Friends and Finished Objects

Last Thursday I met up with friends. We had a fabulous evening and I thought I'd share a little of that with you.

Sam had a near dropped stitch, but managed to find it and is happy she now has 16 stitches all around. Whew! That was close. Kim finished her Swallow Tail shawl that very evening and she is admiring how the Sheila Ernst button looks nice with the shawl. Tammy is spinning some merino fiber that is just lovely. It's mostly yellow with bits of other colors combined. Jen is working on an afghan for her daughter. I love how those colors are coming together. I have to admit, she's making me just about pull out the feather and fan afghan I started years ago and haven't finished yet.

I worked on a beaded bauble. It's coming along. I think I'll get busy and get it finished soon. I'm so close! I used bigger beads than I probably should have, so instead of a three stitch pattern, I'm making this as a two stitch garter stitch. It is a from a pattern that Rosemary designed. You'll have to check out her blog and the pattern on Knitty.com it's really neat. I'll show you when it's done.

Wayne's socks got their toes redone. They were rather tight in the toes before. He had worn they quite awhile, but wanted them redone. So I ripped them back and reknit some of the foot and the toes. I made them slanted for the left and right foot this time and he says they are much more comfortable.

Another project that has been waiting for literally years for me to finish is finally done! It is the Braids pattern in cotton fleece for my sister. Well, except for a sleeve adjustment if needed. I haven't tucked those ends in yet because I'm thinking they may need shortened. Cotton tends to "grow" once it's knit. The color is called Rue.

I hope to have some more photos in a couple weeks when I get it to my sister and have the sleeves done up right. It is still drying in these photos, the color isn't as varied as these look.

Missy Update

Missy was preparing for her surgery in this photo. She's not looking her best tonight, but she's doing okay. Her lump was removed as well as some teeth. The lump was under a couple layers of muscle so there is about a 3" long wound on her chest with 12 stitches and drainage hoses. She will have the hoses until Monday, and the stitches for 10 days. The vet pulled teeth that were loose, so her mouth will be tender as well as her chest area. We're glad she's home and on the mend. She will be more comfortable without that lump when she's walking, laying down, or typing on the computer.

Finished Shawl

I finished the Wool Peddler's Shawl this morning. It's not the traditional red color, but I just love how this Wild Things colorway works with the shawl pattern. The top photo was pre-blocking. The photo with me wearing it is after I washed it and let it dry a bit. I have not pinned it, but I think I'll let it be relaxed for now anyway.

I received a package in the mail on Wednesday. I won a drawing from Southwest Trading Company that I entered when I was at Stitches West. How exciting to get a surprise in the mail! It was a skein of Tofutsies yarn, a nice clear project bag, and a copy of the Tidal Wave sock pattern by Deby Lake.

Missy is scheduled for her surgery Friday, March 23rd to remove the fatty tumor from her chest. She got a bath and a haircut this weekend so getting ready is spread out a bit for her. She smells great and is soft and smooth to pet, so she is eating up all the attention. I think deep (way deep) in her heart, she likes getting baths and haircuts. She runs around and has to show everybody what she's done afterwards.

Shawl Progress

Just a quick photo update of the Wool Peddler shawl progress. The photo is a little light colored. It amazes me how Wild Things colorway has all these wonderful bits of color in it. I love how it's coming together. I can't wait to show you the completed shawl, but I think it's going to be a while. It moves slower to knit, the longer it gets. The pattern adds four stitches with every other row, so the longer it is, the wider the it is.

I'm working on reworking toes on some older socks for Wayne. They are moving slowly, but progress is progress. We are loosing an hour due to daylight savings time kicking in this weekend. Therefore if I don't get more progress done on these toes, well we DID loose an hour!

BOP Socks!

The Weather Schnauzer indicates wet lawns today with showers expected this evening. Missy is doing well and is as sassy as ever. She's a great knitting companion and loves to lay beside me while I knit. She does have a tumor on the underside of her chest. We have scheduled surgery to have the tumor removed at the end of March. It is not cancerous according to the vet, but it is starting to get in her way when she lays down and will effect her walking eventually. Your positive thoughts for Missy and that the tumor goes away easily for her are appreciated.

Here is the second Bird of Paradise sock under construction. I had to show you the double points that Michael and Sheila Ernst are making. They had them at Stitches West, and I snatched up a set! They are very nice to use and stay put in the sock like a bamboo needle would. The glass has a very natural feel in my hand (not grainy or plastic feeling) and the points on these are awesome! I don't see these on their web site but you can contact them if you are interested and I bet they can help you out. I know they carry them in size 5's and up.

It didn't take long to get the last few rows for the sock foot done, and then the toe. Here's a photo of the finished pair! I've ran them through the washer and have them on the sock blockers tonight. I thought about treating them gentle and hand washing, but then I decided to just throw them in the washer and see what happened. Looks good to me! Hooray! I won't go as far as putting them in the dryer. I never do that to my hand knits. I can't wait to wear these about. They feel so soft and cushy! I have a lot of yarn left over. Enough to make a third sock, or possibly even a hat. This is Lisa Souza's new yarn called Hard Twist Merino and it is superwash.

Wrist Bands and PJ's

Village Yarn and Tea hosted a PJ party last night until midnight! We were knitting wrist bands for the Breast Cancer Seattle 3 day event that will happen in September 2007. The yarn was provided as well as the pattern. Sam, Jen, about 50 or so other people, and I showed up and we had a ball. They want to make 3,000 of these bands, so they would appreciate an assist if you would like to knit some of these.

We were able to create buttons for the wrist bands as well! This was a first for me, and it is way fun. Thank you to Amy of Good to be a Girl, who gave us a lesson on how to make the buttons and brought the supplies to use. She makes adorable stitch markers. Here's Jen and Sam busy creating buttons. Don't they look cute in their sheepy PJ's?!
Here is one of the wrist bands I knitted with a moon button. Jen made a wonderful flower button. Sadly I was showing off my macro feature on my camera, and the photo just didn't turn out of our buttons. That's Murphy's law for when you think you got it right.

You must think I'm a slow poke for not getting that pair of BOP socks out yet! Okay I got distracted. I've been knitting out of the "Folk Shawls" Book, by Cheryl Oberle. Interweave Press 2000. Making the Wool Peddler's shawl. I'm using Hard Twist Merino from Lisa Souza in the Wild Things colorway. This stuff is so cushy I just want to wrap myself up in it, and thus the shawl was the perfect pattern to accomplish this. I've knit enough yardage to count for that other sock, honest! Okay, I'll set aside the WP and get on with the other sock. I owe Wayne a pair of socks too, come to think of it.

BOP

You might say I'm heels over head about this new hard twist merino yarn from Lisa Souza. Here's a sock done in the Bird of Paradise colorway. I've cast on for the second sock, so the pair should be done soon. The yarn is not yet up on Lisa's web site, but should be soon. I'm sure she'll hook you up with some if you contact her.

The camera flash went off taking this photo. I'll try and get a better shot when there is a pair - the colors are deeper than the photo shows. They are fabulous to say the least. You can you see how this yarn got it's name! I found a nice informational link about the plant if you're interested, and this link has lots of great photos.

We got about 7 inches of snow last night. I see it falling off the trees this afternoon, so it should be gone very soon. I went out and filled the bird feeders today and the chickadees and towhees were most appreciative. The squirrels got a new cob of corn as well. We do enjoy our wild critters. There was a huge crow under the feeders this morning digging through the snow. He was quite handsome in his black feathers with the white snow. Our winter humming birds are doing great. There's at least two hens that come look in our window if the feeders are frozen. Otherwise they come and go happily eatting the necter we put out.