Sunday afternoon

I have another pair of fingerless mitts done! Just finished weaving in the ends. And since I am weaving in ends, I really need to finish the prayer shawl I made and get it blocked. I also need to talk to someone at church and see what the guidelines actually are for the prayer shawls. If I can use yarn I like and patterns I like, I would do more. But if I have to use acrylic yarn, I probably won't be making very many. I hate to admit it but I have become a terrible yarn snob. And sspeaking of being a yarn snob, I finished the second scarf for the Special Olympics Scarf Project. I am glad to be done with the Red Heart Yarn. Not one of my favorites. It was like working with plastic.

I am planning to take pictures of my older knitted projects so I can upload them to Ravelry soon. I hope to get Kate to model for me or else take the pictures. She likes to model. And I don't, so it works pretty well.

Go Vikes!!

 

Happy Holidays!

Sure, I start off with "Happy Holidays" and now I am going to complain. I usually deal with being on a gluten free diet pretty well. I don't often complain about it, but Christmas morning when I found myself making croutons just so I could make stuffing, I thought, "being gluten free sucks!" But I got them made, and the stuffing and everything else and we had a very good meal. I decided that it is all about the food.

Christmas Eve we made pierogies (gluten free of course.) It is my husband's family tradition, to have pierogies on Christmas Eve.  I finally found a good gf recipe that tastes good, freezes well and makes a dough that can be handled. They were a hit. Everyone helped because I think that if you are going to eat them you need to know how much work they are to make!! And we had enough that I froze some. They are so good, we should make them more than once a year. Ha! My computer time is up now, will post later and might even talk knitting.

Knitting Frenzy

I have been on a knitting frenzy lately since I have managed to lose one of each pair of my two favorite fingerless mitts that I wear all the time. First I lost one of my Noro pair, the first ones I ever made. Sob, sob. Then, I proceeded to lose a malabrigo mitt. Sob, sob, sob. And I needed a new pair to replace them ASAP. I was working on a pair made with sock yarn (in pink) for Kate, so I finished those and adjusted the pattern to use worsted weight yarn. I whipped up one pair in about two days (the blue ones.) Both are modeled by Kate. I am working on another pair, which will be purple. Surprise! Ha ha.

Today was a week since I fell and I still hurt. It is better, but not gone. Now, I need to work on wrapping so I don't have to stay up all night on Christmas Eve.

Sore Tuesday

Hey, the picture thing worked today! I finished this today and need only to weave in the ends. I decided I need to do some finishing before I start anything new. 

I am in pain today. Sunday we had rain which later turned to snow and our driveway has a nice layer of glare ice covered by a couple of inches of snow. So yesterday, I went to check the mail. I slipped a little and decided to be extra careful, took two more steps and landed on my tailbone. With  much ibuprofen and careful movement, I am okay. Dave was laughing at me yesterday because I moaned every time I moved wrong, which was often. So I may be getting a little extra knitting time in.... Not the best way to do it and I wouldn't recommend it at all!

Cold Monday

Alix's Prayer Shawl
Originally uploaded by kzdon

Our high today is supposed to be 1 below. That is darn cold. I had a hair appointment this morning (and their coffee pot was not working!)  and now I don't want to leave the house. I just want to turn the oven on and bake. I do not like the cold. I don't even like 30 degrees, so you can imagine how much less I like below zero temps.

I am trying this picture directly from flickr, since blogger can't seem to get it from my computer. This is Alix's prayer shawl. I ran out of T-pins when I was blocking, mostly because I was blocking it at the same time as the Icelandic Shawl and since it was midnight, I couldn't go get more. But it turned out very nice. 

A beautiful FO!

I finished the Icelandic Lace Shawl. And I totally love it. I blocked it, last night about midnight... And with too few T-pins, but it is still wonderful! I am very happy with it. I am trying to upload some pics. I don't know if it will work if I continue to work on this post. My computer seems to be happiest uploading pics if I just let it do that and nothing else. Hey, what do you know, here they are!!  Since every bed in my house is a water bed and I have two dogs that lay anywhere and everywhere they want, I needed someplace to do the blocking. When I made my Hemlock Ring some time ago, my dh got me some 4 ft by 8 ft sheets of pink foam board. So last night I dragged them in from the garage and started pinning. It worked. Now I need to find a spot to store them in the basement as they will be safe from the elements there. I am liking knitting lace and shawls so much that I think they will be put into use again in the near future. But I need to finish a couple of things before I start anything new. And I joined a group on Ravelry called "knitting from the shelf 2009" where we are going to knit something from those knitting books on the shelf. So I might be limited in what I can start. Although, I'm not sure I can commit to only knit from my books. I have a feeling that I might have to resort to buying some more books..... Probably not the intended outcome. 

I am uploading some pics of my Alix's Prayer Shawl that I also blocked last night. It was done except for weaving in the ends and grafting the beginning stitches. I had asked for some lace blocking wires for either my birthday or Christmas. I finished the shawl about a week before my birthday, so I waited to block it and then did not get the blocking wires. There is still hope for Christmas, but I didn't want to wait any longer once I finished the Icelandic Lace Shawl. Well, it seems like Blogger is having some difficulty uploading these pics. I will go and start my bedtime rituals and check back in a few minutes, with my fingers crossed. Okay, 2nd try. Let's hope it works this time. Well, third time might be the charm, but I am tired and going to bed. I'll leave it to do it's thing and check it in the morning..... No go again. 

The longest bind off

I have been working  on the bind off for the Icelandic Lace Shawl. I started it Tuesday evening. I worked on it through 2 episodes of Monk, 2 days waiting at my son's school, and all through my daughter's dance class. Still not finished but the end is in sight. YES!! Then I get to work on the top border, but that should go fast, I hope. I hope to have it finished and blocking soon!

