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While I was spinning the brown merino that was pictured in the last post, I realized that I wanted to do a cable ply. Which means, I'm going to ply two singles together and then ply those two together to end up with the four singles being plied. Yes, that is very informative I know. I'll go into more detail as the process goes, but after asking some people on twitter I realized that I would need to add some extra twist to the singles so when I ply them twice they still have some twist. That meant that I had to go back to add extra twist, so I ran both the brown merino singles back through the wheel this weekend. I have more room on both the bobbins so I may spin more of the brown onto these singles before I ply them together. I was also able to finish spinning up the Cormo single I was working on and have moved on to the Corriedale roving. Here is a picture of the Cormo before I run it back through the wheel to add more twist.
Other than crafting, I was able to organize the baby's room closet and you can now see the floor! There is lots to do but I have time...or at least I'll keep saying that until I don't have anymore time. Hope you have a great week and a great Labor Day weekend. I will hopefully get lots of pictures to share from our Labor Day weekend in Ohio with Special K's family! I'm looking forward to seeing all of them! Happy Knitting, Spinning, and Travel! 
Shalom Redux completed and Spinning, Spinning, Spinning!
he weekend has gone by fast! Since I posted yesterday, I spent Saturday evening knitting the Shalom Cardigan, spinning, and watching Trueblood with my friend Catie. We had a great time! I was able to finish the Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane, weave in the ends and sew on the buttons! And for those of you keeping track, it was knit in 7 days!! I beat my goal of knitting it within 14 days! YAY! It came out so much better this time. I think it fits great and doesn't bunch in the yoke. It is now blocking and will soon be worn at work in the arctic called my office. |
Barknknit aka Gnat
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| Shalom Cardigan completed |
After I finished the cardigan, I pulled out the spinning wheel and continued spinning the merino. I'm making good progress and today I finished the first of four bobbins.
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| Merino bobbin completed |
This morning I was up early!! Special K went golfing with his dad at 8 so he was up early. I was hoping to sleep in today but I couldn't get back to bed after he got up at 7:15 so I just stayed up. I had coffee and a scone and started recording the podcast. I was having difficulty recording and my friend called to see if I wanted a bagel, so I took a break. :) After I got back from my bagel break, I finished recording the podcast before Special K got home for the family fantasy football draft. I went over to my sister's house and took my wheel to watch the chaos over there while they drafted. That was where I finally finished the first bobbin.
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| Spinning at Tammy's |
The draft was entertaining...:) Afterwords, I came back home, edited and posted the podcast and now plan to go back to spinning. Have I mentioned lately that I'm really enjoying spinning?
Well, I hope you all had a great weekend. I'm off to spin!
Happy Knitting, Spinning, and Podcasting!
Spinning and Knitting and Fleeces away!
Oh the week has flown by...so glad it's the weekend!! We'll start with crafting because that's the fun part of my week. I've managed to keep up with my goal for the Summer Tour Spinning. Every day even if it's only 15 minutes, I've been spinning. Thursday I spent two hours spinning while watching a movie. I've still got a lot of spinning to do though and loving every minute of it! I've been working on spinning up the cormo single and the brown merino singles. Once I fill those three bobbins then I'll move on to the white Corriedale single. |
| Spinning Cormo |
For a knitting update, I've been working diligently on my Shalom Cardigan goal. Which is to beat how many days I knit it last time. So far, I've been knitting it for a week and I'm almost done!! I have the sleeves left and then I'll be ready to weave in ends and sew on buttons. I'm hoping I can finish it today!! This morning I met up with Manda at a bakery near her house called Frida's! It was SOO yummy! I had a bacon, egg and cheese bagel with some very yummy coffee. We sat and knit and talked for several hours and had a wonderful time. I brought home some donuts for Special K and he enjoyed them.
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| Knitting at Frida's with Manda |
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| Raw Dirty Fleece when I first got it. |
Baby update, she is doing very well. She is enjoying her little soccer game in my belly and getting really good and making every kick count. Special K has now been able to really feel her which I love because it's amazing to share this feeling with him! My belly is growing and I'll work on getting a picture of it soon. We've also been working on finding a daycare. We met one of our options on Friday and we both really liked her. She's close, nice, comes highly recommended. We meet another one on Tuesday and hopefully we'll have one set by the end of next week so I can take this worry off my plate. It's so hard to know who you can trust with your baby!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I'm hoping to have my podcast recorded tomorrow while Special K is golfing.
