Butterfly Shrug

I almost had a mishap last night. I tried to see if the ball of bamboo that I was working with would complete the very last row. I almost made it too. I ended up a couple of inches short. This is where the fun started. I tried to see if I could join the new ball of bamboo in the middle of a row. Well that did work out and somehow, I ended up with a knot. I couldn't take it out. So it was time to do some surgery. I did a little snip and somehow a row three down started to unravel right in the middle of the work, I had rows of stitching on each side. There is good news in all of this! I was able to add the new ball of bamboo without any further problem! I continued on. I got one sleeve sewed last night. I still need to bury some ends but it shouldn't be that big of a problem. Today during lunch, I got the other sleeve sewn and started working on the flared bottom of the shrug. I am on the second to last row of triple crochets. Then I just have to attach the side edges of the flared bottom to the sleeves and bury the ends then voila I am done! I just may be able to get this finished tonight. This Crocheted Butterfly Shrug has been very easy to crochet. I just love the yarn that I am using and the color. Stay tuned for the picture of the completed shrug. I have a Weight Watcher meeting in Union Grove tonight. I'm receptioning again. I sure hope that I do okay.

New Yarn, Butterfly, and Needles

I was so excited yesterday about Fiddlehead Yarns opening. I took off of work early before my meeting in Paddock Lake to go check the store out! It is such an awesome store and the owner Mindy was very friendly. The hours are not the greatest but that should help me out quite a bit. She had a nice selection of yarns and I was in seventh heaven to see several different kinds of sock yarn. She had two socks on display, I forgot the types of yarns that she had used. I had a hard time deciding which sock yarn I had wanted to purchase. She had some Austerman Step, Opal, Regia, Sisu, and Lorna's Lace. I couldn't make up my mind between the Opal or the Lorna's Laces. I ended up with two hanks of the Lorna's Laces in Sherbert. I wasn't too interested in Regia because I all ready have a skein in one of the colors. I think I am going to go back and get skein of the Opal and the Austerman. She's also offering to toe-up sock class that I am thinking about signing up for. The prices for her classes are very reasonable. I need to rescue the needles off of my so-called sock and find the appropriate place for the sock. I am going to wait for my Magic Loop book from Knit Picks before I start another sock.

OTN right now, well actually it's on my crochet hook is the beginning of what I hope to be a gorgeous Butterfly shrug. I am crocheting it with 100% Bamboo yarn. The pattern came from The Loop Yarn Shop in Milwaukee. Here is a close-up of the Butterfly Shrug that I have stitched so far. I am loving the feel of the Bamboo yarn. I also love the colorway. I can't wait to finish this. My thoughts are to wear a dark brown shirt underneath the shrug. So far this is a good easy pattern to crochet. I decided to clean up my dresser tonight. These are all the knitting needles I found on top of the dresser. My daughter thought that the glass was retro. At least now I'm not going to have knitting needles all over the place. These needles have pretty much been retired since, I got a set of Knit Pick Option needles. I fell in love with knitting with circulars. I should go hunt down the other needles that are in the basement and add them to the collection.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

This is my So-Called Sock. I believe that I had gotten as far as turning the heel, but I am not sure how to continue from there. I was using Stephanie Pearl-McPhees directions from Knitting Rules but to do the gusset the instructions are written for three needles. I ordered the Magic Loop Technique book from Knit Picks. I decided that my So-Called Sock will never be completed. There are several mistakes in the sock. Not bad for my first attempt at Magic Loop, if I do say so myself. Once I recieve the Magic Loop technique book, I am going to cast-on for my next sock using this yarn. I bought only one skein because that is all the LYS had. I like the colorway and want to see how it will knit up. If I like this, and don't make a lot of mistakes (that are real noticeable then maybe I will find an online store to order this from.) I just ordered the book today and I figure that I should have it by the end of the week. I can't wait to cast-on and complete one sock! Decisions, decisions, decisions. I am trying to decide what do I want to knit or crochet next. To the left you see a hank of Noro Sakura in colorway #3. It's sister skein had turned into that blob from one of my earlier posts. I am going to knit this into the My So-Called Scarf. I know that the scarf is going to be a thin one and more decorative than anything. Or do I break out the crochet hook and use this lovely Bamboo to knit a Butterfly shrug that I got the pattern from the Loop Yarn Shop in Milwaukee. I had seen this shrug in this same colorway and it was simply gorgeous. I purchased two skeins and the owner gave the pattern free. The shrug looks very simple to make. I just need a brush up course on crocheting. The pattern calls for single, double, and triple crochet. I did manage to buy the correct size crochet hook. Here it is my Booga Bag before going for a swim! It is done in Noro Kureyon colorway #40. I knitted this on Addi Turbo's size 10 1/2. The handles are waiting for the swim too. I have enough Noro Kureyon in colorways, #88, 128, and 165 to make three more bags. So what am I going to knit or crochet next? Tune in tomorrow to find out. I also am pretty excited about tomorrow. Fiddlehead Yarns is opening tomorrow! I am going to see if they will still be open when I get done with my Weight Watchers meeting in Paddock Lake tomorrow. I am working as a receptionist for that meeting. Sally's the leader and maybe she can give me some ideas for my meetings!

