Sweater Progress

I started working on my sweater finally! I know it's been a long time coming for be to work on an actual garment .. and I need to start working on some socks too, but I've been being pestered by my mom-in-law to get working on this, so I went ahead lastnight and cast-on. So I figured I'd post my progress thus far, and I'm going to try and make a point of posting my progress every day ... (maybe that will keep me working on it a little more, hmm??)

Casting on - 115 stitches for the back.

Up to the first row of the eyelet stitch border.

A little closer up, showing the first row of eyelets, and getting on past the rest of the garter stitch.

A close up where I ended up lastnight ... starting the 21 rows that make up the stockinette portion of the sweater. This is the only part that's stockinette though, so it should be okay.

The sweater I'm making is from Better Homes and Gardens' book 'Hip Knits', which I picked up at Michael's of all places. I'm knitting it in this beautiful autumnal palette, the yarn is a 50 % mohair/22.5% wool/22.5% silk blend that I bought for myself at SAFF from the nice folks at Brooks Farm.

My Holiday Wishlist

I'm not one to say 'Hey .. buy me this!' .. but there are a few things I -really- want, and so I can show my darling husband at a later date, and maybe get some thoughts from the knitterly folk that actually read this blog, I figured posting here won't be such a bad thing.

So, without further ado:

• Bamboo Circular Needle Set
• Cables Untangled
• Knitting Without Tears
• Knitting Pattern-A-Day Calendar
  
• The Knitting Experience Book 1
• The Knitting Experience Book 2
  
• The Knitting Experience Book 3
• Rosewood Needle Set
• Eco-Spa Bamboo Robe
• Subscriptions to Knitter's and Vogue Knitting
  

• [More to come when I think of it.]
  

Some non-knitting non-content.

Meme

1. Flip to page 18, paragraph 4 in the book closest to you right now, what does it say?
Page 18 doesn't have a paragraph 4 .. it's my art appreciation book.

2. If you stretch out your left arm - as far as possible, what are you touching?
The printer.

3. What’s the last program you watched on tv?
Umm .. probably either CSI, NCIS or Criminal Minds.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.
9:30pm. (which is quite a bit later than it really is. Wow.)

5. Except the computer, what can you hear right now?
Jason running water in the bathroom.

6. When was the last time you were outside and what did you do?
A few hours ago .. walking in from the car after having been to my in-laws' house for dinner.

7. What are you wearing?
A t-shirt and sleep pants. My usual 'at home' garb.

8. Did you dream last night? If you did, what about?
I'm sure I dreamt, but I don't remember it now.

9. When was the last time you laughed?
When we came home, and saw Isis being cute on the floor as we walked in.

10. What’s on the walls, in the room you’re in right now?
A colored pencil drawing of a ship and a castle from Jason's trip to Europe before I met him, and the Llewelyn Witch's calendar.

11. Have you seen anything strange lately?
Define strange. No .. really.

12. What do you think about this meme?
It's a meme .. it's already mindless. Why should I think about it?

13. What’s the last film you saw?
In the theater? Uhh ..

14. If you became a multimillionaire, what would you do with the money?
Knit more, travel more, buy a better house, and take car of my family and friends.

15. Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.
Uhh .. I have very long toes. Like, small-finger toes. I can use them like fingers to some extent, to pick things up and such.

16. If you could change ONE THING in this world, without regarding politics or bad guilt - what would it be?
Animals would talk.

17. Do you like dancing?
Of course ... even if I look like a dork.

18. George Bush?
*fingers in ears* Lalalalala. (At least I can happily say I didn't vote for him.)

19. What do you want your children’s names to be, girl/boy?
Children? Me? Hehe .. you're joking, right?

20. Would you ever consider living abroad?
As long as they let me have sheep, horses, alpaca, goats and bunnies.

21. What do you want God to tell you, when you come to heaven?
Who said I was going to heaven?

22. Who should do this meme?
Anyone who wants to.

Saturday Sky

I actually remembered to take a picture or two .. on the right day!

Oh yes, and isn't this some loverly spam.

Ursula,

Thanks. Call u back,

war

Still Playing Catchup

Chaos' mommy said that someone was wanting people to post pictures of their November calendars, so I'm posting mine.



From the 2006 Llewellyn's Witch's Calendar.


My mousepad calendar (that is too shiney to use as a mousepad, alas.)