Happy Knitting, Spinning and Fleecy goodness!!
The Frog Pond Revisted.
Some of you may remember, back in February for the Ravelympics I knit the Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane. I managed to finish it in 14 days! Yes, it's a fast knit! When I finished it and tried it on...I was really not happy with it. Here is a picture of me in it right after I finished it. 
In the end I am very happy I frogged it. Having it in my sweater drawer taunting me with it's bad fit and poor decisions on modifications to the pattern on my part was just killing me.
I have already soaked the yarn to remove all the kinks from it being knit and I completed knitting the yoke, separating for the sleeves, and am back on the body part. I am happy knitting it again. This is a great pattern. I don't love how the pattern fits at the top that is why I am again making modifications but this time I am using someone else's modifications that have been tested and I like how they look. Here's hoping they work because I will not knit this three times!
My other goal with this cardigan is to knit it faster than I did last time. I think I can beat 14 days. I'm already a third of the way through since Saturday. I think I can, I tink I can.
To catch you up on my life, last week with Special K's sister and nephew in town it was very busy!! They left on Friday but Friday night I had a baby shower for a friend, then Saturday I had a Pinellas Weavers Guild board meeting. By Saturday afternoon, I really did not want to leave the house or do anything other than craft. I had a long craft todo and only got about halfway through but that's OK.
My summer tour spinning is going really well!! I have managed to spin every day for at least 10 minutes and am making lots of progress. I think I will have almost 3 bobbins full of singles soon.
I hope everyone is having a great week. Happy Knitting, Spinning, and Doggie lovin! :)
Weekend flashback!
This weekend flew by!! Friday night, we rested after a busy week and we knew the weekend would be busy. Special K went to work early Saturday morning, I slept in and spent the morning cleaning. Our house was in desperate need of some real cleaning time. Special K got home while I was cleaning and helped me a little, then took a shower and off we went. Special K's sister and nephew came to town Saturday afternoon, so this was the reason we did so much. We met up with them and went swimming in the clouds and rain most the afternoon. I put my legs in the jacuzzi but stayed out of it in general. We then spent the evening eating dinner and playing Wii. It was a fun day!! Sunday I let SK sleep in while I fed and let the dogs out and got the coffee ready for him. I had a small cup of coffee because I was tired and I knew it would be a long day. This day we were all off to Busch Gardens!! I haven't been to Busch Gardens in a long time but I had a blast. Yes, I know I'm pregnant and didn't get to ride any real rides but the carousel, but I did have fun hanging out and people watching. Oh boy is people watching fun, especially when you pull out your knitting, and you are knitting on 5 double pointed needles. It's so funny the different facial expressions you get. Here is my knitting when I first pulled it out at the beginning of the day while they were on a water ride.
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| KIPing at Busch Gardens |
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| Riding the Carousel! :) |
After getting back from Busch Gardens, Special K took a shower because he was soaked from the rides. Then we headed back to have dinner and play more Wii! :) All in all it was a great weekend but I feel I could use a weekend from my weekend. :)
Even though we were busy this weekend, I did manage to squeeze in about 20 minutes of spinning on Sat and about 10 on Sunday for my summer tour goal. Not sure I mentioned what my Summer Tour goal is. The Summer Tour is something that Meghan from Stitch It Podcast set up and you are supposed to set a goal from Aug. 1st to Aug 28th. My goal was to spin at least 10 minutes a day or do something spinning related every day for the 28 days. I had started this before the tour and I'm keeping strong! I am really enjoying my time with my spinning wheel and I think making good progress!
Well, hope you have a great Monday!! Happy Knitting, Spinning, and Theme Parking!
A jumper FO and it's almost the weekend.
