Yeah....

....So obviously I suck. I never took pictures of my new sweater and my camera is still dead and still not charging...

A little knitting here and there; some mitts, a couple hats, thinking about my man's sweater vest, got an order for some mitts this morning. I need to get going on some stuff.

Short post-I hope to take some pictures soon, but no promises.

Pictures to Come When Rain Stops

ATTENTION!!

Yes, I finished it! As I stated in my last post, I ran out of yarn. After calling every store within a fifty mile radius I was still unable to locate a skein of which I needed very little yarn. I ended up ordering the yarn online Thursday afternoon and had yarn in mail box on Saturday. Unfortunately I wasn't home much on Saturday or Sunday, or Monday for that matter and didn't get to work on the sweater. However, last night I was able to complete the last row and bind off of my button band (yes, that's all I needed that skein for-one row and bind off, ridiculous!). I sewed on the buttons, tried it on and..........wore it to work today! However, upon wearing it for a few hours decided it definitely needed a collar of some sort. So, I am going to ask a few people's opinions on the subject, take pictures and ask my fellow knitters for their opinions and we will go from there. So with that said, I sure hope it stops raining while it is still light out today so that I can take pictures at some point.

When Life Kicks You in the Butt

I was talking about knitting the button band the other day...did I mention how I thought I may not have enough yarn to finish? Well, I was right. I only finished nearly one row after making the button holes and I ran out. 3/4's of the button band is done and I'm out of yarn...that means that I have to get another skein. Which means a trip up to Westfield (a reasonably far distance from my house) just for one skein of yarn....hopefully they have it. If not, that means ordering online....I swear this sweater is never going to get finished!

In the mean time, I believe I will start another sweater with some beautiful Briar Rose yarn I bought this past spring at the Greencastle Fiber Event. The Briar Rose's intended purpose was a sweater vest for my sweetie, and perhaps it may still become that....I haven't decided. If I do decide to still make the vest for my sweetie...then I have some wonderful lusciously green Toasty Toes purchased at Stitches Midwest last year that I will knit a sweater out of.

Pics to come soon of almost-finished-but-needing-more-yarn sweater and of the two possible-sweater yarns.

Almost Only Counts in Horseshoes and Handgrenades

I'm almost on Cloud9...I finished the sweater with the exception of the button band. I picked up stitches last night and knitted two rows but I don't have buttons yet so I do not want to go further. I think I shall go pick out buttons tonight and get this sweater into the FO pile! I'm so excited to be able to wear it...I've put off finishing it for so long and I'm glad the weather is going to be cool enough this week to wear it!

***So, I didn't get buttons last night, but maybe I will tonight...I'm so close to being finished but it looks as though a trip to the store is going to hold me up.

Soon it Will be Buttons Away...

So...this may be a bad close up, but you get the idea, right?
Well, I finished the sleeves and got them connect to the rest of the body. (The body that has been knit for nearly a year)....but it's FINALLY getting there and I'm pretty excited about it. It's all downhill from this point--but downhill in a good way. The next pic I show you of this sweater will be buttons away from finished.

Trying to Finish an Old UFO

Sleeve one done, sleeve two started.

Pillow Talk

Okay, so I didn't work on my quilt...and here's why: I sat down after I ate a delicious cucumber, tomato, and red onion salad to work on it...and realized I didn't have the right color thread. So, I walked to the store, because they used to have a fabric/sewing section. Key phrase there is "used to." As in, not anymore. So, I had to go to the fabric store...and I came home with stuff. I happen to love stuff. And some of that stuff made these:There are only two. Each have a green side and a reddish side. I love them! And I still have two more to make!

I Promise I am Almost Done

I spent last night over a Leslie's pinning my quilt layers together. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. You are probably sick of hearing about my quilt, I know others are as well, but I can't help it, I'm so excited about it! All I have left to do is quilt it and bind it and I'm DONE!! I was going to take myself out on a "date" tonight, but I think I will work on this and maybe take myself on a "date" tomorrow night. This quilt is one of the coolest things I have ever made...and that's saying a lot because I REALLY love knitting.

**Edited to add knitting content**

I have been knitting on this again. I think it should be done rather quickly. The body is waiting for the sleeves and I have one sleeve half done. I'm already in the planning (thinking) stages of my next sweater using a beautiful yarn from Briar Rose...I will try to remember to take pictures of the yarn soon.

Here it is with the borders....

It's getting there!

Here is the quilt. I just have to add the border, quilt it, and bind it. I have to say, it's going very well! I just love all the colors. The border fabric isn't straight black. it has blue and green swirls with brown under tones. The border was not part of the pattern, but I think it will draw the eye to the center of the quilt and it just makes the colors pop!
Is this not just the coolest quilt you've ever seen? Leslie is a wonderful woman whom I recently taught to knit and whom has helped me get started quilting. She made this for me! She knew my love of frogs....and you know what the coolest thing about this quilt is? The line of fabrics feature knitting "stitches"!! How cool is that? She is really a great friend!