The calendar I get every year from the local nuclear power station, that has evacuation routes and safety information and such. But it has pretty pictures, so I keep it.


Last but not least, my november desktop wallpaper, which is a calendar. This woman makes the most beautiful calendar desktop wallpapers usually, and I snag them and use them just because they're so pretty.

Jealousy and Porn and other things.

First of all, Haphazard Knitter has knitting-themed refrigerator word magnets. I'm so jealous!!!

And .. did I promise porn? I think I did. Lemme pull some of it out to add to the drooling of this deliciously hot friday. Really, I mean hot. I think it came close to 80 degrees today. Yes. In November. (Which reminds me, I need to look up the origin/meaning of 'Indian Summer'.)





That is, from top to bottom, some Tiny Toes I got to make a beautiful beaded scarf (picked up at SAFF of course), some Knit Picks Shimmer I have for a shawl I want to make for Larissa, the dear friend that taught me to knit, and the Lorna's Laces Mother Lode sock yarn I got from my Yarn Aboard benefactress, that I'm just looking for the -perfect- sock pattern for. I'm afraid that any of the more detailed patterns might be a bit too much for this beautiful colorway.



I promised a photo of my book stash .. there it is, meager as it is for now. But I've got more on my Amazon Wish List, and a few more coming, thanks to my darling husband. He just purchased himself a spinning wheel, so I get to get books and such. Nice trade, hmm?

NaBloPoMo

http://www.fussy.org/nablopomo.html

A better answer to NaNoWriMo for me, since I have not at all any intention of actually writing a novel. Not at this point in my life at least.

While I'm not an official list participant because I didn't know about the dern thing till today, I'm going to be trying to keep up with this blog (I have another at Livejournal I also neglect, even more than this one!) at least once a day.

One thing. Is it really almost a third if the way through November. Already?

Off to shower and work now. Ugh.

Say Thanks

We all know I'm not a political person. I dislike the whole mess. And I won't deny I dislike the war we're currently embroiled in.

But I do think that regardless of our feelings on the current state of things, we should support the men and women of the armed forces. They are there because they believe in fighting for freedom, and they deserve and have earned our support and respect.

Go to this website, and send a postcard to the troops. You can send as many as you like, and though you can't choose who it goes to, you can be sure whoever gets it will be grateful for the message of love and support, even from a complete stranger.

Yarn Porn

I just have to share some of my yarn porn. I can now have yarn porn, because I have a camera that will take the kind of pictures that I've seen others taking. These are some shots of the yarn I picked up at SAFF.


My beautiful, yummy, pettable angora, in 'creme', as it says on the tag. Oh, my heavens, but this is yummy. Yummy enough to make me want to buy bunnies, and make my own.


Some laceweight mohair I picked up at the place I later got my walnut swift. It's beautiful and cranberry and soft and just yum.


Three beautiful skeins of alpaca, lovingly offered to me by Magnum, Blitz and Hershey the alpaca.


Two skeins of bulky alpaca, the first alpaca I picked up during the trip. These came from Willy and Rose.


This is some absolutely delicious mohair/wool/silk blend I picked up. This is the yarn that matches my hair, and is destined to become a sweater.




My swtach of said yarn, with some ribbing, some seed, and at the top, the stitch pattern of the sweater I've chosen to make. Isn't the yarn just luscious?




Two more hanks of simply yummy wool/mohair/silk blend, in a deep foresty green and a not-annoying pink, destined to become a shawl of some sort, I think. I haven't decided yet, but between them I have like 750 yards.


A grey-green mohair/wool blend from Tintagel Farms, and a burgundy/brown/purple mohail/wool boucle from Persimmon Tree Farm. Also destined to become a shawl of some sort or another.

Oh. Yay.

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.
Take this quiz!








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Fair warning, this post will be highly picture intensive. I took just over 800 pictures on our trip, between the drive up the Blue Ridge, SAFF itself, and pictures around the 'rustic' and 'cozy' house we rented, as well as the trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens. So many pictures that I need to burn them to CDs to send them to people that want them. Which is just insanity.

So without further ado, some of my favorite pictures:


Or .. not. (*$*#(*%@#(* Blogger.

Three Bags Full

I'm back from the whirlwind that was my weekend at SAFF. I will have to post a more in-depth review later, probably tomorrow, when I've had more cold medicine in me or something, but for now, I wanted to post, say hello, and let everyone know what they missed!