Thursdays are so close to being my favorite days of the week but yet so far. They are close enough to Friday that I can taste it but yet there is a whole day of work before the actual weekend. I'm always ready by Thursday for the weekend to start. Tomorrow is going to be a bit busy until 5pm. For the last week, I've had this calf pain/cramp and it just won't go away. I've iced it, stretched it, heated it, had it massaged, eaten bananas, added calcium pills, and it's still here. So, I broke down and called the doctor today for the 2nd time...the first was on Monday and they told me about adding the calcium pills and calling in 24 hours if it's still there. When I called today, they said to stop the stretching and the yoga and to come in to see them tomorrow. I have to head into work early and then go to my doc apt at 9:15. Hopefully it goes quickly and they have some idea of making it feel better.Well...after that and working for the rest of the day...I'm really looking forward to a relaxing evening. As usual after a long week, I hope to knit and spin and just be. :)
Speaking of knitting, I finished something tonight! It's for a friend, who I'm not sure reads my blog but she doesn't know this is for her so it's OK to post the picture on here. For one of my many friends having or have had babies this year, I've finished another baby knit. This time it's a jumper. The pattern is Skull Jumper by Malia Mathe. I didn't think my friend would like the Skulls so I just made it all purple. Kenny wants me to make one for our baby but include the skulls. :) Add it to my list. Not the greatest picture but I'm still using my cell phone for pictures.
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| Baby Jumper |
Happy Knitting!!
Ten on Tuesday: What to bring on vacation.
This week's Ten on Tuesday theme is what ten items would you bring on vacation.
1. Knitting!! This is a no-brainer. I usually pack too many projects but I try to get a complicated project and a simple project to drag along on vacation.
2. Camera. To take pictures of all the pretty sites and people we visit.
3. Ipod. This is for multiple reasons. One being I can listen to music while we are waiting to travel or we can play games on the ipod or I can record segments of the podcast.
4. Wallet. :) Yeah, I know obvious but you never want to leave home without it.
5. A good book or magazine. Always good to have options when you are waiting for flights.
6. Snacks. I like to travel with my own snacks so I can both save money and have stuff I know I'll want.
7. A bathing suit. You never know when there will be a chance to swim in a hotel pool, beach, or jacuzzi!
8. Sense of humor and adventure. Often times vacation don't always go as planned. You want to be able to laugh if your plane is delayed and you end up in an airport for hours or if your luggage gets lots. You also want to be able to seize the day and try new things if plans change.
9. Travel companion. Whether that be your husband, boyfriend, or family..it's always nice to travel with others.
10. Passport, Tickets, and ID. If you don't bring this, you may get stuck not going where you wanted to go. :)
Ok...hope you enjoyed my ten on tuesday! Happy Tuesday and hope everyone is doing great!
Swatch, Swatch, Swatch and Swatch again. :)
Most people hate swatching! If you don't know what swatching is, it's knitting or spinning a small sample of your yarn or fiber and make sure that it's the correct gauge or thickness for your project. Gauge for those non-knitters is stitches knit per inch. Depending on the size needle and the thickness of your yarn, your gauge changes. Most if not all patterns have a gauge for you to get with the needles and yarn you pick for your project. Sometimes even though you knit with the same needle size and yarn as someone else, you may knit tighter or looser and your gauge will be different. In these cases you would have to go up a size in needle or down a size. OK...enough education for today. It's early for me.I've been planning out a sweater project with some of my hand spun. Now, I could just spin up all the fiber and then see what thickness my yarn ends up being and find a pattern that matches but instead I'm trying to spin for a certain yarn weight. My first attempt at a spinning swatch didn't go well. First off, I spun up too much of a swatch...I tend to do that because I get so into spinning that I forgot that I'm just doing a swatch. Second, my singles were way too thick for what I was hoping would be a three ply. The sweater calls for a worsted weight yarn. This is a standard medium weight yarn. You can read more about yarn weight standards here. The end result of my three ply swatch was more of a Bulky weight which wouldn't work for the sweater pattern I choose.
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| 3 ply. 2 plies of brown merino, 1 of some other fiber. Bulky weight |
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| Both swatches. |
After spinning the other singles up, I wound some of the brown onto another bobbin and did a very tiny sample of three ply. Two brown and one of the corriedale. I then checked it with my yarn gauge and realized it would be way too thin. So, I did two plies of the brown, one of the corriedale, and one of the cormo. I checked and it seemed generally to be about right. I'm still working on getting my singles a consistent thickness so it's not really perfect but I"m ok with that. I plied up a little more of this 4 ply and then I set the twist last night. What do you think of how it's coming out? It's a barber pole effect.
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| 4 ply worsted weight. 2 plies of brown merino, 1 of corriedale, 1 of cormo. |
When I got up early this morning, I pulled out my small sample and knit up a gauge swatch to see if I had reached my goal. Surprise, Surprise to me of all people, I have!! It's not perfect and the gauge isn't consistent through the whole swatch but on average it's 18sts/4 inch which is what the pattern calls for!
