In Which Keowdie Dreams...

Since I finished the Bible in 90 Days (...in 143 days... ahem.) I've been looking through my book shelves for books to read. I've got a couple of new ones to read, but they are all pretty long, and... well, I just don't think I'm ready to commit to another long read yet.

So. I'm re-reading some of my favorites. Last night, I spen about an hour reading this book before bed:

Don't "click to look inside," by the way. That came with the image I copied & pasted from Amazon.com. 

Anyway, the past part I read was her brief story about the woman who knitted plastic grocery bag strips into bags.

And then I had vivid, colorful dreams about knitting bags from bags all night long.

I really must be more careful about what I read before bed. Maybe I'll crack open that new Stephen King novel after all.

Happy Summer!

Summer vacation is finally here. This means homeschooling with the boys, a (hopefully) large garden and lots (& lots & lots) of time for knitting! Also, it means that a few of my creative monkeys can be used for writing blogposts.

It's an odd paradox for me. When I was self employed & had much more time on my hands, my knitting tended to drop off in the summer months. If you've ever been to St. Louis in July, you know why. It's hot. It's humid. It''s not at all uncommon to have many consecutive days with highs in the upper 90's and humidity at 80%. That doesn't exactly make one long for wool. Or cotton. The only thing those conditions make a person long for is a pool (we don't have one) and a cold, fruity drink (alcohol optional).

But now that I am employed by a local school district, just about the only time I have for knitting is during the summer. There's no stress from work. There is a lot more free time. These are things that make me want to knit! Even if the air conditioner has been running all day and the shingles on my roof are melting.

In this last week alone I've made more progress on the baby vest I'm knitting that I did in the last month of school. It's a gift. A gift for a baby. A gift for a baby who is now nearly a month old. That's okay. It's never too late to welcome someone to the world! Here's what I've got so far:

I know. It doesn't look like much right now. I had the hardest time figuring out this completely wonky pattern wrapping my brain around the general workings of this unique pattern. This is my third attempt at this pattern. The first problem I had was that the pattern called for "Number 10 needles." So, although this seemed awfully big for a baby sweater, I hauled out my US 10's. Three quarters of the way up the front I realized that this sweater would fit my baby. My baby is two years old.  So, I hit Ravelry & found that most people had knit this pattern on 4's and 3's. I ended up on US 5's. Then there were other issues. I couldn't find the instructions for knitting the back. I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to attach the left front yolk. I wasn't really understanding the sleeves from just skimming over the pattern.

Then, yesterday, the light bulb went on, the heavens opened and angelic choirs sang a perfect G-major chord. I realized that I knit up the front, cast on a bunch of stitches for the back neck, attached the two sides at the shoulders, and am now knitting down the back. I think the sleeves start with picked up stitches & are knit down from the shoulder as well, although I'm not there yet, so I'm not entirely sure.

This is what it looks like if I fold it at the shoulders:

It still looks like an amoeba. But an amoeba that resembles a sweater. Sort of. If you squint at it. A lot.

This is what it is supposed to look like:

Of course, if I get frustrated with this wonky pattern, I can always work on a sand dollar for Riley's blanket that was supposed to be done by Christmas...

I'll be posting much more frequently now that I'm knitting more. And now that all my creative monkeys aren't completely preoccupied with writing songs about money, letter sounds and toilet training. It's hard to write blog posts when all your creative resources are focused on work.

Halfway Done

I finally got on of my Granville Island Mitts done. It took me three days to weave in the many, many ends I had. Some were from the stripes (I didn't want to carry the red across those longer spans of tan), and some were due to the fact that it's handspun wool & it broke several times in the beginning stages of the mitt.

It's a little more scratchy than I had hoped, especially on the inside of my wrist. Hopefully some SOAK will help with that a little.

If not, I might be asking for advice on softening up slightly prickly wool.
Notice the little green arm in the background? Riley & I were home for two days last week (due to a mild case of hand-foot-mouth, I think), and he saw me "modeling" my new mitt.


Ever the imitator, he wanted to get into the act.


But then he wanted to play with his car, and I think he wondered how to accomplish this while wearing a much-too-big, slightly prickly mitt.


He figured it out pretty quickly. There's not a lot that stands between this little guy & play.

I'll hopefully be casting on for the second one tonight. I must admit to having a bit of SSS (SMS?) and realize that I really should have cast on immediately after binding off & save the weaving in for another day(s).

Happy Knitting!

New Year's Knitsolutions, 2010

Another year is upon us. This means a perfect opportunity for a fresh start, turning over some new leaves, blowing the dust off, etc., etc. After spending more than half of last year without my knitting mojo, I am determined to make this year a great year for knitting. So, here are my 2010 New Year's Knitsolutions (i.e. KNITting reSOLUTIONS):

1. In 2010, I will make 2010 the year of the ME. I looked back through my blog & Ravelry, and I discovered an extremely disturbing thing. The last knit I finished for myself was the Lattice socks. I finished them in 2007. (And, consequently, pests have eaten little holes in them sine then...) I will have a few knits for others (e.g. a new toy for Ty, a knit for a friend's new baby in May, a blanket for Riley), but I am determined to make lots & lots of knits for ME!