Here are some fat quarters I bought when I was buying my border fabric. I spotted these a few weeks ago at The Back Door and have been thinking about them ever since. Purple and gold look so great together! This is going to be an awesome quilt as well!
Here is my new sewing box. This is sooo me. I just had to show it off. I bought some other stuff as well, but I haven't taken pictures yet.

There hasn't been an actually knitting, but there has been a lot of thinking about knitting. I am going to finish my Dream in Color sweater and start another sweater in a beautiful yarn from Briar Rose. We'll see pictures of those soon.

Quilting....almost there.

This is a picture of the half of the quilt that I have completely sewn together. I am currently working on the other half and hopefully will have a picture by tomorrow of it all finished. I must say...not bad for my first quilt! It's very exciting! And I LOVE the pattern, Shade Cascade.

Look at what I've gotten into now

There has been knitting, sometimes. I went to a friend's for a "craft" day in which I was the only kniter amongst quilters. Around lunchtime, we ended up in a quilt shop. It was a very modern, beautiful shop. I bought a quilt kit. I am sewing my first quilt. I am ecstatic. Here are my firt ten blocks:

All of the blocks are the same, except in varying colors of blue and green. It's going to be gorgeous....and not bad for my first quilting project! More to come.

Unforgiving....

And yet, why forgive when you STILL get screwed?

Need I Say More?

Well, here it is. All finished. I loved spinning this yarn. I loved looking at this skein. I loved knitting with this yarn. I love the color. Love it. Wish it were winter so I could wear it.

Remember THIS?....yeah, finally finished it. Pics to come soon, when my camera and the battery charger are in the same location.

Forgiving....

Can YOU do it?

So....

I finished two shrugs and started another pair of socks.



The socks are Noro Silk Garden Sock, yum, in color S252. I also acquisitioned color S245. It's gorgeous!! I started the socks when I came home for lunch break today. I've only got three rounds done on the cuff, but I think I'm going to like it.



The shrugs are complete. One of them is a yarn I acquired long ago and have started many things and ripped them and therefore has no ball band. But it's cottony and beige in color and a really nice yarn. I altered the pattern a little bit but basically followed it. The other shrug is the same pattern, again different mods than the first one and a different yarn. This one is made of Rowan Wool Cotton in Antique held double. I love it! I finished it around midnight last night (shouldn't have stayed up so late) because I wanted to wear it to work. I got a lot of compliments.



I started the Rowan shrug first, but quickly ran out of yarn. So, I started the unknown-yarn shrug because I desperately wanted this shrug...even though I didn't get the rest of the Rowan until a week later, I finished them both within two days of each other. It was a pleasure knitting this pattern, although I didn't follow all the directions. I think I will knit more shrugs based on the same construction, but different. We'll see if I ever get there! I'm hoping to have pictures sometime soon, but I just don't know. Things are going on in my life that are drastically changing it and a lot that I thought I had I do not. I know that doesn't make any sense so think of me!

Penguins and Shrugs

Most people who know me know I love frogs. My bathroom is childishly decorated in frog decor, I have tons of little frog figurines and big frog statues around the living room....I love frogs!

Not everyone is about frogs, though; like my guy. My guy likes penguins. He was out of town for a week at a convention and I missed him so much. So I decided to make him a penguin (ravelry link) for when he came home. Knitting this little penguin was fun and easy. It was my first attempt at a stuffed animal and I rather enjoyed the quick knit.

In other knitting news--yes, there has actually been knitting. I am still working on socks for my guy, but they have taken a backseat to a little shrug. Two little shrugs at the moment and soon to be three. I began the first one because I always wanted one like it. I started the second one because I ran out of yarn for the first one and I couldn't get to the LYS for at least a week. Then a certain little miss saw said shrugs and wants a little pink one...so, soon to be three. Hopefully the little miss can accompany me to the LYS and pick out her yarn (she likes pink, what little miss doesn't?!). Pictures of shrugs soon and a link to the free pattern if I can find it again!

Caramel Swirl

I did finish the socks....last weekend. I meant to post a picture earlier than today. I also started on a new pair of socks for my sweetie, but he's out of town with his camera so I don't have a picture yet. I can tell you that the yarn is from twisted, a shop on etsy, and this is the yarn I'm using. It's gorgeous! Unfortunately, as some men do, my man has some big feet...so while I cast on 80 sts on size 1's for myself, I cast of 104 (I think) on size 1's for him. It's going to take a lot of determination on my part to get these things finished! At least I have a few months before it's cold enough to wear wool socks.