I also pulled off a yard of my spinning swatch so I can weight it and determine if I'll have enough lbs of fiber for the yardage I need. That is for another day because I might have Special K take it to work and use the scale at his work, a machine shop! :) For now I feel comfortable that I can keep spinning the way I have and just work on getting my singles as consistent as I can.
Hope you guys enjoyed this sort of lesson in swatching. I know it's a lot of babble really but I didn't sleep well last night because of a leg cramp and I'm up early on a Saturday trying not to wake up Special K who is still sleeping. When he finally gets up, we are heading to brunch and then to Babys R Us for some registering.
Happy Spinning and Don't forget it's a good idea to always Swatch! :)
PS. I know the pictures are crappy as I'm still using my cellphone to take pictures. :) Some day I'll get a better camera.
Some Red and some Brown....Lots of knitting and some spinning.
I'm so glad it's Friday! This week has felt like it dragged on forever, however, there has been lots of knitting, actually spinning, and planning for future projects. I was able to finish another newborn hat. This one is for my cousin's baby who is due in the next couple months. Since at this point, none of the dogs would model for me. This is all you get. |
| Newborn Hat for Cousin's baby |
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| Jackjack in Christmas Gift Hat |
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| Progress on Merino Roving. |
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Happy Knitting and Spinning!
Ten on Tuesday.
In an effort to blog more often, I found a fun weekly post to try out. You can sign up over at Carole Knits. This week’s topic: 10 Things to Do Instead of Watching TV. Since I tend to watch a lot of TV, I thought this was a great topic. Reminds me that I can and often should do somethings other than sit in front of the TV and veg with my knitting or spinning.
1. Read a good book. I love reading and when I get into a good book I pretty much have to finish it and put everything to the side to finish it. I also stay up WAY too late!
2. Cook or Bake something new. This has been my nesting since I got pregnant. Poor Kenny has been forced to eat more because I am often baking something yummy or cooking something new. I've tried a lot of fun stuff lately and got a new recipe that I'm hoping to try tonight!
3. Take dogs for a walk. Dogs need lots of exercise and mental stimulation. They always can use a good walk, where they can stretch their legs and smell new smells.
4. Train dogs. This goes along with the walking but you both can learn something fun and new. They always can use a refresher on any tricks you've taught them.
5. Knit something complicated. When I knit lace or something I need to focus on, I can't watch TV.
6. Listen to an Audiobook or Podcast. This is great because it can be done while knitting, spinning, cleaning, or walking.
7. Clean!! This is often my last choice but honestly it's something that has to get done!!
8. De-clutter or Organize a section or room in your house. With the baby coming in Nov, we are having to re-arrange our house to make the old stash/office room the baby's room. We are almost there!!
9. Play cards or board games. Kenny, my family, and I love to play games! Kenny and I will play Scrabble or Quiddler or other games. My family loves Russian Rummy or Spades.
10. Dye some fiber or yarn!
Hope everyone enjoyed this!! Happy Ten on Tuesday!!
Barknknit Baby news!
As I have already mentioned in the blog, we are having a baby this November!! Our due date is Nov 29th. We are very excited!! Last Monday, we had our big ultrasound to check that all the body parts are there and find out the sex of the baby!! We originally had some disagreements about if we would find out or not. Special K did not want to find out and as a knitter I couldn't imagine not finding out. :) In the end Special K gave in and we told the lady we'd like to know. |
| Baby Barknknit at 21 weeks |
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| Belly Pic at 20 weeks and 6 days. |
Today, I'm 22 weeks. I have a ways to go. I'll try to keep up with the blog. I know lately I haven't podcasted or blogged but I'm working on it. Right now we are focusing on getting the baby's room mostly done. We have removed a lot of things from the room, including my stash and the computer. We still have a bit to go before we are even close to being done. :) I'll share pictures when we are.
Happy Blogging!
Knitting, knitting, and doggies!!
