Tube Scarf

I just finished a scarf today......which I started one year ago today.

The Classic Elite's Tube Scarf is a very pretty, light weight, lacy knit that is absolutely WONDERFUL to wear. It was only after I wrapped this around my neck that I feel in love with it.

I wanted this scarf the moment I saw it in the pattern book. Once I started knitting it however, I had a hard time sticking with it. Knitting two panels to 60" length seems to drag on slowly, but when one of the panels is in straight stockinette stitch you lose all sense of direction, the world stops rotating yet seasons come and go and you feel like you are only growing older while knitting this never ending panel. I imagine that it would be similar to knitting a roll of toilet paper. Only with the Silky Alpaca yarn you find yourself petting it more than you'd ever squeeze a roll of Charmin.

I would rethink the BLACK panel. It was slow and boring to knit, but the yarn just felt so good in the hands that the longer it got the more I wanted to knit on it. The problem came when sewing the panels together. The black color made it nearly impossible to see the edge of the stitch and more than once I wanted to just stab myself in the eyes with the needle. You need extremely good lighting when you sew these panels together......something I had trouble finding at home.......In the bathroom under the heat lamp was my best light, but who wants to sew on a scarf while dripping with sweat?

I really do love this scarf now that I have it and can wear it. Of course, this scarf is also the first knit project I have made where both of my daughters uttered ooohs and ahhhhs while petting and rubbing the scarf on their necks and face exclaming that now they each want one!!

Figures.

Traffic Jams are Ok!

Last night while driving home from Lori's Frames, Fibers & Frills, my LYS, I came to a screeching halt. This two lane portion of westbound 8 was blocked by what I'd later find out from a radio report was a roll of carpet blocking two lanes.

So while people sat idle in their cars, grumbling, yelling out their windows, overheating with frustration, I just turned on the overhead light and pulled out my knitting. For 40 minutes my needles clicked away on the Meandering Vines Shawl while workers removed debris and three tow trucks towed some unfortunate cars away that apparently hit the carpet.

I am knitting this shawl with Zauberball sock yarn in the cranberry colorway.

This morning I looked my work over and am happy to report, not one dropped stitch and no corrections needed.

Knitters have such great coping skills!

Halloween Night and knitting away the frights.

To quote Vincent Price, “It's as much fun to scare as to be scared.”

Tonight is Halloween and it has been a tradition that we set up a spooky entrance where someone decked out in costume jumps out and scares the living [insert your favorite adjective here] out of the Trick or Treaters.

My favorite part the next morning after the sun comes up, we go out to the front lawn and find all the spilled candy and rate our family's performance by the amount of goodies that have been dropped from the Trick or Treaters running for their lives.

Can you find Jasper in the picture?

Tonight, Janeva is going to take the lead. She has fixed a black coffin lit by a strobe light where she will jump out and let out a scream as the Trick or Treaters start to leave with their treats. She has been at it for about an hour now....and from the screams I'm hearing we are going to need a shovel to pick up the loot off the front lawn in the morning. Uh...and I think some people are going to be doing a unexpected load of laundry as well.

(It isn't all horribly, we are hearing lots of giggles and claps from the parents at Janeva's performance)

Meanwhile, I have spent the day getting in the mood by watching horror flicks and knitting. A great combo I think!

I had the priviledge of being selected to test knit a new pattern for Kalurah's "Ireland Knit Version" a neck warmer that is a great knit. This evening I sewed on the buttons and took the pictures. I love the buttons!! I think they are perfect for this neck warmer. I used Cascade Pastaza yarn which after blocked is very soft. This is a fun and quick project, which would be a great candidate for some Christmas presents.

Now I'm going to go block another project! I am on a knitting role these days.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Epic Knitting - My First Lace Project

Epic Knitting. That is what my first lace project has turned into! I have never been interested in lace knitting before. When other knitters shared their lace projects I'd look, smile, nod, and appreciate the project with a "that is really pretty" while thinking, "not for me".