Fruits of Labor

Well, vegetables anyway:

This was the first radish I decided to pick....the second one was much prettier, but I ate before it got anywhere close to the camera. They were both really good and spicy! The radishes were the only thing that I could eat...got tomatoes growing and squash, and I cannot believe how many hot banana peppers and jalapenos I have growing!

Just like me

I have forgotten my one year blogoversary. You know what that means? A contest with a prize is in order. Check back for further instruction.

Sock Progress

Socks on Thursday...

Socks on Friday....

I am making progress...I can prove it!

Wish I Needed....

Um....but I want, bad.

My Garden

My Garden, originally uploaded by Synknits.

I've always wanted a garden...and now I actually have one! It's been exciting, even though we bought most of the plants as plants and only planted a few things as seeds. We've only had two tomato plants take a dive (one is still holding on) and one squash plant(trampled by a dog). But all were replaced and I'm having a great time watching everything grow.

Kopy Kat Meme

I'm a Kopy Kat...

My creation, originally uploaded by Synknits.

The rules:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Prepping

I've been prepping fiber lately. I really want to spin, a lot, so I figure if I prep a bunch of fiber it would be easier for me to just pick up and spin. It will also help me out because I am ever so impatient and loathe prepping fiber when I want to just sit down and spin and consequently I prep as I go which definitely leads to inefficiency. So far I've prepped two 4 oz. rovings; one from Hello Yarn called Threatened by Rust (which I have yet to take a picture and wish I had taken a picture before I pre-drafted but there is the link for Hello Yarn's flickr picture) and one from Poppy Flower Fibers called Pond.Pictured above: Pond by Poppy Flower Fibers

My stash of rovings and fiber is ridiculous but I can't seem to stop purchasing more. Hello Yarn and Poppy Flower Fibers are two of my favorite hand dyer's and I just love their sense of color.

Tomato & Basil

Sweeeet Grass Wool

Details to come when I actually have them!

Spun Up

Got 4 ounces or so spun up last night....pics and details to come soon.....well, as soon as I have access to a camera!

The Fiber Event

The Fiber Event at Putnum County Fair Grounds is today and tomorrow. I will be going tomorrow morning. I'm excited. It doesn't look like the weather will be any better than it was last year, which was cold and rainy, but I'll make do.

Ah, Sweet Beginnings....

Who is this? And what is that wrapped all around her?

Sleeves

Normally I knit sleeves first...but I didn't. Here is the start of the sleeve, which unfortunately I started awhile ago, and haven't gotten very far.

Did you see those Darn Pretty needles? Well, then let me give you a closer look:

They should have been called Damn Beautiful needles...

Don't Know What to Call it Pasta

I love taking fresh ingredients I have laying around and combining them with a simple sauce and pasta. I make all different kinds of pastas and I can never think of names for them because there are so many, most just variations of each other. This one has onions, carrots, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and herbs sauteed in olive oil and then simmered in about 1/2 cup of white wine. While the veggies are cooking, I boil water and cook the pasta (always salt the water!). Before I drain the pasta, I add a few scoops of the pasta water to my "sauce" to thicken it up. Then, toss in the pasta, let it simmer for a minute or two and enjoy!


Simple pasta dishes like this are a staple for me. They are quick, easy, and you can throw anything in it you like!

Pupupalup

My beautiful pup.

Oh Spinning, How I've Missed You!

8 ounces 100% Targhee Top from Sweet Grass Wool. I bought this stuff back in October and it's been catching my eye from my fiber basket all winter. I cannot wait to start spinning it!!

Hallmark Holiday

Happy Valentine's Day!

Working on some WIPs

Dream in Color, improvised pattern, working on second sock.

Knitting.....

I swear I have been knitting. I wish there were more spinning going on, but there's not. I started a sweater sometime before the holidays. I usually knit the sleeves first, but this time I knit the body first. It's a cardigan with a traveling stitch pattern. I have worked it up to the armpits and I will begin the sleeves after finishing a scarf for a coworker. This sweater is going to be sweet...and I'm actually going to write down the pattern. I'll stop the yammering and post the pictures.

Oh yeah....the yarn is Dream in Color Classy, black parade (I think) is the colorway.

Saying Goodbye is the Hardest Thing....

Earlier this week, I got a puppy. Unfortunately, with my job and social life I decided I couldn't possibly give this little thing what she needed, so I had to give her back. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. She was such a cool little thing, I hope someone can give her a good home and lots of attention.

D.O.G.

Squishy Bliss

I love the fabric that Debbie Bliss makes....but there were a lot of ends for one ball of yarn....regardless, I do love this sweater, even if it is a bit long. Anyways, on with the pictures!

These pictures are old, as well as the FO, but I would like to point out that the ends are weaved in now and there are buttons on it as well. Maybe someday I will get around to posting recent pictures of it, but for now, this is what you get!