Meme

I saw this over at Robin's blog. This is probably my 1st meme.

The things I have done are in bold.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoor)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Field trip = movie star signatures

Ok. I guess this is BIG enough news to make me post.

I picked up Pumpkin Girl from her Tae Kwon Do class. She was giddy as a school girl (she's 9 after all). Anyway, her class and the rest of the 4th graders in her school had their science field trip at this "awesome" Smithsonian Institution. She got Shia LaBeouf's signature on her science packet. Michael Bay signed her packet as well as her t-shirt. She's never going to let me wash that shirt. ;-) She was a bit disappointed not to get a glimpse of Megan Fox. Apparently, they're filming Transformers 2 at the museum.

What about Bob?

After all that ribbing in Fifi, I needed a quick knit and hopefully something simple that I could work on at the beach. Overall, Bob would've been a quick knit. I've just been lazy.

I started with one sleeve before we left on vacation. I fiddled with the length and got the numbers down. I cast on for the body on our drive down to the beach (Sat, Aug 4th). I got about 6" done. Then I knit the second sleeve. I finished most of the body (up to the split) while we were on vacation (that was 2 weeks ago). During the sporadic knitting last week I finished the front. Last night, I buckled down and finished the back. All that is left to do is seam it up and weave in the ends.

[Insert unseamed blob known as Bob here]

I won!

The lovely Bron celebrated her 4th blogiversary earlier this month while I was on vacation. I dropped her a quick note to greet her and by some strange luck I won a gift. See what the mailman delivered yesterday ...

Thanks so much Bron! Knit on!

Fifi by the Sea

This yarn is amazing! It took a lot of abuse from me. Fifi took on a love/hate relationship with me. It took 3 cast ons on size 7 needles. Knitted up to row 40, ripped back to row 37, re-knitted to row 40 then ripped out all together. Re-started with size 8 needles. While trying on the piece, 10 stitches fell off the needle (my bad for not putting it on yarn instead) I almost cried. Instead of sending Fifi to time-out, I opened a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade and started to pick up the stitches then treaded carefully.



Once I finished the 1st 8 rows of the bodice, I stopped. How am I going to make this easy for me to remember when to cable??? Knowing me, I'll lose track of the row count when I need to do the cable. So I made a quickie Excel spreadsheet. Let me tell you how much this helped me - I did not rip a single row in the bodice, no kidding!

Fifi
Pattern: French Girl Knits
Yarn: 4 balls + a few yards Rowan Calmer in Tangerine for size S
Needles: Addi Circulars in US #8
(07/10/07 - 7/29/07)
Modifications: Added 5" to the length of the body. CO additional 19 stitches to the sleeves and did ribbing in the underarm. Knit 10 rows in pattern then BO for a slightly longer sleeve.

Sneak Peek

... just need to weave in the ends and block.



Fifi will most likely make her debut next week near the Atlantic Ocean.

Calmer ... I think I love you

When I saw Nonnahs' Josephine, I thought 'Wow! I hope someday I can knit something as beautiful.' Then I saw Tentenknits' Moulin Rouge on Ravelry and I was hooked.

I've had some Rowan Calmer in the stash just waiting for the right project to come along. Enter Fifi which also happened to be the SKC pick for this go-around. I stalled because I could not decide which color to use. I had the Hubby and the kids pick the color.

With the Calmer and 4.5 mm Addis, I cast on on July 4th after our cook-out. First cast on using long tail (my favorite). Somehow after 6 rows I decided to rip and restart with the cable cast on. I struggled with this cast on - too fiddly for me. Anyhow, I made it until about row 40 but then noticed that I missed an increase somewhere in row 37.

Yesterday while waiting for Pumpkin Girl to get back from Hershey Park field trip, I pulled out the tape measure. Why in the world did I go with the 4.5 mm needles? I'm such a tight knitter that I can usually get gauge with the specified needle. Then in a fit on insanity, I cast on twice (long tail) with 5 mm needles and a new ball. I'm currently on row 10. Weird because I'm not regretting the time spent re-knitting. I'm actually enjoying the process because this yarn is that good.

Ruffles

Introducing Ruffles ... the perfect cover-up when we go to the beach.

Pumpkin Girl has been asking for a knit skirt for a while. I had a pattern in mind that would be perfect to work on while lounging around in front of the TV. She wanted some tweaks ... we compromised on some ribbons that could be switched around with no fuss and minimize some wardrobe malfunctions. Once the color was all decided, the project commenced.

I still need to sew in the garter and go buy some ribbons.

Bounce
Pattern: Wendy Bernard
Yarn: 3 skeins Lion Cotton-Ease in Popsical Blue
Needles: Addi Circulars in US #6
(06/18/07 - 06/30/07)
Modification: Added 2 eyelet rounds to slip some ribbons in.

Thoughts: This project is cheap! Yarn cost was $6.00

Rusted Root

It was a gorgeous day. We decided last minute to throw some hotdogs on the grill for dinner. I realized that this was the perfect moment to take outdoor pictures of Rusted Root.

Poofy sleeves? check
Full spread
I did not bother throwing on a cami so excuse me if my bra peeks out through the lace panel.

Rusted Root
Pattern: Zephyr Style
Yarn: 3 skeins Lion Cotton-Ease in Terracotta for size S
Needles: Addi Circulars in US #5 and #7
(05/26/07 - 06/11/07)
Modifications:
1) Knit an additional 2 st before starting lace pattern. Knit 12 pattern repeats for body.
2) Added 12 st to sleeves (63 st).
3) Lengthened sleeves: Knit 6 rounds in St using larger needle. Switch to smaller needle and K2 P1 rib for 6 rounds. Bind off in larger needle.
4) Pick up stitches in collar using smaller needle. K2 P1 rib for 5 rounds then bind off.