2. In 2010, I will dye more yarn. I did this at Christmas for my knitterly friends in 2007. I loved it! I gave away all the yarn I dyed. I will keep at least some of my own hand painted yarn.

3. In 2010, I will spin. I enjoy it, but I haven't even plied the stuff I started. This has been for 2 reasons. 1) I do not have a niddy noddy to make winding the yarn easier, and 2) I am deathly afraid of failure. This means that I have a hard time trying new things because I might mess it up. Why does it matter if I mess up in my spinning? The answer is this: I have no idea. But the idea of turning out yarn that is not as perfect as if it came from Rowan makes me twitchy. I will just have to get over this. Because, gosh darnit, I am going to make yarn in 2010!

4. In 2010, I will finish my Branching Out scarf. It's a lovely pattern in a lovely color, gifted by a lovely knitter. I can't wait to wear it, so even though the whole lace knitting thing still stresses me out (that chart makes me feel cross eyed!) I will conquer it!

5. In 2010, I will knit a sweater for me that I will actually wear. I picked a pattern (it's cabled & ribbed) and I bought the yarn (it's much more pink than this picture suggests). I am going to cast on as soon as I finish my current WIP. I will make it long enough in the torso & generous enough in the sleeves so that it fits me, and it will be a sweater that I will want to wear. I might even make another sweater after this one is finished!

6. In 2010, I will make myself a pair of fingerless gloves. I have wanted a pair for years. More than that, I have needed a pair for years. My job has me running in & out of buildings and playing my guitar all day long. My hands get cold, and I want something snuggly to keep them warm while I play guitar. (I actually already cast on for these. I couldn't wait until Jan 1!)
7. In 2010, I will do some color work. I have said this for years, and this is the year I actually do it. I love this sweater (below), but I know I will need to do something more basic to learn before I tackle it. I am currently accepting suggestions for basic color work projects, and any resources anyone cares to share to help me learn how the heck to do it!
So, there you have it. I've got a full plate this year, but I'm excited & ready to cast on! So, do you have any New Year's Knitsolutions? What will you tackle in 2010?

My Creative Space

This is my first time participating in "Creative Space!"

This week, my creative space has taken over the dining room table. Half of the table (the half we don't use for meals) is covered in this:
Cabins and trees and bears, oh my! These are the applique's I made for my littlest one's quilt. This project has me VERY NERVOUS. It's my first try at sewing a quilt. My sewing skills are not the greatest, since I'm almost completely self taught. Cross your fingers for me!

And as usual, my creative space is full of sticks & string. Here's a baby blanket I'm working on:
...and a few dishcloths for our trailer.

For more Creative Goodness, click here.

Creating

It occurred to me that lately all my posts have been about the boys, our family & what we've been doing together. I can't remember the last time I wrote a post that focused completely on what I've been doing... about what I've been creating.

Because one of the most remarkable things about staying at home with the boys this summer has been all the creating I've been able to do. I've still had to wedge my creative time in between changing diapers, cooking meals, doing chores and doing the occasional piece of paperwork, but I've still been able to fit it in, much more so than during last school year.

(I think it also helps that Riley is old enough to go & play by himself or with Ty, and no longer believes it is my duty as his mother to carry him around on my hip every moment of the day.... not that I minded having him attached to me like a little baby monkey, but let's face it: some things are easier to accomplish without the extra load!)

So, I have been creating. This week, Ty & I created some yummy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies:

And I hauled out the sewing machine last weekend after a MAJOR trip to the fabric store. I'm not quite ready to share the products of this endeavor yet, but soon. Very soon. I'm hoping to channel my Granny this week & get it all finished up.

And I have definitely been busily creating with my knitting needles. I have three WIP's (Works in Progress for you non-knitters). The first is a baby blanket for my little niece (who should arrive sometime in early December.) I worked on it after my tennis lesson, while watching Ty have his tennis lesson, on Saturday.

I'm also continuing to work on the hexagon blanket for Riley. I'm planning to give it to him for Christmas. I've completed and blocked ten hexagons, and have ten more ready to be blocked. This puts me at the half-way point. I'm thinking it's time to start stitching them together. It's in this bag, which is currently hanging on my bedroom door because I knitted while watching SNL last night.

The third project I've got going is a set of dishcloths for the new trailer. I know I could go out & buy some for cheap, and with much less trouble, but here's the thing: 1) I've got all this Sugar N Cream sitting in the stash & I need to use it for something; 2) I'm enjoying some new stitches. I'm working all of these in stitch patterns from my Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, and it's nice because it's no big deal if I mess something up; and 3) I really like using knit dishcloths. They hold up really well, are super-absorbent, and the textures are great for scrubbing stubborn stuff off our counters & dishes.
So there you have it. Lots of creating going on around these parts. And hopefully some FO's (Finished Objects) soon!