We interrupt your previous scheduled knitting to bring you

Christmas knitting. Which is what I'll be doing for the next few weeks. I'm hoping to have it all done before December. Very optimistic of me huh? I'm only knitting for my parents so it shouldn't be that bad. Right? Never mind, don't tell me.
For my mother, I'm making a pair of socks
, a pair of mittens or fingerless gloves, and maybe a hat or scarf. Dad is getting a felted fedora (the pattern is from folk hats), a remote cozy, and a felted lunch bag. Also I'm making a bathmat (shower mat really, since it's for the shower). I can do all that. Right? Again, don't tell me.
Here's the sock so far. the yarn is Opal rain forest, color is lilly, I think.


The needles are 2 mm, size 0. If you didn't know, 2mm needles are very pointy and sharp. How do I know this? Let me show you.


My first knitting related injury! I sat down and the needle scraped my foot. It looks worse then it is. It's just a scratch, but my camera makes it looks worse.
I did manage to spin up a small batt I got as a sample from flawful fibers. I borrowed a Jesh spindle from my mom and did this in about an hour.

I'm going to use it in a pair of fingerless mitts in some fair isle.
Miss Marple, it seems, can't wait for her first christmas here.

She was very pissed at me after I took that, but really, how cute is she?

Drop spindling in an ER

Will cause you to get lots of stares. And no one will talk to you. I know this because I have done this not once, but twice in as many weeks. The first time was about a week and a half ago. I took mom to the ER because her migraine was really bad. The second time was Wednesday. Mom's blood pressure was very high, so I took her (yet again) to the ER. They did some tests, had her hooked up to some things and gave her some shots for her migraine and a pill for her BP. I think it's time they gave us a card. You know, one of the "after 10 ER visits, your 11th is on us!" thing.
I did finish my "fall is almost here" socks, just in time for fall to be almost over. The yarn is Happy feet, which so far, seems to be very nice. Other then a bit of fuzzing. Pattern is garter ribbing from Sensational Socks, and I cast on 64 stitches on 2.75mm.

I decided to make a quick knit, which turned out to be a calorimetry. The yarn I used is what's called for, 127 print. I don't know what color since I lost the band quite some time ago. But it's very yellow. Does that help?
After casting on 120 stitches and getting more then halfway thru, I was thinking it might be a bit too big. So I threaded the stitches onto some scrap yarn and looked. It could have been more then half of a sweater for me. It was crazy how big it was. Off to the frog pond. Then, Wednesday, I put it in my knitting bag for the ER. I had read thru some of what people wrote about it on Ravelry, so I cast on 94 stitches and knit almost the whole thing in the ER. I got home, cast off and it was promptly stolen by my mom. It still needs a button, but she has to pick it.
Here it is being modeled by Miss Marple. I believe the look on her face says it all.

And here's a photo of it laid out

I have some of the same yarn (different color then this, the color I have is the tan like the original) which I can't wait to make for me. I know it's been said, but this is so fast and a lot of fun to knit. Also a plus is that it doubles as a neck warmer. I really want to make one in some nice bright hand spun. How great would that look?
As for WIP's, I have a baby sweater that needs to be finish this weekend, mom's Jaywalker sock, I'm hoping to seam my sweater, which is waiting not so patiently in a very pretty soft pile some secret knitting (NO I won't tell you. Stop asking Stop. Ok, tiny photo. And it is not what you think. ) and this

It's the cable braid for Coronet. I'm in love with it. There is a chance I might be dreading picking up the stitches then, but we won't talk about that. We will talk about this

Which is my pretty spindle (that I got at rhinebeck) and yummy malabrigo-like yarn. I got the roving up in Rhinebeck from Holiday Yarns and it doesn't seem that they sell roving on the site. Which is such a shame. Asta thinks it great nomming yarn

NO YARN WAS HARMED IN THE TAKING OF THESE PHOTOS I was trying to get Asta to sniff the yarn for a cute photo and she didn't seem to keen on that so she attacked it without hurting it

RHINEBECK!

I'm back from rhinebeck! My mother and I went to the festival, which was amazing. I got some awesome stuff like STR mills end and rare gems (which I stood in line for twice, once to get into to booth and then I stood for about an hour to pay for it), Ellen's half pint, some spindles (my mom got me a spindle from Jesh for Christmas! It's so pretty), fleeces (Umm, I kinda went INSANE in the fleece building and got ummm 7. Yah. INSANE) my parents got me a spinning wheel that I'm not allowed to touch till Christmas. I love it. It's a kromski, the traveling one. I haven't named it yet, I figure I have time. I met Franklin, who's so sweet