Dishcloth Madness Photos

The above was my first attempt at the Mason-Dixon ballband warshrage. I absolutely love how it turned out. I made a second one reversing the colors, but that one is in the wash. I knitted this using Sugar 'N Creme. I absolutely love the Mason-Dixon book and plan on making a lot more of these ballband warshrags The dishcloth above was knitted in Peaches 'N Creme color peppermint. the pattern is Grandmother's favorite. The dishcloths above are done in Sugar 'N Creme, the top one is Swimming Pool. I loved how it knitted up in a zig zag. The one to the left is done in Key Lime Pie. I can't remember the color name of the pink one. They turned out real good.

Almost did it again!

Yesterday, I subbed for the first time as a receptionist for WW. I had a really good time. I got there early and wouldn't you know, they were having a used clothing sale at the church where the meeting was held. I ended up getting some clothes, the leader that I was helping last night, Judy, she even picked some clothes out for me. Although, when I got home later there was only a pant suit and a blouse that my husband and daughter liked. It was hilarious, I was modelling the clothes, my daughter was on the computer headset on and she would make funny faces if she didn't like the outfit. I think that I did fairly well last night, I balanced but I forgot to tear the top portion off the 10 week pre-pay that I had sold. Judy said that she was going to stop by the person's house on the way home and see if she can get it from her to enclose in the tally. I am going to sub for this meeting next week. They were a real good group of people and I had a great time and laughed a lot. Who knows maybe watching Judy will give me ideas for making my Saturday morning meetings even better! I got some great ideas for my meeting on Saturday all ready. I didn't get too much knitting done last night. I only knitted for an hour. I'm still working on my so-called sock. At the moment it has one inch of 2x2 ribbing, and one more inch to go before I start working in stockingnette stitch. I almost had a mishap with it this morning. I somehow drop a stitch and was thinking oh no here we go again. I'm not sure how it looks, I'm waiting to knit a few more rows before I take a peek to see how bad it looks. I'm telling myself this is your practice sock so don't worry too much about it. Who knows maybe there's no damage at all and I did a good job of repairing it. I won't be knitting during lunch today, my husband and daughter are coming in to take me out to lunch. Hubby took the day off of work. He's 41 today. Happy Birthday Scott. He mentioned something to me yesterday about my daughter complaining about the amount of time that it takes to drive to see me for lunch. His opinion is then don't go, good opinion in my thoughts. So the sock survived the mishap this morning and is not a candidate for the frog pond. My Noro arrived this morning, I was informed of this by my daughter. I can't wait to see the colorways. I ordered colorways #88 and #128 in Kureyon. Webs had an overstock sale $5.79 a skein, I couldn't pass that up. So now I have enough Noro Kureyon to make 3 Booga Bags. (I still have to felt the first bag. I think it's going for a swim this weekend). Next, I have my eye on some Wool of the Andes from Knit Pick for some buttonhole bags. I found out the most wonderful news yesterday, there is a yarn shop opening up on Tuesday in town! The place is called Fiddleyards. I am so excited, I can't wait to go check it out! I am going to go drive by the place to see if she has her hours posted on the door. I have to do a meeting on Tuesday, so I am hoping that I can go there after I get done with the meeting. If not, I'll be making a trip on Wednesday when I am done with work. I do hope that she carries some good sock yarns and of course Noro!