This summer my favorite LYS, Lori's Frames, Fibers and Frills had a Forest Path Stole KAL. The pattern looked overwhelming, and my first reaction was "I could never......". Then I heard my mom's voice in my head "Of course you can...." and not wanting to miss a opportunity to knit with friends, I signed up thinking that I'd do it to learn new techniques.

I have to be honest and say that at the very start of this lace project I was struggling and not really enjoying it all. The Lily of the Valley panels at one point just pissed me off because of the annoying little nubs, lumbs, nipples, pimples [insert your own here] doodads that had to have 5 loops purled together on the wrong side. As a typically tight knitter these little bulges gave me hand cramps and night sweats.

I think around the 3rd tier, I realized that I was not enjoying this project because I was stressing over those nubs. At that point I just surrendered and purposely focused on letting go of my frustration over knitting the little nubs, if nothing else, I'd be a nub pro by the end of this project.

Gradually, the enjoyment factor grew. I really was starting to get excited that I was sticking with it and this lump of lace was growing. I was also surprised how this very fine yarn was also very warm.......but then I was knitting during the heat of the summer too!

Ocasionally I would lift the lace work up and try to see the pattern of each tier....and while I could see that there was all the stitches that correlated to the charts, I just didn't see all the detail that I thought should be there. I began to worry about whether I was missing something. I continued on, compelled to finish.

THEN, I finished.

THEN, I blocked......I blocked late last night, the lighting was soft, (we need more light in the house!), I kept glancing at the clock as I was stretching, adjusting...pulling gently here, gently there, getting the edges straight, pinning and pinning and pinning. At 11:00pm, I stopped, I couldn't do more and I had to get up very early! I was tired...and so was Jasper....

Jasper was REALLY tired, apparently.

Anyhoo, I put towels over the top to protect this project from Jasper, the wonderfully fun and energetic kitty that has an incredible destructive streak when it comes to yarn.

This morning, I woke up and quickly checked the Forest Path to see if it was dry. I removed the pins and picked up the stole and then I stood there just amazed. Amazed at the airy, fluffy, light feel of this delicate lace that I was holding. I knitted this!! I am blown away!! I don't think the pictures really show the color and the pattern as nicely as being up close.

I think I might be a Lace Knitter!

Taking the UP-Cycle T-shirt class

I have been attending the UP-cycle T-shirt Class being taught online by Stefanie Japel.

The class is in week two of the three week program. The course takes t-shirts through a recycle process: dismantle, various methods of dyeing (with a very good presentation on color theory) and then knitting the t-shirt yarn into new items. Stefanie also gives four patterns for projects with this class.

This is not your ordinary online course mind you. Stefanie will be adding classes as her site grows, but if this is just a hint of what is to come, this could change the way people take classes in the future. It is perfect for any busy person juggling jobs, family and squeezing time in for their knitting. The class is self paced and all materials readily accessible.

I highly recommend this class or try the Fitted Shawl class just to experience this online class format and see if you won't agree with me. It is great!!

Good thing that the class is self paced for me, Jasper has added some extra challenges as well as entertainment for the family throughout the class thus far.

Take time to relax

Remember I introduced you to our newest family member, Jasper, our little black kitty? Well......

Today I'm going to take Jasper's lead and just relax today.



Jasper really does just sleep like this!! If he was any more relaxed I'd have to check to see if he has a pulse.

We all should be so relaxed, eh?

Enjoy your day!!

Never Forget

Remember that day when we were all busy taking our kids to school and rushing our way to work?

Remember how Islamic Terrorists changed our lives by killing innocent men, women and children heading to work, or flying to destinations afar?

Remember how we all stopped in our tracks and held our breaths with tears streaming and stinging our faces? Huddled around TVs and Radios living the events of that day, the sights and sounds in shock and disbelief?

Remember for weeks after 9/11 we all took things a little slower, showed one another patience, consideration and care?

Remember when we were ALL Americans, not just Conservatives or Liberals, Republicans or Democrats, Left or Right........Just Americans, outraged that our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers would be cut down for doing nothing more than just living their lives and living out their day?