(he signed my book, "Love you, love the boobs! (in case you don't know, I'm known in the cpa group on rav for having huge boobs). I didn't take a lot of photos because I was having so much fun, I forgot. But I had a blast. And now I'm sick. I had bronchitis before we left and thought I was over it, but turns out I wasn't so it came back. Now, I can't visit my grandfather since I'm sick. I didn't blog about that hellish ordeal did I? Here it goes, the short version. On Monday, (the week we leave for rhinebeck) my mom is told that her dad is getting kicked out on Thursday. This was after being told on Friday that he would be in there for another few weeks. She has 2 days to find a place for him. While doing things for rhinebeck. So after spending all of Tuesday on the phone, she has some meetings to see places the next day (Wednesday). She tours them and picks one (which we'll talk about later). Thursday, she has to pick him up and take him to the new place, sign a billion papers, and stuff like that. She's done with everything at about oohh 7pm? We then drive to Weavers (country store, think department store) to get sneakers (I got silver and pink) came home packed and then Friday, we left for rhinebeck. Needless to say, we were pooped.
About the place he's at now. When my mother went to tour the place, there were people playing games and having fun, she assumed that he would like it there. All he does now is call up and say how bored he is and that there's nothing to do. Now, every time she goes there, no one is playing any games or in the common rooms. My parents are going to talk to the people tomorrow because there is a move-in fee of $750 and mom is thinking of putting him someplace else since he hates it so much. You have to give 30 days notice, so whats the point of paying the VERY large "move-in" fee if he's going to leave next month? We'll see how that goes.
Since it's been quite a while since my last post (I swear, I'm going to post more, now that I don't melt when knitting with wool, or when I touch anything) I do have some FO's. I need to get some photos for some of them, like my dads balaclava. It's DONE! Took about a year to make, and I might have been crying in joy when I bound it off. That's the only thing I worked on at rhinebeck, I was so determined to finish it. It's sooo perfect and he loves it. Over the weekend, I'll try and get a picture. I made a cowl that I also need a FO pic, I knitted the Subway mittens which need to be sewn up and photographed (since I don't ride the subway, I've decided to call them Runny nose mitts. I'm going to keep tissues in the pocket)I did finish the Swirly O's socks from the knitters book of patterns (if you don't have the book, you have to get it. It explains so much, and the patterns are great. And it's on sale at knitpicks this month!).

Yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Wild raspberry, needles were 3.25 mm (what was called for), and I don't think I did any mods. There are 3 repeats on the foot which isn't the 6'' they called for, but I like it better this way.
I also made my very first pair of fetchings! I now get why this is so popular. When I was finished binding off the thumb, I had this much left.

The yarn is Noro Cash Iroha in a gold color, needles 6 (as called for) Mods~ I knit 15 rows instead of 18, 3 thumb rows instead of 4, and I bound off in the rib pattern.
Love the pattern, we'll see how the yarn holds up. I'm wearing them as I type. Incredibly warm. I think I'll be making a lot of these this winter.
I have been doing a bit of spindling. I got this batt from an etsy seller since I bought some of her yarn.
I think it's an ounce so I'm trying to think about what to make out of it. Maybe a headband? Bookmark? Right now, I'm spinning up some roving I got at Rhinebeck. O.M.G. Its like spinning malabrigo. And I'm using one of my new spindles! It's beyond yummy.
Now that I caught you up, I need to get to bed. Tomorrow, I'm seeing Meatloaf! YAHH!!!!

Fall!

I love fall. The changing leaves, the crispness in the air, wearing wool sweaters once again. Apple pies, pumpkin pies, hearty stews, the ability to cook in the kitchen without melting. I am so glad to be done with summer (but I'm sure by the time new years rolls around, I'll be bitching about how cold it is and that I want to move to Hawaii) and I can tell that fall is coming, the cats are covering their nose with their tails, I feel the need to bake, and the most overwhelming thing is it's cold! Since it's changing into fall, I thought I would do a change. I got my hair done the other day, and I had strawberry blond reddy highlights put in.

LOOK!it's me!
I also got a brighter blue in the back (you can't see it when my hair is down, but when it's up you can). It's somewhat darker then my eyeliner.
And in knitting news, I finished a sock!

I'll be casting on for the other one tonight so I don't get SSS. Which I think I have on my mom's Jaywalkers. They were supposed to be done for Mothers day, but I kinda got sidetracked. I'm going to try and finish them soon so maybe she can wear them at rhinebeck! Which is about 3 weeks away. gulp

Some knitting, crocheting and spinning.