Merry Christmas!

We did Christmas with my family last Saturday, so that part of the Christmas craziness is over. It was at my house, so now it is relatively clean, which is nice. And we survived without any knock-down drag out fights, not that that would ever happen with my family. They are much better with the passive-aggressive stuff and I will leave it at that in case any of them ever read my blog. :-) 

Paul had a band concert last night and I worked on my Icelandic Lace Shawl. I am on the last color in the border and have started the bind off row. Then I pick up and knit the "optional" top border which I will be doing. It is beautiful and I love it. Will post pictures soon. Now I had better get to work on my Christmas letter. Maybe I will get it mailed before Christmas this year!!

Wednesday

So creative with these post titles, aren't I? I am supposed to be cleaning but I hate cleaning and have a severe problem with pileitis, where my house is full of piles of things that have no home, so it makes cleaning even more difficult.  

But on to the good knitting news. I finished the top of my Icelandic Lace Shawl and got to pick up the 339 stitches to to the bottom border!! A friend suggested getting a box of wine and "pick up 5 stitches, sip, repeat" but I thought it might lead to a disaster since I am such a lightweight when it comes to drinking.  So I picked up a little over 300 while the kids had their piano lessons and then poured my self a glass of wine after they were in bed and picked up the final stitches. Yeah!!!

Monday Again

 

I am trying to upload pictures from my computer. When I have tried in the past, I didn't have much luck, but it worked tonight. I thought it might not work since the internet seems to be a bit slow -- indicating a busy cyber Monday?  

Anyway, here is a cute pic of Kate and the foster baby we had last week.  She wanted to keep him, but she always wants to keep them. I had to hand him back to his young, teenage mother as she decided to parent. It is hard to do, but I have no choice. I much prefer handing them off to an adoptive family, but that isn't always the case. Of the 7 babies we have had, 5 went to adoptive homes, so I guess that is pretty good. Of course, there was one set of twins in there, but it is still pretty good odds.

I have also posted some pics of my Icelandic Shawl. I still like it a lot but will be glad to be done with the white. Then I have to pick up stitches and do the border. Had I checked Ravelry before I cast on 339 stitches, for the second time, I would have done a provisional cast on. Instead I will get to pick up 339 stitches. Oh, joy. I think I will always check Ravelry before I start a new pattern.  The combined knowledge there is amazing.  Well, I still have some time before everyone comes home (Monday is Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) so I will try to get in a little knitting.

Baby, Baby

So much for the knitting for a few days. I got a call this morning and we are doing short term foster care for a few days for a newborn baby boy. He is two days old and a good eater. Also a good sleeper, so far. We will see what the night brings.... I am getting my baby fix but good. There is nothing like the feeling of a newborn baby sleeping on your shoulder. I love it. But it is nice that it is only short term. At my age I can only handle short term sleep deprivation. Kate is a big help. She seems to be more comfortable with this baby than any of the previous ones. It has been nearly a year though since the twins we had before Christmas last year, so Kate is a year older also. Actually, she is exactly the age I was when I started babysitting, all those many years ago.

Icelandic Lace Shawl

Icelandic Lace Shawl
Originally uploaded by kzdon

Okay, so I can't wait to show off what I have done so far. One nice thing is that it gets smaller as you go, so the rows go faster. However when you start with 339 stitches, it takes awhile to notice. It is just so fun to do a new color and see it grow.  All I want to do it knit on it.

Joe the Knitter

I got this great magnet from my friend Cid and I love it.  I think the neighbors may have thought I was crazy when I was out taking pictures of it the other night.   I am currently obsessed with knitting on my Icelandic Lace Shawl.  I will post pictures of it later.

Monday, Monday

I spent part of the day learning to make a bracelet with Swarovski pearls, crystals and delicas.  It is beautiful.  And being the compulsive person I am, I have already made a second one. Now I need more beads...

I also made some food to take to my LYS tomorrow as we will be celebrating the November birthdays.  I am bringing a nice healthy salad and a totally decadent cake.  Now I need to go finish cleaning up my kitchen so I can sit down for a few minutes with a glass of wine and knit.

Scalloped Wristers

IMG_1134
Originally uploaded by kzdon

It looks like I have some work to do to figure out how to upload more than one picture to a post, but that will have to be for another day. Anyway, I cast on for these babies to day. They are Scalloped Wristers which will be for my daughter, Kate. The color gives it away. They would be purple if they were mine.....

Shalom cardigan

Shalom cardigan
Originally uploaded by kzdon

I am trying to figure out how to post pictures from Flickr. So let's see if this works.  Well, I had hoped to get this picture with the previous post, but the good news is, I can add pics.  Cool!

Saturday -- in the wee hours

Well, I started this blog so I suppose I should add something to it.  I have some new FOs that I am excited about.  I finished my Shalom Cardigan and love it.  I got the button sewed on and had to wear it even though I have not blocked it yet.  And I have finished Alix's prayer shawl although it is not blocked yet.  I asked for some blocking wires for my birthday and I am hoping to get them and put them to good use right away.  If I don't get them, I will resort to plan B, which involves a lot of pinning.

 I stayed up too late again tonight watching episodes of Firefly. Someone recommended it to me and I am loving it.  Unfortunately, it was a short lived TV series and I will be coming to the end of it soon, which will be a bummer.

Now I am just playing around with fonts and colors to see what I can do.  Purple is my favorite color, but I am not especially fond of reading colored text.  And purple looks awful with this background.

First post

I have been thinking about doing this for awhile.  I enjoyed blogging while we were in Korea this summer and I like reading other knotting blogs and since I really am addicted to knitting, I thought I'd start a knitting blog.  What better way to focus on knitting and ignore the laundry, etc. that I should be doing?