Remember when no one apologized for being American?

Stand together, take time to consider everyone around you with compassion and gratitude. We did not deserve the events of 9/11, we did not cause the events of that day. Do not apologize for it and do not apologize for being a Proud American.

DO NOT ever FORGET 9/11.

Reconstruction begins.....

Preparing for the kitchen repair. We are done with the tear outs, dry outs, asbestos removal, clean-out, dig-out etc.

First order of business is PAINTING. Grant was just thrilled.

I think painting the bricks is the worst........so I gave that side of the kitchen to Grant!

Do you see the jeans? The jeans that are barely covering the Ghost Buster Boxers? Well, Grant was in total weekend warrior mode, when he went to Home Depot. While heading into the store a panhandler was about to ask Grant for some spare change when he spied the jeans Grant was wearing........then held out some money for Grant. What a week!!

We got the Kitchen nearly painted but won't be able to finish now till the cabinets are put back in and I can clear out the dining room, then I'll paint the corner that is currently blocked.

I have to admit, Grant did most of the painting. I was distracted by the Ghost Busters!

Sitting In The Middle Of A Debris Field

It has been quite awhile since I blogged. Clearly, I lost my Blogging Mojo for awhile and now it is time to get myself back together.

This has been a spring and summer season of trials and tribulations for me and my family. Starting in April, Jillian had an accident and totaled my car, my cute convertible. While trying to find a used car to buy, Grant's car broke down, leaving us with no car for a weekend (that is right up there with losing the TV remote control.....we were in a state of vapor lock for three days). In one week, we got Grant's car repaired, bought an older used car for me (youngest will be learning to drive in a few months) and also managed to get a nice used car for Jillian. Truth be told, Jillian is now driving a nicer car than Grant and I, but with all the safety features, including side air bags, it is the only way I can sort of rest easy.

We had a couple of nice things happen in between disasters, like adding a new member to the family. Jasper, the cutest, blackest, kitten with the biggest Catitude you have ever seen. Jasper has brought a lot of laughter to the household and the fact that Grant is not a "cat person" adds to the entertainment and wonderment.

Jasper likes to hang out in the oddest places, here he is, in the bathroom sink.

Keep in mind, we have ONE bathroom so there are times when Jasper hanging in the bathroom sink causes some conflict in the house. Like.......

.....when Grant wants to brush his teeth!

Unfortunately, Jasper also has drama tendencies himself (indication that he fits right in with this family). About four weeks ago, then 3 months old, Jasper was running around the house in what we call a "Kitty Spaz", jumping on the furniture and bouncing across the floor. I could hear Jasper's little paws pounding the carpet when I was rounding the corner from the hallway to the living room. All of sudden I felt an impact on my shin, and heard a pop! Jasper ran full tilt into my leg and went straight into Janeva's room under the bed and let out a horrendous cry. I was sick to my stomach because I was sure Jasper had a horrible injury. I called the vet and was told to take him immediately to the emergency vet hospital. Turned out, our little Jasper had a concussion and an eye injury. He is doing fine now, but Grant is convinced Jasper is not very smart.

Grant's dad and stepmom, Michael and Annette, came to visit us from Australia. Grant was able to take a road trip with them to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon and Skywalk and then we all did some local site seeing. It was great having them both here and they got to spend time with the girls, Jasper and I when Grant was working. We really enjoyed their visit and the time flew by far too quickly.

Jillian is working now, and Janeva has enjoyed having the summer off......

Then, three weeks ago, we discovered that we had a broken drain pipe under the slab in the kitchen. Resulting in the tear out of our kitchen and having the slab jack hammered up to find the offending pipe.

The pipe has been fixed and now we are looking forward to having a weekend of painting in the hopes that our cabinets and flooring will be installed next week. So we have been living in a small house with all the contents of the kitchen in every available space in the dining room and living room.

