Now that Christmas is over, I’ve been knitting for myself. I finally finished my Over-the-Knee Socks, though not by the Christmas deadline I had set for myself. They are so pretty, if I do say so myself! I have also started a new sweater for myself. It’s a maternity sweater from last summer’s IK. I’m using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes and I’m really liking it. The bump in the front is because it has short rows under the bustline to accommodate a baby belly. Here’s a modeled picture of the front. I can’t believe I’m half done with being pregnant! One good thing about being back from my beach vacation is that I get to go to the doctor tomorrow and see if baby Sesame is a boy or a girl! I’m really excited but a little nervous too. We call the baby Sesame because when I first found out I was pregnant, I read that the baby was as big as a sesame seed and the name stuck. It’s a lot bigger than a sesame seed now but my family is starting to think that maybe the baby should actually be named Sesame!

I need to say a great big THANK YOU to my secret pal! She got me a ball winder!! I have already used and I love, love, love it. I don’t know how I went this long without one!

We saw a lot of great yarn and a lot of great fiber that made me with I could spin. The highlight, though, was the animals. Alpacas are the cutest!! Just look at this one munching his hay. How could you not want to take him home?

This pretty trio was for sale. Each a different color. I wanted them. I still want them. The weirdest animal was the Jacob Sheep. Look at all the horns! We weren’t allowed to pet them. It was probably so we didn’t get impaled by all the horns. They looked friendly but we followed orders. I got a great deal on some Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. They were seconds so each skein was only $3! I have been wanting to knit Rusted Root for a while now so I bought some cotton fleece and started knitting. It’s a quick knit so hopefully I’ll get to wear it before the weather gets really cold. I also bought a big skein of organic Inca cotton and knit a quick little washcloth. It’s so soft! I wish you all could feel it! The pattern is from Mason-Dixon Knitting but the pattern is free on the web (that’s how I got it!) here.

So, the fair!! Mike and I went to a concert at the fair lastnight (The Decemberists, Violent Femmes and Cake- So Good!!) but on our way to the concert pavilion, I made him run through the home arts building, looking for our entries. I couldn’t be at the fair and not find out even though we didn’t have much time to get to the concert. Out of 5 knitted items, I got 4 1st places and one 3rd! I also got a blue ribbon for my bread but the judge thought my jam was “sticky.” At least that’s what she wrote on the back of my card. Oh well. Mike got a blue ribbon too! I think I’m more excited than he is. I’m going back next weekend to actually go to the fair so I’ll scope it out better and take pictures then.
I finished knitting my ogee tunic and it’s really pretty and sems like it’ll fit well but I won’t know for sure until I block it and sew it all together. I think I’ve finally cleared enough space in my messy house to block it so hopefully that’ll happen soon.

This fine piece of knitting is the trellis scarf from the spring IK. It’s Shadow from knitpicks that my fabulous secret pal sent me a while back. The color is called vineyard and it’s more of an eggplant color than the picture shows. I started this on the plane back from El Salvador and didn’t think I was going to continue knitting it because of the K7tog! But, I got past that and knitting 7 stitches together really isn’t that bad. It helps that it makes a pretty pattern.

I hope you all had a great weekend. This is my last weekend ever of having to work both Saturdays and Sundays, so that helped get me through it!

When I realized last weekend that Mother’s Day is coming up soon, I decided to knit something for my mom and my mom-in-law. I needed something quick, since I have to send it early enough for it to get there on time, and easy and pretty so I decided on the Airy scarf from Last-Minute Knitted gifts. Mike helped me pick out the color and it’s kid silk haze in a pretty seafoam green. I didn’t even think about it being a project spectrum color until today. I finished the second tonight and there’s enough yarn left over that I can probably knit a 3rd and have a matching scarf too! I followed the pattern almost exactly. I added a selvedge stitch on each edge and I did a few extra repeats because it was shorter than the pattern said it should be. I haven’t blocked them yet but they’re about 6″ wide and 34″ long. Still 2 inches shorter than the pattern says to knit it but they’re long enough.

I know this because I tried one on.
I hope my moms like them! I know I do. I’ll knit one for me in a while. After cranking out 2 of them in only 3 days, I’m not really in a hurry to knit a 3rd right away. Besides, I have my corset pullover to get back to. I had about 4″ of a sleeve done but then I ripped it out and started over because I didn’t like it. Now I only have less that an inch done. The scarves were a nice interlude but back to the sleeves I go.