Believe it or not?

I was reading the instructions in Knitting Rules for the Plain sock pattern, and realized that I should be knitting a 2x2 ribbing instead of 1x1. Ok, now this did bug me. So I'm sitting in a nice comfy chair and I'm knitting on my practice so-called sock, thinking to myself this should be done 2x2 and not 1x1 and guess what happened? Yep, I ended up with a knit stitch instead of a purl on one half of my round. So, I decided that I am going to go back and tink (big mistake). Well, I screwed it up again! Rather than frogging it to reuse the wool, I cut that baby loose. I should measure it to find out how far along I got. So... I casted-on yet again. I counted and re-counted the number of stitches on each side of the needle (good thing I did, one side was over and the other short). Back to knitting, I am not knitting 2x2 ribbing and liking the looks of it a lot better than I had previously done. Could this be the reason that I kept making all these mistakes, the so-called sock knew that it was the wrong pattern and decided to send me messages. Well it is finally clear, yes, you belong in 2x2 ribbing. Okay, how long before the next goof? Tonight I am going to Union Grove to work as a receptionist for Judy for her Thursday night meeting. I have my change fund ready, am I ready? Who knows, it's been awhile since I've worked as a receptionist. Hopefully, things will go swimmingly and there won't be any misadventures to tell about.

Magic Loop Lists

Well I did figure out how to do the Magic Loop, but kept running into problems. 1. Not enough stitches on the needle. (You would think that I would know how to count before I start stitching. 2. Needle kept slipping out of the stitches. (For the life of me, I could not manage to put the tiny stitches back on the needle. 3. The two sides decided to join together to make one big loop. (I couldn't figure out where I had started from.) 4. I dropped a stitch but kept going and going. This is what I have decided: 1. This is just practice, no need to be perfect. 2. I am not going to let this drive me crazy. 3. If this actually looks like a sock, then I am going to do the snoopy dance. 4. If this actually gets finished, then see the second part of #3. 5. If I actually finish this and it fits, then see the second part of #3. 6. Even though this is driving me crazy, I am enjoying sock knitting. 7. I will cast-on for another sock. 8. Hubby will get a pair of hand knit socks. He told me last night some nice thick ones to keep his feet warm. 9. This practice sock is not going to kick my a**. 10. Yep, I'm definitely hooked (on socks that is). Can I do the Snoopy dance now? On to the Magic Loop tale: Well I do have my practice sock OTN. I did make a mistake but just kept knitting. I dropped a stitch. For the life of me I could not figure where that little loop went. So I somehow just picked it up and continued on. Well guess what? I figured out where that loop went, on the last stitch of the round I had just completed. So, I had to figure out a way to add another stitch on to my sock and keep going. I had thought about frogging the thing again, but decided against it. I figured out how to work it all in and that is when I decided that this is my practice sock! By the way, I am doing the pattern from Knit Rules By the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I have about an inch knitted in 1x1 ribbing.

Ana and the Magic Loop

I tried during lunch to learn the magic loop method for knitting socks but struck failure. Yesterday was sort of a non-knitting kind of day. I ended up having paperwork all over the diningroom table. I had to fix the tally from Sunday's meeting. We were $19 over and my receptionist and I figured out what was missing. A lifetime member for $10 weekly fee that bought two boxes of bars. So I fixed the tally and talked to my receptionist to let her in on the scoop of what I was doing. I got the tally all filled out and now all it needs is just her signature and I can send it off. My darling daughter is still having her adventures in knitting. The thing that she is knitting ended up increasing like you wouldn't believe. At some point she decided that she was simply going to start over. I believe this where she ended up dropping several stitches and in her frustration decided to frog the thing. She also decided that she wanted different yarn. I will give up my acrylic for her but she is not touching the good stuff. Well we ended up finding some Red Heart Kids yarn in some bright rainbow colors. So yet I casted on some more for her. I knitted the first row and a half for and sent her on her merry way. About this time, I decided that I was going to learn how to the magic loop method for knitting socks. I went to knittinghelp.com to see the video for learning this method. I did learn how to do the magic loop method. When I first started the loop I ended up knitting the stitches well I forgot that I was supposed to do knit one purl one for the ribbing for the cuff. So I tinked the first few stitches and then continued on. Somehow this morning when I was counting the stitches I ended up with a couple of extra stitches so I ended up frogging it this morning. I casted-on again and I am going to start again during lunch. I only have one ball of yarn in this colorway and should go back to the Loop Yarn to pick up another ball for the second sock. I am knitting this without checking gauge, I figure that the sock will end up fitting someone once I'm done. At least there was no tangled blob to deal with last night. I still need to cast on for My So Called Scarf. My Knit Picks order should be coming today, so now I'll have the needles to do the buttonhole bag that I want to knit. I also need to felt my Booga Bag. Pictures should be coming soon!