Life is so hectic, so I haven't had time to blog. A while ago, I said that my grandfather had a stroke. Well, we were told all along that he probably would never be able to go home again. Then about 2 week ago, the rehab place where he's at, said that they wanted to do a home evaluation. This came a day after we were told, yet again, that he would need to go into an assisted living home. So, that's what we did last week. It didn't go so great. More to the point, he didn't do well. And he can't understand that even though a few things need fixing (carpeting needs to be tacked down, another banister needs to be put in) why he can't go home. He leans to the right (and since my mother knows how much I abhor that song, every time she says to the right, she sings the damn song) and can hardly walk up the steps. Right now, the rehab is showing him use a cane instead of a walker so he can maneuver better. And then in about a week, we have to find a place for him to live until he gets better. So that is whats been going on. Rather boring huh?
I haven't had much time to knit, but I did manage to knit the Foliage hat. I love this hat. the pattern was great and very easy to follow. It's a pretty quick knit and I bet you could have it done in a weekend. I won the yarn (which is yummy) at Stitches east last year. It's Mmmmmmalabrigo in red.

I did knit a bit on a sock. I'm on the gusset now. And yes, that is magic loop. I know I use 2 circs, but I when I cast on, it was the nearest needle in the right size.

After I finished my Autumn leaves hat, I realized that I didn't have any crochet WIP's, so I went and dug in my Stash, and came out with a skein of Paton's Wool in Good earth. I decided to do one of those tiny very long scarves. Using an H, or 5.00mm I did a single crochet. This is what I have so far. So fally!

I have been SPINNING! On my spindle. The roving is from Flawful Fibers and it's Corriedale in the color Coma Garden.

How pretty is that?! I love how it looks like a Monet painting. I'm thinking about making a scarf out of it. Maybe the Yarn Harlot's One row hand spun scarf? Or perhaps My so called scarf? I'll have to wait and see what it looks like knit up.
That's it for now. I did make shortbread last week. Want some?

September??

No! Already? I won't believe it. Change it. I still have a gift to knit for last Christmas. I refuse for it to be September. *taps foot, waits for time to reverse* No huh? Guess I should knit more then.
Speaking of, I finished my Ravelympics bag on time!!!


The pattern is Felted Fair Isle bag by Pam Allen and the yarn is Cascade 220. I did change how the handles go on. The way the pattern had me doing it, I felt that it wouldn't hold. So I just did little tabs at the bottom of the i-cord and then (my mom) sewed them on. I'm not that good at sewing.
I love it! I'm going to make a coin purse and a cell phone carrier sometime soon. I was thinking of making the cell phone carrier in the top design, the yellow and black. And the coin purse in the V and + design, which I think even though it was the hardest one, is my favorite.
After casting off the bag, I went and cast on for a sock (of course). I had this pattern all picked out, easy, mostly k2,p2 with one row requiring me to use my brain. So after trying to knit the damn pattern 7 times (frogging and knitting frogging and knitting, I did this for an entire day) I decided to knit a garter ribbing. I have no idea why the pattern wasn't working. But I really like how the garter ribbing is turning out in the yarn. It's Happy Feet, color 9. I love how fally it looks.


I was planning on knitting this rather quickly, then I decided that I'll knit a sweater, hat and booties for my father's friend, who just had a baby. Mason, weighing in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces. For the sweater, I got Cotton Kisses. It's a VERY adorable kit with everything you need to make a baby sweater. Yarn, 2 patterns and buttons. I'm not too sure I like the yarn though. If you drop a stitch, it's very hard to pick up. We'll see how it works out. I've finished the back and have the front and sleeves yet to do. I'm knitting the 12 month cardigan.

I did FINALLY finish my granny blankie that I've been knitting for almost a year. I have to get a FO pic as soon as I find a place that's big enough to lay it down.
I'm going to try and finish some UFO's this month. Like my sweater, my father's balaclava, my mom's jaywalkers and maybe even my cat bag. So here's hoping!
And Desi is doing great! He has a cold, but he's getting over it. He's SO big now! Asta loves him so much. It's so cute how they play together. He's learning how to be bad from Miss Marple, who is looking so healthy! Here's Asta and Desire sleeping. How cute are they?

I've been tagged for the 6 quirky things meme by Erqsome.
The rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged me
2) Mention the rules
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself
4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged


The meme:
1. Somehow, I most always wind up picking up the second book in a series to read first.
2. I've had fake nails for years and I got so sick of them so I took them off this month.
3. I'm addicted to tote bags.
4. I'm double jointed.
5. I have high insteps and have a hard time finding shoes.
6. I have Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis

So, I'm tagging:
Beth
Susan
Lista
Robin
Heather
Nicola
So, I have a summer cold. Which is awful. All I'm doing is sleeping all day and then knitting my ravelympics bag for a little bit and sleeping again. I think I'm doing ok with my bag. I'm on row 65 out of 78. I have to knit the icords and felt it and then it's done. I'm thinking I might even finish ahead of time! Which finishing anything BEFORE I'm supposed to is a small miracle.