my favorite pair of shoes too….rotten child.

Anyway…..

I spent an hour watching American Idol (why haven’t they voted Sanjaya off yet? Really why?) and winding yarn into perfect flat bottom center pull ‘balls’….I now have a dozen or so sitting in my stash looking pretty. ;) Mr. Man actually asked me if I was going to wind every single skein I had “right now”…..ahh? I kinda thought I might? Why is that obsessive?

Thank you so much secret pal….what a great little gadget

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

The new 'Mag' in town and Easter doings

Got my first YARN magazine in the mail yesterday. I love it (thanks again Secret Pal). It's full of great articles (one on using a spindle....which I really really want to try) and some real nifty patterns. So in between working on my April socks and the poncho from hell, I read the thing cover to cover.

'Sweetness' had a Barbie Easter....Barbie basket, with a Barbie doll and Barbie candy....she couldn't have been happier, although she took Barbie’s hair out of its perfect ponytail and noticed she was bald. The manufacture had only given her enough hair for a ponytail. Guess they didn't count on a 5-year-old hairstylist….silly manufactures, don’t they know the very first thing a 5-year-old does with a new doll is its hair? ‘Sweetness’ got a kick out of it and spent the rest of the day showing everyone Barbie’s bald head…..yep, hours of amusement.

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Wow…I’m in a ‘posty’ sort of mood today

How very prolific of me….maybe I shouldn’t have said that, since now you’ll expect some sort of profound post and this doesn’t promise to be that at all.

It’s rain outside….now rain in central Texas in April is nothing to alert the news media about (although to watch the local news around here you’d think this was the beginnings of the great flood worthy of Noah and maybe including an Ark) no….no big deal. Except that it’s 30 something degrees outside (one of my employees just said our meter reads 37)….in APRIL and the weather forecast reads:

Cloudy, windy and much colder! We'll start the morning with temperatures in the mid-40s with a gusty north wind at 10-20 mph. There is a 90% chance for rain showers off and on for much of the day. By afternoon, as temperatures fall into the 30s, the rain may be mixed with sleet in the Hill Country, and perhaps even in Austin by Saturday night. Because the ground is so warm, any wintery precipitation that falls will melt quickly. A light freeze is possible Saturday night in the Hill Country, with temperatures falling to around 34 degrees in Austin.

**looks out the tiny little window in my office**….it’s f**king APRIL….and it might sleet? What kind of cruel joke is THAT! It was 80 last week…..eight zero….and we had the air conditioners on.

NOTE TO MOTHER NATURE:
Ok….not funny…..knock it off already.

Sweetness and Light


New school picture came this week....guess she's going for that smushy face thing from now on. ;) Smushy face

Friday, April 6, 2007

Lookie what I've done so far

April socks are moving right along. K2P2 rib is nearly complete and then on to the body of the socks.



Isn't this yarn pretty? So nice to knit with....I just can't thank my Secret Pal enough.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Work is completely getting in the way of my knitting.

I’ve started on my April socks…finally. I’m knitting up that yummy merino that my Secret Pal sent me. It’s SOOO pretty. Here’s where she got it from Tidal Brook Yarns Check it out….she has some amazing things in her ebay store. I see money spending in my future. I’m knitting these socks on US #1 double points (damn those suckers are tiny)…K2P2 rib for 1.5 inches but from there I haven’t really decided what pattern to go with. This is a pretty busy yarn so I’m thinking ‘less is more’ when it comes to the body of the sock….but I just LOVED knitting that elongated corded rib (that I used for Sweetness’s socks) so I’m leaning towards that….but I know myself and I might end up changing my mind….again.

I’m ‘yarn shopping’….not buying yet but looking and researching what yarn I want to knit a summer shawl out of. Yes I’ve decided I NEED a summer shawl. I’ve narrowed my pattern search down to four contenders with the one I posted yesterday as the front runner. But rather then jumping in without thinking it through I’m taking my time and making sure it’ll be something I’m really happy with….unlike the winter poncho I’m currently knitting (and ripping and knitting again), although I think I’m finally happy with that way its coming along. Interestingly enough I ended up knitting it in a dark purple variegated yarn (it’s an acrylic blend….not my favorite but easy to throw in the wash with my jeans) in a garter stitch, again not all that exciting but really well suited for the pattern and the yarn (On my Denise Interchangeable Circulars my mother bought me). Wow…I must be maturing….very ‘knitty’ practical of me.

I’ve also started ‘shopping’ for a nice bulky natural blend to knit a throw rug out of using my knitting board. I found a great pattern and I’m itching to cast SOMETHING on to my completely yarn ‘naked’ knitting board also a gift from my mom. It taunts me every time I walk past it “Hey you gonna knit on me or what?” Yes….yes I will….just as soon as I find the right yarn.

I heard from my Secret Pal (is it spoilee or spoiler? I never remember….and apparently English grammar and spelling escapes me) anyway….the one I’m spoiling. She got the gift certificate I had her LYS send her….had to do a bit of researching on that one let me tell you. Google mapquest is my friend. She went right out and bought all kinds of yarn….woman after my own heart.

Ok…enough mindless rambling. I’m actually at work. As you can see I’m getting a lot of important work stuff done….yep…right. Again, good thing I’m the boss or I would really can my behind.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Woohoo….happy dancing

I have a subscription to Yarn Magazine….oh yes I do! Thanks to my Secret Pal….who totally rocks….oh yes she does.

I want to make THIS:




Isn’t it pretty?