There has been lots of knitting! For a couple weeks, I stopped knitting because my brain was fried! I was working on the Moonfleet Shawl and i messed up. After the mess up...my brain just couldn't fix it...there it lies waiting for the day I feel like tackling the mistake. In the meantime, I've been knitting simple ribbed or stockinette items. I started with the Warm Ribbed Winter Hat by Lucy H. Lee. I grabbed yarn from my stash and knit a hat and a half with some burgundy Malabrigo. Then my sister bought yarn so I could make her one. Here's a picture of hers. It's made in Cascade 220 Superwash. |
| Tammy's warm hat. |
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| Roxy, my sister's dog in newborn hat |
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| Abigail Grace in a newborn hat. |
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| Lucky and Roxy lounging. |
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| Abby and Jackjack taking up my couch space. |
Moonfleet and a spinning FO
Happy Friday!! I'm so glad it's already pretty much the weekend. Can someone explain why short weeks always feel like they drag on forever?Well...even thought I've been busy...there has been knitting and spinning!
After my inspirational trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool and meeting all the lovely people, I got home and quickly finished spinning up what was on my wheel, which was a some pencil roving I purchased at SAFF from MissBabs. I was spinning up 3 plies for a light fingering weight sock yarn. The roving was superwash merino/nylon and lovely colors.
The finished picture is not the greatest. It was late and I need to take pictures during the day but I just didn't get a chance during the day. I'm pretty sure it's about 300 plus yards of yarn. I want to finally get a pair of handspun socks knit up but I am not a fan of toe-up and I feel that's the way I have to knit it. We'll see.
What have I been knitting? Well, I haven't started any baby knitting and don't plan to until we find out the sex. I do need to cast on a secret project but that will come. :) I've been working a lot on Kenny's vest that I started last year some time. I'm hoping to finish that up soon but may need to order more yarn before it gets done.The other thing I'm knitting is my Moonfleet shawl! It's a Unique Sheep mystery KAL and it's my first mystery KAL, my first lace weight project, and my first project with knitting beads!! It's been educational and so much fun! I find I really do like lace weight and adding beads are easier than I thought! Today Clue 4 came out, however, I'm just one repeat away from finishing Clue 3. I got behind during clue 2 but I'm quickly catching up! I really love how the yarn is knitting up and love the colorway..since it is called Barknknit! It's a gradiance colorway and so far I've only knit from the first two balls so the full gradiance hasn't been established.
Since this is a mystery KAL and I don't want to spoil it for people who don't want to see it yet. Please click this link if you want to see the picture of the WIP.
Ok...well...hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm looking forward to some time with my family and friends.
Happy Friday!
Dogs on Thursday! Lazy dogs...
Lazy boys...I should say :) This weekend while relaxing before starting out day...this is how the boys decided to hang out! I thought it was just too cute! Jackjack loves his daddy!
The pups have been hanging in there. They both got baths two nights ago so their cuddles increased! And they get invited up on the bed at night to get more cuddles...when they are dirty...they don't get to do that anymore. :) They have also been enjoying our walks since the pollen has left and I can breathe!!What they really really want to do is go swimming! We need to talk to Aunt Manda about heading over to her house for some doggie swim time!! They LOVE it so much!
Here they are last year in a downpour but still loving the water! It's funny how they hate rain but if they can swim in the rain they are fine! ;)
Hope you have a great Dogs on Thursday!! Happy Doggies!
I'm back!! I promise! Lots to catch up on!
Ok...so I know I've been silent on here for about 2 months. My father commented the other day that I haven't posted since MARCH! Can you believe that! Well...so much has been going on and if you follow me anywhere else you would have already learned some of this but I'm going to start catching you up with what's been going on with me for the last two months or so! :) I'll try to be as quick as possible...but you all know me...I talk a lot! :)Ok...first we'll start with the biggest news! We are pregnant! Special K and I are expecting our first on Nov. 29th. We are both really excited along with our families! I'm not really showing too much yet so no picture of the baby bump but I'm sure that will come! :) What I will show you is our last ultrasound picture! On May 20th, when we were 12 wks and 3 days, we got to see our baby for the 2nd time. It was so amazing! The baby was moving around a lot and actually looks like a baby now! What do you think??
At first we had some discussions about whether or not we'd find out the sex but in the end we decided that if the baby cooperates that on July 19th we'll find out! We already have names and we both will be happy with either but I want a girl and SK is hoping for a boy. I've been feeling like it's going to be a boy because I want a girl but we'll see. I'll be happy with either.The next big thing is I've had to say good bye to my 20s. On May 21st, I turned the big 3-0! :) Yes, I'm now officially in my 30s! I'm pretty excited about it honestly and other than feeling like I'm getting fat(belly bump) I feel great!! Special K surprised me when I got home from work that day with a cake, some blueberry muffins(my favs), and two cards. One card was from him and one was from the baby! It was just too cute!!