After all the fans, dehumidifiers and jackhammers running to dry out the walls and concrete floor then fix the pipe, I am now enjoying the quiet of the dogs barking, the kitty meowing, the kids complaining and Grant bitching. We are now in the rebuilding phase.....I think it will be moving along quickly now and can't wait to have a kitchen again. We all are sick of microwave dinners, paper plates, bowls and plastic utensils.

All the while I have just kept knitting on my summer project, the Forest Path Stole and making some impressive progress (if I do say myself) while sitting in the middle of a debris field.

I have never worked with lace weight yarn before this summer. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long!!

Going back to a timeless saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!". Well, we have enough lemons for Lemonade, Lemon Bars, Lemon Pudding Cake, Lemon Curd and on and on.

Yet, we all are still grinning. This is one of those weekends that we will be glad to see come to an end, but we have added some new tales to tell and we can laugh about it all later.

How have you spent your summer?

A Correlation Between Disaster Movies and the Economy?

While watching the Airport Disaster movie series last night which I wrote about here, I got to wondering about why these films were so popular back in the 70s.

In the 70s there seemed to be a running theme in the movie theaters, disasters like Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Flood, Swarm, When Time Ran Out and the list could go on and on.

In the 70s we were in a deep recession and then stagflation. I remember the long gas lines then gas rationing, and rampant inflation. It was an incredibly stressful time for families and I remember my parents were anxious about the changes occurring in government policy and the impact on our lifestyle. Our lifestyle was very middle class comfortable before the recession of the 70s but nothing that would be considered lavish or excessive.

It seems odd now looking back and seeing that the movies that people flocked to for entertainment were disaster themed. I admit to my own fascination in these type of films but I always chocked it up to the time in my life when these films first came out. I was in my teens and these were action packed movies and groups of us went to the theater and it was all good.

Now as an adult I find it curious that not only were the movies back then disaster flicks but that they are now being replayed quite frequently on movie channels when there seems to be so many similarities in the economy....high unemployment.....rising prices......housing issues (back then it was rising interest rates).

I realized last night between Airport 77 and Airport 79....that really the "disasters" were the back story to the "survival" of the characters. The characters of the movies finding their inner strength to overcome fear and fight tenaciously for their survival. Also, it was the good people that lived and almost always the mean and evil people died horrific deaths. There were tragedies but there were greater triumphs at then end of the movies which left the viewer feeling good in the end.

While sitting on the couch, on a wonderfully quiet evening at home, knitting and watching disaster movies, I figured it out.

Get your Frequent Flyer Card Ready!

Tonight, on the AMC channel there is an Airport-a-thon. Back to back Airport disaster movies!! Tonight's line up is Airport 1970, Airport 1975, Airport 1977, The Concorde: Airport 1979.

For this occasion I'll be starting the Turtleneck Tube Vest while watching hundreds of people crash and burn. My husband, Grant has the night off so we may sneak in some kanoodling to the romantic sounds of passenger's screams and moans, making this just about as perfect a night we have had in over a year!! (I told you all I have been stressed!)

Interesting point: In Airport 1970 the heroine is, a sweet old lady, Mrs. Ada Quonsett a stowaway who knits throughout the whole disaster without so much as slipping a stitch!

Now, put your seats and trays in their up right position and fasten your seat belts we are ready to take off. Our Cabin Steward, Grant has arranged for a Chinese dinner to be served.

Knit on.

UPDATE: Look at the In flight Snack Steward Grant, of Couch Sitter Airlines brought me.

I don't think I will be bitching about Qantas Airlines after this flight.

Quiet Knitting

Is it just me?

I have been feeling stressed out, frazzled, irritated, agitated, high strung and overly anxious for the last 2 months. This last week I simply just hit a wall, I had enough. I was strung out from not sleeping soundly at night and having random thoughts that would interrupt my sleep. I have been miserable.

