Monday, February 25, 2008

Going Under the Knife!

Well, actually I am getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. So things might be a bit slow this week. Go ahead and order anything you would like. I probably won't dye anything until next week, but I will get the order going. I, also, probably won't answer any email tomorrow, but I may have my husband check it. I am going to be dyeing away today, so everyone that I have an order with should have their yarn dyed up today!

Ok, knitting content to distract you:


I finished another pair of Destiny Mitts, only these ones are in Di.ve' Teseo Color #32011 Hot pink/red. Unfortunately they sprung off my needles so fast and onto the hands of my friend Amy that I completely forgot to get photos. All that was left was this tiny ball of yarn as proof that they had indeed been on my needles!


I have also been working away on my Provence Mitts! I love them! See the little thumb! I just need to knit a little faster, since my class starts on Sunday and I was hoping to start the 2nd of the pair when the class started. We'll see what I can accomplish while I am healing up! The pattern is my Girl Mitts Pattern and is knit with my LavenderSheep Superwash Fingering Sock yarn in Color Provence.


I have also cast on a new baby project. This one I think I can safely post on my blog, since I am sure that the mother doesn't read it. I just started the Harvey Kimono from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms out of Henry's Attic Organic Cotton in Color Sage. The yarn was a bit heavier than what the pattern called for. In my swatch I was getting 4.5 sts/in rather than the called for 5.5 sts/in. I tried going down a needle size, but the cloth then became too dense and stiff for my liking. I was also getting the correct row gauge. I really wanted the sweater to be a baby size, so I did the next best thing. Every time there is a number for the size I want I take out my handy dandy calculator and divide the number by 5.5 (the sts/inch it is supposed to be) and then multiply by 4.5 (the sts/inch that I am actually getting). Thus I can make the sweater the right size with a different gauge yarn. This has been pretty easy with this pattern to change too since the only numbers I have really had to change have been the cast-on number! So far this yarn has been a dream to knit with, and that is saying something since I am not a huge fan of cotton to begin with!

Lastly, I would like to say that I have finished most of the knitting on the secret project! I have sewn in all of the ends and it is currently blocking. Then I just have steeks, putting it all together, and finishing off the collar and I am done!!! I am slightly scared of the steeks at the moment, but I at least don't have to worry about them until the pieces are all dry and my mouth is feeling better! I am also documenting everything, so after the baby is born I will probably have a post or two about the whole process!

Coming soon: Yarn for a cause!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Cafe Press

I had somebody ask me if I sold anything like a bumper sticker with my logo on it. I hadn't really thought about selling merchandise with my logo, but it did get me thinking! I spent part of the afternoon working on this:

http://www.cafepress.com/lavendersheep1/

Let me know what you guys think! If there is anything that you think should be there and isn't, let me know about that too and I'll see what I can do!

Monday, February 18, 2008

11 1/2 Roses

So, my husband did the romantic thing and bought me roses and cute little gifts and cooked me dinner. Believe me I feel totally lucky to have such a wonderful guy! Here are the roses that he got for me:

Aren't they pretty? I love them! Though, wait, there are only 11 roses!


Ah, here's the extra one. When my husband unwrapped them to put them in the vase one was a little short! I kinda like having the little one. I am keeping it on my table next to my knitting chair. It makes me smile every time I look at it!


Ok, onto a less mushy subject, Knitting! I started this sweater for myself! I just have been feeling a bit busy lately and I decided that I needed to start a selfish project. That doesn't mean that I don't love knitting things for other people or for babies, believe me I love both! It's just that sometimes I need a little me time, where I do something that is entirely for myself! Besides this sweater makes me super happy. Any time I am feeling a little depressed I just have to knit a couple of rows on this and I am smiling again. This sweater is the Knitting Pure & Simple neckdown medium weight pullover #265 and I am knitting it out of my very own Superwash Worsted yarn in Color Dark Sugarplum Fairy. It is actually a cross between Berry Pie and Sugarplum fairy. It was also dyed when I was first dyeing and I didn't understand a whole lot about dyelots in handpainted yarn, so I am knitting 2 rounds out of one ball and 2 rounds out of a second. I think it is turning out pretty gorgeous. I love it!