Yes, the candles say over the hill...After that we headed out to dinner at Carraba's with family and had a great evening! They told the restaurant that it was my birthday so of course I got sang to! :)Well, other than those two things a lot has been going on. I've been knitting away, which right now I don't have any pictures but I'll get some soon to share with you! I've also been spinning!
I still need to post picture of my Maryland Sheep n Wool trip, which you can hear about now on my podcast.
So...here my getting back to blogging post! I'll be back soon! I hope you enjoyed this "quick" update and come back to read more!
Maryland Sheep and Wool here I come!!
So, this weekend was full of spending time with my family and my dad and planning my upcoming fiber adventure!!!I decided last week that I wanted to go to Maryland Sheep n Wool...the next step was making it happen. In the end, it all just seems to be working out! My plan is I'll be flying up to NC on the Friday before the Festival and my friend will pick me up from the airport, then we'll drive up and meet another friend up in the Baltimore area and stay at a hotel for Friday and Saturday night! During those two days, we'll have plenty of meeting new people and fiber fumes!! I can't wait!
Saturday, I'll be joining a couple other podcasters, when I get the final details I'll let you know, for a meet n greet at the festival from 11-1pm! It should be tons of fun...and I'm sure I'll be just as big a fan girl with the other podcasters as the people coming to meet them! :)
Sunday after shopping a bit, we plan to head back to NC and then I'll be staying there for a couple days as I spend time with my best friend from high school!
I'm looking forward to the whole weekend! If you are going to be at the Festival please let me know!! I look forward to meeting everyone! I'll be wearing my barknknit shirt on Saturday so other than my latiness..hehe..that will be a way to recognize me. If you want to pick up some barknknit apparel you can to at www.zazzle.com/barknknit.
This is a picture of me in my shirt chatting away at SAFF.
Other than planning this weekend, we did manage to get our whole house spring cleaned! It took us several hours and lots of sneezing on my part but it's done! My MIL will be arriving LATE saturday night for a weekend of fun!! I can't wait for a five day weekend and enjoying family time!
A new toy, and some fleecy goodness!!
This weekend was pretty crazy! Special K had a friend from home in town for the weekend so we stayed out late! I also had lots of things that I had to do...such as helping out with the Pinellas Weavers Guild Auction. Every other year we do an auction and the other years we have a sale. The auction was a lot of fun but the best part was that I got a loom for $12!!! I was so flipping excited! It's missing the heddles and I need a shuttle and a reed threader but otherwise I can't wait to get it working!!Look how pretty it is after I wiped it down with some wool oil.
If you know what kind of loom this is or have any advice...PLEASE...do share! Thank you so much!
Also this weekend I managed to scour some of the black Corriedale fleece I have. I separated them into locks and scoured in lock formation because I plan to comb them. They came out so pretty!Here are all the yummy fleecy goodness laying to dry!
Well..I hope everyone is doing great! I hope you enjoyed this drive by posting! ;)
Padfoot Socks Pattern Design Published!
Barknknit Design's First Pattern!!A couple months back, my friend Shelby, from Shelby B's Designs, was sending me a skein of yarn as a thank you and asked me what my favorite Harry Potter character was and naturally since he turns into a dog it's Sirius Black. She had not created a colorway for him yet and she decided to create one! She came up with this beauty...
After receiving this beautiful yarn and not being able to find a pattern to knit with it, the Padfoot socks pattern was born.
It's a top down cabled ribbed pattern with a seed stitch panel.
I think it's a great pattern for sock yarns that have many colors.
The pattern includes both a chart and written instructions. It is now available for purchase on www.barknknit.com and Ravelry.
Last week while I was working on publishing this pattern, my friend's dog Scorpio was hit by a car. He had gotten out of her backyard and someone hit him and never stopped. As someone who has gone through this, I decided that I wanted to donate 30% of all proceeds from the sock pattern from now until March 15th to help her offset some of the costs of his vet expenses and surgery. I'm hoping this helps her even just a little bit with the un-expected cost an accident like this incurs.
Well, I hope you enjoy this pattern and please feel free to send me any feedback as this is hopefully the first design of many.