The Tangled Blob

Over the weekend, I decided that I was going to cast-on the Lacy Edge Tee that I got the pattern from Knit Picks. Well things didn't go quite according to plan. I actually got the first repeat done and then was working on the second and I dropped a stitch somewhere. So rather than frogging the whole thing, I decided that I was just going to cut it off and give it to the garbage. So I casted-on again, same thing happened only this time I didn't get quite that far. I must have casted-on about 6 times maybe more before I finally decided that I am just going to put it away and maybe attempt to do it at another time. I wasn't too happy with the yarn either. The color ended up having kind of a dirty look to it. Over the weekend, my daughter and I ended up visiting two LYS on Saturday and went back to one on Sunday. The first one is the Loop Yarn shop in Milwaukee. I bought some more Noro Kureyon in colorway 165. I should do a search in the Booga Bag gallery to maybe get an inkling as to what the colorway will actually look like. No such luck on the colorway search. I also ended up buying the rest of the Italian Cotton that they had in their clearance bin. I also got a pouch for my knitting notions. The mint color one that I was using was just too small for everything that I had. After we were done at the Loop, we decided that we were going to go over to KnitWits because I was thinking about picking up some more Opal for socks. Much to our surprise, she was closed and the place was cleaned out. When we went back to the Loop on Sunday, I found out that she basically closed up shop without notifying her customers and moved to another state. From there, we went to Barbara's Yarn Garden in Racine. This time the owner seemed a lot more helpful. She seems to carry a lot of Cascade. I ended up buying some wool for my daugther to knit a scarf. She picked a lime green color. I figured that could knit up a garter stitch scarf. I ended up spending a lot more money than I had intended but I invested in a lot of different sock yarn. Sunday after my weight watcher meeting, we went back to the Loop and I picked up some Noro Sakura yarn in colorway #3. I figured that I would use that to knit up the My So Called Scarf. I just bought two skeins on Sunday. I took my daughter out for lunch and we went briefly walking around the mall. After the yarn shop, we went to Regency Mall and I picked up a pair of shoes for her. Monday morning started out perfectly. I decided that I was going to cast-on during lunch for the My So Called Scarf but first I had to wind the yarn into a ball from the hank. Now this is totally where the fun starts! I thought that I would get the hank wound so I can take it to work. That was the plan, but the hank had another thought in mind. Wouldn't you know it, I got a quarter to a half of the hank wound when it decided that it was going to become a tangled mess. Well I had to go to work so I just put the tangled blob on the computer desk and went to work. During lunch, I tried to teach myself to knit using the magic loop method. That didn't work out too well, but I definitely was on the right track. I actually found a nice cozy place to knit. I stopped at the Weight Watchers center on my way home from work, I stopped to check to see if they got the new products that were coming in. I hit pay dirt. I picked up almost all the new products, now I can tell everyone how they actually are. Once I got home, I started working on the Tangle Blob. I actually got a brillant idea that worked. I took one of the larger bobbins that I had and found the loose end and started working backwards. It took me about 4 hours of patience but I untangled that blob. The blob is no more but a neat little pancake ball. Sunday, night I tried to teach my daughter the long-tail method for casting-on. She couldn't get it. So it looks like if she wants to do any knitting projects I am going to be doing the casting-on for her. I taught her the knit stitch. I was surprised at how quickly she picked it up. The only thing that she has a lot of problems with is turning it around to knit a new row. She knits with a very tight tension, I can hear the yarn squeaking. She gets very frustrated when she screws up at the end of the row. One of these times I am going to have to sit down with her and teach her how to fix that mistake and how to turn the row correctly. I am also going to go on a hunt for a solid light colored yarn, I figure that maybe help. I am not going to let her touch that lime green cascade yarn until she gets a lot better. I had a devil of a time to figure out how to work the stitches in the My So Called Scarf. I posted a question about it on the Knitter's Review Forum and I finally got the detailed instructions that I need. I am not sure if I want to cast-on the scarf or the socks during lunch today. I might just do the scarf or who knows maybe both. By the way, I have one more hank of Noro Sakura to wind into a ball. This time, I am going to make my DD stand with her arms out while I wind it up and keep my fingers crossed for no Blob2.