I think it is the cumulative effects of all the bad news about the economy, anxious about the unemployment outlook, the 401K looking more like a hole in my pocket, money going in balance going down. Getting our taxes done and ending up owing instead of getting a return and the government telling us that the $13.00 a week the feds are giving us is like this magic tax cut....but for those of us in California we are getting reamed at the State level with higher taxes and fees for just about everything. Not really feeling the "Golden State" right now if ya know what I mean.

I don't think I'm isolated in this crap bubble. Everyone seems to be pissed off and have hair triggers. More people are driving aggressively and tailgating for no particular reason rather than just changing into a passing lane and going by. In the grocery store a woman had a minor freak out last Sunday because she had to stand in line. Who doesn't expect to stand and wait their turn at the check out? I really don't think there is a magic happy pill for what is ailing all of us.....

This last week I stepped away from watching so much news coverage. I replaced it with DVDs like JAWS, Aliens, and tonight I'm watching Volcano. It appears that I'm comforted by watching movies of natural disasters, beach goers being eaten or a slobbering alien beast splitting the crew of a space ship to bits.

The other thing that I have been doing is whipping out smaller knit projects. This last weekend I knitted up two scarves both using the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf pattern.

One made in a really soft worsted weight Malabrigo and the other made in a Cashmere Merino Wool blend. I really love the way they turned out and found the pattern to be very relaxing and quick knit. Perfect for gifts!!!

I am lining up some more disaster movies, like Dante's Peak, Leviathan and yarn to relax with in the evenings.

I am feeling better now.

Death Defying Shopping Trip for Knitting Needles

Friday the 13th, any other time one just thinks of the “bad luck” day and snicker a little. Last Friday was one of those I remember thinking “don’t break a mirror, watch out for black cats and don’t walk under any ladders” then chuckled and went on with my day.

I’ll admit to being a little stressed about work lately, my job security is only as good as the length of my current funding which runs out in June. I have had to step slowly away from watching all the doom and gloom in the news reports about the economy. I have not opened any of my retirement account statements in the last 6 months, what’s the point, really? I have a mortgage with one of the WORST mortgage companies…Chase. Chase deserves it’s own post on this blog which will come at a later time…stay tuned, but I suspect if any of you have a mortgage with that lender you’ll know ahead of time what I’m going to say and if you don’t have a loan with them and considering a refi on your home, unless you are a Congressman or Senator…stay clear of them……….but I digress.

Last Friday, I went through my day like any other Friday. In the afternoon I decided I wanted to start a project for my hairdresser. I thought the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf would be a great scarf for her and since I have an appointment in a little over a week I’d have a good chance of having it done by then. The problem I encountered is that this scarf really does require a longer cable needle in the size that I was using. No big deal and it didn’t seem to be a problem because I could run up to the LYS after I picked up Jillian from her school. She gets out at 5 and I’d have an hour to get her and to run to the store. Well, here is how that went down and how I nearly died or at a minimum cause a big mess…….

4:45pm texted Jillian telling her I was in the parking lot. (Sometimes she gets out a little early on Fridays)

Texted conversation between Jillian and me:

Jillian: “Great, I will be right out because I have to meet Megan at 5”.

Me: “Well I need to swing by the LYS to get needles”.

Jillian: some version of teenage pig Latin with symbols and abbreviations was texted back….I got the thrust of the message as having attitude because she was in a rush.

I decided to just sit in the car and grow irritated.

Jillian gets out to the car we load up her supplies and we get on our way. Jillian having time to think about my “quick trip” to the LYS was fine with it but warned that it really did need to be quick because she knows me only too well. A “quick trip” to the LYS for needles could end up lasting hours looking through books, patterns, feeling up yarn skeins…….in other words, she knows me. But I reassured her that the store would close soon so I could ONLY have a quick trip.

After an IN/OUT trip with needles in hand I jump in the car. Jillian smiling saying “I’m proud of you mom, that was a record!” Shared a giggle over that and we were on our way in time for her to meet Megan who we found out was running late.