If When I make this again, I will make the CO number divisible by 3.

Back on track

Nothing like miles of stockinette in the round to get me back.

Pumpkin Girl requested that I knit her a skirt. She wants something with the frills in the bottom. I thought to myself Bounce would definitely fit the bill.

I had her pick out a color from the cotton blend stash. She picked Lion Cotton Ease in Popsical Blue (her favorite color). Next, I had to swipe the 4.0 mm needles from the hibernating Salina.

I managed to cast on last night and almost made it past the 1x1 ribbing. This will be the perfect little project to work on while watching SG-1 and Atlantis tonight. It will also work as a cover-up for her swimsuit when we go to the pool.

A bad start

Omininous from the get go ...

The yarn - I bought 1 skein of KP Alpaca Cloud over a year ago. I was so excited to play with my new ball winder. I wrapped the skein over the backs of 2 chairs. Everything was going well until maybe 1/3 was left. The skein leaped out of the chair and ended up a tangled mess on the floor. It was so messed up that I had to cut the yarn. Sigh.

Fast forward to Monday night. High from finishing Rusted Root, instead of weaving in the ends like a good knitter should, I proceeded to cast on for a small project. I started a lace project from Lisa Lloyd Designs. When I pulled out my little bag of yarn (KP Alpaca Cloud), Little man says, "why are you knitting with floss?" Hmmm it does look like floss, doesn't it? I got as far as 4 rows on the lace.

Last night while waiting for the Chinese take-out delivery, I decided to work on it a bit. While I was in mid-stride he accidentally tugged on my left arm and my stitches fell off the needle. Sigh. I ripped the whole thing and just put it back in the bag it came from. Another day.

My Fashionable Daughter

A few months ago, Pumpkin Girl was playing dress up and came down wearing her First Communion dress. Here's how our conversation went while I was evaluating my next project (after just finishing CPH).

PG: Mom, I want a hoodie just like yours but in pink.
Me: OK.
PG: But first, I want a little jacket just like the one I have on.
Me: You mean like this? [showing her this]
PG: Yes!

Here it is (finally!!!) with the button sewn on:

Anthropologie Capelet
Pattern: Peony Knits
Yarn: 1 skein TLC Cotton Plus in Hot Pink
Needles: Addi Circulars in US #8
(02/19/07 - 02/24/07)

Modifications: My gauge was 5 st per inch. I cast on 74 and did a 2x2 rib for 1.5". Put a buttonhole within 1" of CO.

I would have finished earlier except I ripped so many times. Poor planning on my part - I was 3" into the eyelets then I noticed that the YOs were not flowing smoothly from the ribbing ... so rip back to the ribbing and adjust my markers. Then I'm sailing along then I notice that I forgot a YO and rip back. In the end, I'm happy with the project. Pumpkin Girl is thrilled with the results!

My Partner in Crime

I'm still busy knitting on Rusted Root but I needed to take a progress shot so I can upload to Ravelry. I went to my son's room to take the picture when Nicks ran by and saw me. His expression said it all. Too bad the photo with his head cocked one way was too blurry.

Nicks: What is she doing now? taking pictures of a half-knit in the mirror?
Camera ready

Celebrate!

Summer is here!
Pool is open.
Kids rockin' the Cabo Hoodie!

Happy Memorial Day!

Turtleneck Tube Vest

I finally convinced my 8 yo daughter to take a picture of the finished FO.

I really enjoyed knitting this project. Since this was the only project I was working on, it did not take too long. The inspiration came not only from the flowers. It also helped that the color of the yarn was so yummy. It constantly reminded my of this delicacy.

Perfectly Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest
Pattern: Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits
Yarn: 2.5 skeins Lion Cotton-Ease in Sugarplum
Needles: Addi Circulars in US #5 and #7
(05/11/07 - 05/18/07)
Modifications: I shortened the neck ribbing to 3.75". I could not get the RLI/LLI to look right so I used with M1R/M1L instead.

I love it! It will be worn a lot this summer. I can see myself knitting more in different colors.

Just in time

My rose bush bloomed in time for my birthday.

It has never produced flowers like this. I almost whacked it off last fall.

There must be as many flowers as the candles later.

The joys of knitting

Yesterday, I knit in public. I dragged the Turtleneck Tube Vest to Pumpkin Girl's soccer practice. I knit maybe half a row before the other soccer Mom on our team who was so busy reading her GAAP book looked over and chatted with me.

[V's mom]: what are you knitting?
[Me]: a turtleneck without sleeves
[VM]: that's very pretty! [pause] did you knit what you're wearing?
I had my Ribby Shell on.
[Me]: Yes, I knit it last year.
[VM]: That's very nice! It looks machine made.

Work in Progress

I was out taking pictures of our garden and this became inspiration for my next project.

Rhododendron taken on 5/6/07
Turtleneck Tube Vest
Rhododendron taken on 5/13/07

Lucy Goosey was here

So I split for the front and back on the Turtleneck Tube Vest last night. I struggled with the LLIs/RLIs. One of them worked out fine but the other (I can't remember which of the 2) looked funky. I pulled out "the book" and decided to use M1s instead.

I decided to try it on for size. It seemed fine except for the ribbing on the neck was to "Lucy Goosey" for my tastes. Without hesitation I ripped the whole thing off this morning before leaving for work. I immediately rewound the yarn on the winder so it will be ready to be re-knit tonight. Goodbye Lucy!

P.S. - Ravelry rocks!