Thank you to all those who have already purchased the pattern and for all the support my friends have given me! I appreciate you all!
DOT of Abby.
Since Jackjack got a picture in yesterday's post. Here is my lovely Abbygirl...at her finest.
I love how she can make any position look so comfy. Sorry for the picture of the dirty couch...it's usually covered because it's mainly their couch.Happy Dogs on Thursday!!
New Podcast, Knitting, Frogging, and a Gift.
After some inspiration from my podcast and some encouragement, my husband Special K and his brother have decided to start a podcast. Their podcast is about sports and it's called This Week in Sports Podcast and now can be found on Itunes!! If you are interested in sports and think you'd enjoy two brothers chatting about sports and their opinions please go over and check it out. Their language can be colorful at some points but overall I think you'll enjoy it. This is a picture of Kenny and Jackjack while he podcasted. Jackjack looks so comfy! ;)
After spending most the day knitting and helping Kenny with his podcast on Saturday, Sunday was spent cleaning up and relaxing as well. My podcast listeners had a Virtual Knit Meet up on Stickam.com and while I was chatting with them I decided to finally tackle the mess I made by frogging a vest that I had knit a couple months back from my handspun Romney that I didn't like. Instead of being a good frogger and make sure I wrapped the yarn right while I was frogging the project...I just ripped the knitting apart and created a huge mess!!
Well...that caused lots of knots and frustration but I finally did get it all wound up in the end! YAY!
After I successfully finished all my Ravelympics projects which I'll post a picture of soon! I cast on a vanilla sock using the Knitmore Girls Vanilla pattern. Can I say Genius! It's a simple knit pattern but it goes so fast and I really am enjoying it. This was my progress on Saturday.
I have since finished the first sock and am well on my way knitting the 2nd. I'm hoping to be done by Friday...considering I'm already turning the heel. I think I might be able to get it done.
After spending most the day knitting and helping Kenny with his podcast on Saturday, Sunday was spent cleaning up and relaxing as well. My podcast listeners had a Virtual Knit Meet up on Stickam.com and while I was chatting with them I decided to finally tackle the mess I made by frogging a vest that I had knit a couple months back from my handspun Romney that I didn't like. Instead of being a good frogger and make sure I wrapped the yarn right while I was frogging the project...I just ripped the knitting apart and created a huge mess!! 
Well...that caused lots of knots and frustration but I finally did get it all wound up in the end! YAY!
After I successfully finished all my Ravelympics projects which I'll post a picture of soon! I cast on a vanilla sock using the Knitmore Girls Vanilla pattern. Can I say Genius! It's a simple knit pattern but it goes so fast and I really am enjoying it. This was my progress on Saturday.
I have since finished the first sock and am well on my way knitting the 2nd. I'm hoping to be done by Friday...considering I'm already turning the heel. I think I might be able to get it done. My sister Tammy who is always great at good little gifts, asked me to swing by this weekend because she had something for me. I've been working on knitting something for everyone in my immediate family by the end of the year and she got me these to put on my knitted items! How awesome is she!! I love them!! I can't wait to sew these into some of my projects!
Thank you Tammy!!Well...I hope you've enjoyed the catching up. I have lots of plans in the works right now and I'm working on getting some of them out to you all soon. So, look for some new and fun things coming. I'm still working on keeping this blog updated. I do not plan on letting it go anytime soon. I hope you are still with me!
Natalie
Sharing Our Gifts Across America: Florida.
So, we all know how great a blogger I've been lately. I totally forgot to share that I'm this months host for Sharing Our Gifts Across America!
The project ends on March 12th so if you have time...please feel free to knit or make one of the following and send it my way.
What we are making for THIS PROJECT:
Hats
Scarves
Mittens
Cotton Washcloths
My address is:
Natalie Rush
PO Box 1035
St. Petersburg, FL 33731-1035
Check out more details on the main blog...as well as the next projects as well.
Thanks!
Hot cocoa with a yarn bowl.
Since it's been so cold in FL lately...and when I mean cold it's been in the 40s and 50s for weeks now, I have become addicted to hot cocoa and whip cream. I have it about every night! My sister Tammy is a huge hot cocoa fan and she did the research and discovered that Land O Lakes is the best hot cocoa out there. It's so smooth and yummy!So, here is a picture of some hot cocoa with my sock in progress...sock has since been completed.