First traffic light we hit was red but about to turn green. There was a car first, then a truck, I am behind the truck and then a long line of cars right behind me lined up waiting for the green light. The light turned green and the first car went through the intersection. The truck starts to move on and I follow……only the truck stopped short right at the light…I hit the brake hard and stop just short and the car behind me slams on his breaks. The light is green….no one is moving. I’m really getting irritated because it appears that the jackass in the truck is looking at instructions….is he turning left or right….does he go straight through….? Well the light turned red while he was deciding. I’m steaming the guy behind me was even worse and I am glad I couldn’t read his lips from the rear view mirror cause I’m sure it wasn’t nice.

Cross traffic now has the green light and they are speeding through the intersection……I thought that every driver was looking smugly at us as they whizzed by. Jillian and I start discussing her plans for the evening and having a light conversation.

All of a sudden we heard a loud bell ringing and THAT is when I realized that I was straddling the Trolley Tracks!! I look at the light and it is still red, the car behind me was too close so I couldn’t back up. I see the gates starting to come down and I’m starting to feel my heart rate jolt and the pounding of my heart up into my throat. I vaguely remember Jillian yelling, “MOM, GO!” and I yelled “WHERE”. I am frantically looking side to side to see if I could see the Trolley coming, then I saw it was coming from the right side.

All of a sudden the light turned green and the truck took off….but the gate is now smashing down on the top of my car and banging loudly. I look to the right and see the driver of the Trolley and his mouth was wide open as if he was yelling …..screaming to get out of the way.

In the car behind me….I see in the rear view mirror the panic in the guys face and he is motioning to the cars behind him to back off. He manages to back up a little bit.

I hear Jillian yell “MOMMY!” just as I’m able to back up a little bit off the tracks. The gate was bouncing down the windshield and resting on the hood of the engine JUST AS THE TROLLEY breezed by.

I looked over at Jillian, Jillian is looking at me just before we both bursted into tears. We both are covered in Flop Sweat (flop sweat = profusely sweating from nervousness when you are caught doing something totally STUPID) We both tried to quickly regain composure and look around us wanting some reassurance that no one we knew saw this spectacle. Once we realized that we were going to live, and that no one from either of our social circles saw this episode we started to calm down a little. For Jillian, meeting Megan didn’t seem quite as important now.

Jillian nearly completely recovered just quietly said “That was so lame.”

Silently we went the rest of the way home.

I came home and immediately went into the bedroom to lay down. I held a couple of balls of Alpaca wool and thought I’d hold off starting any knit projects. I figured my gauge would be way too tight.

While laying down I realized that the last time my darling daughter Jillian, whom I adore, called me “Mommy” was about two years ago when she was passing a Kidney Stone.

A Day Break

After a couple of days of excitement...... well okay, it doesn't take much to excite us here but participating in a protest was exciting enough. So much so we needed to take a break!

Janeva, Grant and I went to the Model Yacht Pond in San Diego. Not really sure why we picked that place because we don't have a Model Yacht but it sounded interesting so we headed there after stopping off to pick up some Subway sandwiches.

The sun was out and the day was warm which was a nice break from the rainy weather we had for the last couple of weeks. For California, we had "weather" with puddles and everything!

We got to the park and found a nice spot to set up with a full view of the pond.

After we ate our lunch, Grant and Janeva decided to walk to the other side of the pond were the "Sailors" were walking along the side of the pond directing their yachts up and down the race route. One really nice guy started talking to Grant and then offered to let Janeva take his boat for a spin. First he had to explain the radio console to her but after that she was rounding the buoys like a pro!

While Janeva was Sailing, Grant was taking photos of the Sailboats.

All the while I knitted on my Columbia Berets using leftover yarn from the Texturized Tweed Coat.

I have made two of these berets from the leftover with enough to have stashed away for snags and mishaps.

A great day for a picnic, a little sailing and some knitting projects to relax with.

San Diego Tea Party February 2009

I got a mention on Michelle Malkin's blog! Susan from San Diego and Trafficknitter ......that would be ME!

First off I have not wanted to get Political on this blog. However, I have been growing madder and madder of the last few years by the arrogance of Washington and this issue crosses all lines.