To let ya'll know just how much fun was had, I took something like 850 pictures. That's how many I used up on the two memory cards while we were gone, starting on the trip up and ending when we went to the zoo on Monday. I'll have to take some time to go through them all. I'm sure a large protion of said pictures will be not keepers, but I know for certain that some will be good. There's a lot of scenery shots, some from the fiber fair, and a bunch from the zoo. Some of the animals were much more cooperative this time.

SAFF was wonderful. Cold and rainy on Friday, though that was alright because we spent all our time in the fair, and then at dinner. Saturday it cleared up, and we spent a few hours perusing the vendors. Afterwards we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway as far as Mount Mitchel .. which was covered in a hoar frost and had a 19-dregree wind-chill factor. Sunda .. my birthday .. was spent in workshops for all of us, with a little shopping in between, then dinner at a perfectly wonderful place in Asheville, then back to the cabin for s'mores, and Monday we headed to the zoo, and spent the evening at Jason's parent's house.

The house that was rented was ... well, quaint and rustic and cozy. And had me in literal tears once I got there and realized just how far out in nowhere we were. I was fine once Jason and Larissa got there safely .. I talked them in. But it was still not our best home-away-from-home. Not by a longshot.

I'm getting tired .. cold medicine is kicking in. I'll talk about my yarn haul, and other stuff too, tomorrow. When I'm rested .. and well medicated.

So .. yeah. Menstrual and all, I stayed home today, though I don't think my boss has coverage for the store I was going to cover .. and I feel awful about it, but goddammit, I can't work when it feels like my uterus is being twisted repeatedly by Hulk Hogan. I'm fine by about 6pm, or if I'm sitting down, but my job has to be done in the mornings, and isn't a sit-down thing. So .. she will have to deal without me, cos I just can't make it out to Rivergate and handle my own store .. and I hate it, but I'm female and not past menopause and she'll just have to understand. That'll teach me to agree to cover another person's full vacation right before taking my own.

But I promised to tell you about the birthday gift Jason gave me. He's always been one that can't stand to wait .. though I have to admit, I get that way too, when it's a good one. But this is one helluva birthday present, and I just have to brag a little.

He got be a Nikon D50 SLR digital camera, a good lens to go with it, a UV filter for the lens, a camera bag, and pre-paid for lessons for me to learn how to use said camera. I'd take a picture of it, but it's kinda hard to take a picture of a camera ... but here's the website for the particular camera I have. It is cool as anything, and as much of a shutterbug as I am, it's going to be a great camera for me to play with.

For just an example of the pictures I can take with this camera, here's a shot I took of Isis.




So for those counting, I have gotten a cool as shit phone/pda, and a mega-cool digital camera within two months. Good god, what am I going to get for christmas???

In other, -really- exciting news, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair is ... *duhnduhnduhhhhn* TOMORROW!!!! Wahoo!! In 24 hours, barring catastrophes or anything else, Brandon and I will be on our way up to Lake Lure, where we have a house rented until Monday. Jason and Larissa will be coming up that evening, but since we have to figure out how to start a fire in the wood-stove, and have to find the place on top of that, we figured we'd go up there as early as possible.

I'm bringing some knitting, of course, though I only have the burp cloth on the needles right now. But how cool will it be, sitting in the living room together, all .. minus Jason probably .. with our knitting, just gabbing away all the time while it's a frigid 20-some-degrees outside? Oohing and ahhing over the things we saw that day while driving through the mountains, or at the Fiber Fair itself. And celebrating my birthday while we're there. It's going to be so utterly perfect, I can't even begin to explain.

We went today to the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, and I took a -ton-of pictures, and even a couple of videos - videos of course of the lion, for B. Sadly, my batteries wore out completely, so I ran out of picture time. But we had a blast .. and I even got pictures of us this time.

There was also knitting to be had. I got started on my first Mason-Dixon project .. a burp-cloth for my friend DeEstle who just recently had a baby girl. I got pretty far too, considering I only knit on the way there, and walking a little ways through the botanical garden because once I hit the zoo, I was too busy taking pictures.

Sorry for the poor pictures of the knitting. My room is so awfully dark it's hard to get good shots at night.





And now, the zoo pictures. . . .






































More can be found here.