I also did quite a bit of updating to the website. Check it out for all of the new goodies, including a review page!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Twist & Shout!

So, I think I am pretty much back to speed on being healthy. Well, more or less. So, I have decided that I am going to sell my Twist yarn in 2oz skeins, instead of 4oz. This mainly came about because you can make a whole hat out of 2 oz. It also halves the price, so it is now $10 per skein. A real bargain I think!


Lots of pretty skeins are now available in my shop!

Friday, February 08, 2008

Yes! I am still alive...

I got a call from one of my friends today to make sure that I am still alive. Yes, indeed I am! This cold really sucks. I was feeling all back to my normal self on Sunday and Monday, when it all hit again on Tuesday. It started again with a sore throat and then sniffles. It did the same thing to my husband, so we have spent most of the week resting, watching dvds, and knitting. Well I have been knitting and he has been surfing the internet and working remotely from home. My big knitting accomplishment can't be shared right now here, but I can share some other things I am working on:

I started a washcloth. At least I think it is a washcloth, it hasn't decided quite yet. I just got 2 of the new harmony guides, knit & purl and lace & eyelets. I was thinking it would be nice and easy on my cold addled brain to try out one of the stitches. This one is called Checkerboard and is out of the knit & purl book. It is definitely super easy. Every other row is just knit! what could be better than that? It is knit out of Cascade Cotton Rich in Color #5186 Sour Apple.


I also started a pair of mitts in my Provence colorway. I love my bad girl mitts, but I really love this color too. I figure that I will knit one mitt in Bad Girl and one mitt in Provence. Whichever one I like the best I will knit a second one for myself. And the third? Well, Knot Another Hat needs a store model for my upcoming mitts class in March and that 3rd one will work perfectly!

I think that is it for knitting news! I have a bunch of things going on that I can't wait to share with all of you. Unfortunately, for now, they will have to remain a secret!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Program...

Well, sorta kinda. I have been sick with a really bad cold all this last week. I have been mostly working on mindless knitting projects and mindless computer work. Which means that if you have an order pending with me, I greatly apologize. It is in the works, but probably not as done as I would like it to be. Don't worry though, I should be back up to full steam ahead this next week!

So, anyway, I have managed to put a few things on the needles since I last posted. Let me just start by saying that there are a lot of boys being born in the next few months. There is one in March, April, and May that I know of so far. I have plans, lots and lots of knitting plans in my future! So, far none of it can be shown here on the blog, but know at least that they are in progress! (Though you can take a sneak peak on my ravelry page! It has been made top secret, so that the recipient won't peek).


I finished off one Bad Girl Mitt. I finally have been able to test knit the pattern for myself. I had someone else test knit it before, don't worry, I'm not about to start selling untested patterns! The pattern is fine, I just found that the fingers need to be a bit shorter, as my own personal preference. So I have fixed it in the pattern. If you have purchased the pattern and want the new revised pattern (with new photos!) just let me know and I will send it to you! I knit it out of my sock yarn in colorway Bad Girl, which you can order through my order form. Since it only takes 50grams of sock yarn, you can also request a 50 gram skein instead in the comments section.


Speaking of Mitts, I finished off my Destiny Mitts. It is such an awesome pattern. So fast and my hands are now so warm! I have heard that she is going to have the pattern for sale as soon as it is all formatted and pretty. I'll definitely let everyone know once the pattern is up! They are knit out of Di.ve' Teseo in Color #25709 Mountain Purple.


I also finished off this bitty cabled bag for a friend! I just love making bitty bags in worsted weight yarn. They are definitely instant gratification projects! I knit this one from modifying my magic bag of holding (.pdf). I knit it out of Nashua Superwash in Color #0011 Bright Green.

One last thing: I just delivered a huge order of Superwash Sock and Tencel Sock yarn down to Knot Another Hat. You can check them out here.