Yarn: Rowan felted tweed. I used 2 strands held together. I really, really like this yarn. It’s not the softest yarn for a scarf but Mike picked it out (he wanted tweed or nothing) and he’s really happy with it. If it weren’t so expensive, I would knit myself a sweater out of this yarn. Every picture I take makes it look like a different color but this picture is the best (color-wise). It has flecks of white, light blue and dark orange which really gives it a lot of depth and interest. Needles: Size ? bamboo (I set them down and now they are lost)
Pattern: My own. It’s a saxon braid cable with 5 stitches of garter stitch on each side. Here is a picture that shows the cable pattern clearly.
All in all, I am really happy with it and, more importantly, so is Mike. I’m also happy that my next project will not be a scarf.

As I’ve been knitting this brown scarf, I’ve been very envious of all you project spectrum participants and your lovely pink and red eye candy. My next project will be red and just to prove (mostly to myself) that I am participating in project spectrum, here are my favorite pink and red things from my house. The first is Cradle. She is a fairy and was named by the artist I bought her from because she looks so comforting and watchful. Like she’s cradling the viewer. She’s really big- about 3 1/2′ x 4 1/2′- so it really is like she’s watching over us. It’s actually dark pink fabric that was marked off with tape and the negative areas were bleached lighter. It’s very cool and I love her. Here are some other things.

It’s so light and airy and I love it! I really like the Kidsilk haze and I didn’t find it difficult to knit but I don’t think I love it the way many of you out there do. I would use it again, though.

This olympics thing has been fun and I really like the challenge to finish something in a timely manner but I am more than ready to get back to my usual multiple project self.

Speaking of multiple projects, I have branched out beyond knitting! Kirsten and I took a drop spindle class today! It was so fun and the teacher was great and we made yarn!!Check out my first yarn! It’s so pretty and even and not lumpy like most people’s first yarn. It’s not spun perfectly, though, because it doesn’t hang straight. It twist on itself a little. I feel like I should knit something with it but it’s such a small amount that I don’t know what to do with it. Any ideas? Lest you think I’m over here gloating over my pretty first-yarn-ever-made, let me show you what I did next. The whole reason I want to learn to spin is because I want to spin the fur from my angora bunny, Phoebe, that is starting to pile up in my basement. So, when I came home from the class I decided to spin her fur. It’s is a lumpy mess!I must point out, though, that’s it’s the softest lumpy mess that I have ever touched! Angora is slippery and has short fibers but I am determined to spin it well. I owe it to Phoebe to make something pretty out of her lovely fur. I am encouraged that although much of my mini-skein looks like this or worse:there are some short sections that look like this:Do you see the perfect twist and the smooth edges? It can be done and I can do it!

On the knitting front, I have my handy olympics countdown timer from Anny on my sidebar. It’s even adjusted to my time zone so I know just how much time I have left to knit River. I’m onto my second (and last) ball of yarn, so I’m right on track! Here’s a picture of the halfway mark. A Team Portland blog has been created for the knitting olympics. If you’re curious what some other Portlanders are knitting, here’s your chance to find out!

Last but not least, here’s a token food picture. I love food pictures, a trait I must have gotten from my dad. To use up some random leftovers. Mike made the best egg dish for dinner. It’s basically scrambled eggs with leeks, asparagus, wild rice and swiss cheese. I thought it might be a little weird, but it was an excellent dinner.

I have been knitting and watching the olympics. In my last post I talked about Kirsten and Lisa’s party and their lovely country flags. She posted a great picture of us and our flags. You may remember that I chose Japan and lastnight I had my 1st opportunity to see a Japanese athlete compete. It was a speed skater and he won his race but I don’t know if he got a medal because I didn’t stay up to see the whole event. I was very ecxited to see his race but Mike is still waiting for his 1 Venezuelan dude to show up on NBC. I have a feeling he may have to wait forever.

Back to the knitting- check out my River! It’s looking good and even though I had two drinks last night, I found no mistakes this morning. It was kind of daring of me to try to watch the opening ceremonies, knit lace and drink at the same time but I’m here to tell you that it can be done.

Lat night we all thought the opening ceremonies were too long and we were almost asleep by the time they ended but I must say that the lighting of the torch was really worth staying up. It was really cool looking and there’s something so great about the tradition.

Is anyone even reading this or are you all too busy knitting?

Because I’m on a scarf kick, here’s a photo of the 1st scarf I ever made. (That sounds like I’ve made a lot. No, only 3). It crocheted because I am one of those knitters who converted when I realized crocheting was very limiting. A crocheted sweater? I don’t think so. It wasn’t for me, anyway. I love this scarf and crocheters always want the pattern but hell if I remember it. I don’t even remember how to crochet. The yarn is Plymouth Encore which is 75% acrylic and 25% wool. I don’t knit with acrylic anymore, but for those of you who like it, this is a really nice yarn. I’ve had this scarf for almost 10 years and it’s held up really well and it’s really soft.

I was going to give my 2 cents about Lolly’s project spectrum but I’m tired after all the scarf blogging so that’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I’ll just tell you to go check it out, it’s cool.