Here is my hot cocoa on the night of the Ravelympics mass cast on. Check out my pattern ready to go!
Well...since Ravelympics started on Friday the 12th, I have gotten a lot of progress done on this cardigan. I have also pulled out my yarn bowl, which was a gift from my MIL and have been using it. Have I mentioned how much I love it? It's so pretty!
I'm really enjoying knitting this cardigan and have contemplated adding sleeves but for now I'm going to hold off. I can't decide and I think I'll wear it a few times and then make a decision.I've also been working on the Iphone mitts for my nephew Galen. I'm about to start the thumb on the first one. I just have to modify the pattern because I'm using worsted instead of fingering weight yarn.
Hope everyone has a great Wednesday! Happy Ravelympics!!
Baby Knitting!
Since we have a new baby in the family, everyone should have known that would mean BABY KNITTING!! My first comment about this is that baby knitting is so fast and everything is so cute!! I mean anything that is baby size is always cuter! Second comment is that my nephew is SO adorable that he just makes things look even cuter!!I, of course am bad with deadlines and instead of having these items knit when little Owen was born back in Nov....they were sent to him in January! At least I made them about 3 month old size so they fit him now! I used the Child's Placket-Neck Pullover that was published in Last Minute knitting Gifts. Originally I had wanted to make the body one color and the sleeves the yellow but once I got to thinking and realized I'd have to sew together, I came up with doing the upper body the second color. I'm really glad I made this choice. I think it came out perfect!! I used some Dream in Color Classy in Midnight Derby that I had left over from my FLS and the DIC Butter Peps was sent to me by Jasmin from the Knitmore girls and it was left over from her Ariann.
Can we say ADORABLE??
He looks so much like pictures of my dad when he was a baby. He's like a little Vicente! :) I love it! I can't wait to meet him!
After I finished the sweater, I decided that he had to have a matching hat!! So, I sort of just made up a pattern for it. I cast on, knit seed stitch for a bit, knit for a little bit, switched colors, kept knitting, decreased and did the top. It fit him perfectly too!
All in all, I think my first official baby knitting was a huge success!! Before this I only had knit bibs...so I'm pretty proud of myself. I already have some baby knits planned for my best friend from high school who is due this summer and another sweater for Owen for his first birthday.Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Knitting!
A sock FO, test knitting, and Ravelympics begins!!
So, my goal for today was to finish up the Spring Forward sock that I've been knitting prior to the start of the Ravelympics...and I did it! They came out great! These are knit from the Franconia yarn from NHKnittingmama.com in the colorway Darcie. I love this base as well as the color. What do you think??
I'm also planning to knit my third pair of this sock pattern. This time it's a test knit for NHKnittimama.com out of her Farmington base. 
Today is the first day of the Olympics also the first day of the Ravelympics. I'm planning to knit the Shalom Cardigan by Megan McFalane in some Eco Wool + in the Rainer Heather colorway. I saw this cardigan knit up at SAFF and I just really liked it so I added it to my queue and then I saw another version at knit night and knew it had to be my Ravelympics project! I have the yarn all wound up, swatched, and ready to go! We can't cast on until the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics so I have a couple hours to go, but I'm getting ready to knit like the wind!!
Hope you are having a great weekend!! Happy Valentine's Day!!
Pet visitors, and some new yarn.
How is everyone? Sorry i've Bern neglecting the blog these days. I am working on getting better with that. Well, this weekend was so nice. I got a lot done and a podcast up! I also got my audio fixed on my computer! My cousin was asing and was able to figure it out.My sister was out of town on saturday so her dogs came to stay with us. The four of them had a blast. Lucky is a mini schnauzer and Roxy is a Scottie.
Lucky is the funniest dog! When I was spinning up some singles she put her head on my lap and just laid there while I knit.
New yarn!! Love new yarn!! I put in my first order from www.yarn.com or Webs. I ordered 4 skeins of Eco wool. 2 are for my Ravelympics project, which is the Shalom cardigan and the other 2 are for a Jared flood blancket that I am organizing a KAL for in march. Keep you posted.
Well, I hope everyone is safe in this weather. We are trying to keep as warm as possible. I've been going on walks with a co-worker during lunch. We are able to get in about 3 miles which is great!! I've also started teaching some of the ladies at work to knit!! We are having a knitting lunch once a week!! How fun!!
Well, keep safe and happy knitting!!
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