Decisions and Rain

So, don't go into shock, two posts in one week, what is this world coming to! I finished the Italian cotton dish/wash cloth. It isn't as big as I would have liked it to be but it'll do. Remember the tangled mess? Well the yarn that I threw away from the blob would have made this bigger. Oh well, it still looks real pretty. One of these days I am going to have to take a picture and post it on here so you can see everything I have completed. With the exception of the one dishcloth that I gave my mom, which she still has to use. I stayed up last night to finish this, needless to say I am very happy with the finished results. I still have to weave in the two ends but I consider this pretty much done. Before, I settled in to complete my dish/washcloth I had to make a decision, if I didn't find my next project I was going to have nothing to do at the next Knit together that I am attending tonight. So the decision and quest was on....WHAT TO KNIT NEXT? I remember about some Lion Print Wool that I had bought and thought about these cute Buttonhole Bags that I had seen. My thoughts, perfect this will be my next project. But where had I seen the bag? I pulled my Mason Dixon book to start there, no bag. Next came the Stitch 'N Bitch book could it be there? No Buttonhole bag in that book. I remembered that it had to be Mason Dixon, so it was time to do a search on the internet. Googled buttonhole bag and hit pay dirt. The pattern is on the Mason Dixon website. Would have to wait until morning when I get to work to print it up. Started taking a look at the supply list, 3 skeins of wool, sure hope I have that. Now where did I stash the wool, oh yes, the basement. I trekked downstairs found the Lion Brand Incredible for the ribbon tank that I want to make, that bag can come upstairs. Found the stitch savers I had bought and thought about finding, snagged those to bring up also. I found the wool, 3 skeins I'm in luck. Ok, next item size 15 circulars....hmmmm I wonder to what size the Knit Picks Options set goes to? Size 11, could I do the bag in 11 instead of 15? Might be small, but could try and could always frog it if it's too small. Ok, time to wind the wool. I wound all three skeins, the last two wound look a lot better than the first but hey, I'm learning. Time to pack the knitting bag for tomorrow. I was going to bring the Incredible yarn but decided against it. I decided at while I was pulling the patterns out to bring a couple of skeins of the Knit Picks Pima Cotton and the Sisu Fantasy Sock yarn with me. I put the Options set in my bag and went through the folder with my patterns and pulled out a couple to bring with. Knitting bag is packed and ready to go. Time to finish that Italian wash/dishcloth. I also finished reading the book that I started. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich. About 2 this morning there was a loud boom, and the power went briefly out. It poured like you wouldn't believe. Normally I sleep through all this activity but not this time. This morning, I made my lunch and wound the two skeins of the Knit Picks Pima Cotton to take with me tonight. I have decided that I am going to cast-on the Lacy Edge Tee in a pretty azure color and work on that tonight. I placed an order to Knit Picks for the remaining larger needles that I need/want, a couple more cables and a pattern for a dishcloth, dish towel and mitt and a few skeins of yarn to play with. This morning, I forgot a book to read and my computer for while I wait at Panera for 7 to come after work. So it looks like a trip to the bookstore for a good book to read. Hmmmm, maybe I'll get the book by Geneen Roth. If you eat out of the refrigerator, pull up a chair. Otherwise, it will be a long wait. It's supposed to rain all day today. I got a good lightning show on the way in. One girl here said that the radio said that there were over 2,000 lightning strikes. I forgot in what time frame.