The spending is out of control. Point fingers all you want if you are so inclined, but the fact is, ALL of Washington needs to be accountable for the "Crisis, Catastrophe, Armageddon", (plug in the word of the day here).

For me, the last straw so to speak was the MASSIVE (my word of the day) spending that was voted on, then signed by the President four days later in Colorado and, by their own admission, not ONE lawmaker....nor the President ever sat down and READ THE BILL. So how can any one of them know let alone explain how any of this spending will affect the country in the near future as well as generations to come??? Let alone say it will SAVE US!!

So, because of the MALPRACTICE of the political process, I did something never before compelled to do. I PROTESTED!!

Grant and I attended the San Diego Tea Party. Both of us holding our signs with our own individual expressions of frustration in full view. Grant was promptly interviewed by every news outlet that attended. As a newly arriving immigrant, his situation has a unique slant to everyone else feeling the same way. Why should he pay for everyone else's bailout when he has been refused loans as a result of the U.S. banks not taking into account his credit rating from Australia? He has started here from scratch and now while trying to build his life here, he is now having to prop up those that perhaps just didn't take the care they should in managing their own finances.

Grant with sign ready.....let the Tea Party begin!

Grant managing his mini media storm. His sign captured the attention of a lot of people today.

We had 600 people show up for the San Diego Tea Party. It was a great turn out, and by all accounts it was a peaceful and respectful display of frustration.

The message is clear.....The Chattering Class do care about all the "little tiny porky amendments"! Let Washington DC eat the pork....we are all full here!! Someone tell Sen Charles Schumer he may be "Shovel Ready" but the American Tax Payers will no longer stand to be piled on quietly anymore.

Back to knitting now.......

Second Sock Syndrome, ME?

Remember this post about the "Glitter Sock" ?

A year to finish a pair of socks? Yep. I can't believe a year has passed but I am now the proud owner of a new pair of glittery socks!

We are expecting rain over the entire weekend so I guess I should start another pair now!

Texturized Tweed Coat and The Buttons

Casted on for the Texturized Tweed Coat on Christmas Day. Discovered a mistake in the seed stitch about the time I had put the sleeve stitches on a holder. Ripped it back and started over on January 5th. On January 12th sitting in an Emergency Room with my mom for 12 hours I turned the wait into a one woman knit marathon and made huge progress on this sweater.

After I had knitted the sweater, Grant and I hunted for the buttons, I found the buttons, and I finished putting the buttons on last night. NOW, on February 3rd, I could announce that my Texturized Tweed Coat is FINISHED! TADAAAA!!!

It is a very striking sweater and rich in texture. The pattern was very well written and easy to follow. The design flattering and the collar.....what can I say....I just LOVE IT!!



Here it is, modeled by Janeva......can you tell she is irritated that I am making her model a wool sweater on a day where the temperature in Southern California hit 85 degrees?

Today, was the first day that I didn't work on this sweater ........I honestly miss working on this sweater! It was a fun knit.

Buttons Buttons I Found the Buttons!!

Remember a few days ago, I ran Grant ragged looking around town for buttons? I was beginning to worry I'd have to settle for any button I could find in the quantity and size just to complete my project.

Well two days ago I found a treasure trove of buttons right here in town!!

As Cute As A Button is located in Point Loma (San Diego) California. They are an online source for buttons but if you want to go to the shop you can call ahead and set up an appointment. I had the shop to myself and was able to lay out all kinds of different buttons on my project before finding the PERFECT buttons for my Texturized Tweed Coat.

More about the project tomorrow, right now we are talking buttons! Kim, the owner of "As Cute As A Button" was kind enough to let me take some pictures of their selection!

As you can see, my photos don't really do the buttons justice, but you can kinda get an idea of the volume and selection that they have.

If you are needing buttons for a project, take a moment to look at the link above and see if you can't save yourself a lot of time, gas, and a big fatty headache by finding the perfect button in the comfort of your home shopping in your PJs!!!