A finished object!

In the middle of the summer,

when the temperatures daily reach 105F/40C.

the resident ballerina now has warm and toasty leg warmers, to keep her warm and toasty.

And the cat always shows up for pictures.

pretty ballerina!

I have a finished object!




Leg warmers
Yarn: Duets Middy in frostberry
Pattern: Broad spiral ribbing from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Needles: Addi Turbo Size 3 circular



It's been a long dry knitting season, and I'm so pleased to have finished SOMETHING.



As usual, when I went to take pictures, my dear friend came to investigate.

Puppy love

It may seem like I am sweet on Bella, but let me tell you. I am not the only one.

Studying

 

I'm back in school, and need to be studying. There are many obstacles. Sometimes I really really try to study, and there are still obstacles.

Emergency Surgery, and a photo shoot

I was downstairs in the sewing room, taking a brief, very brief break from homework. My daughter came and got some fabric scraps and stole my scissors to create some outfits for her dolly while her daddy read her a story. Then I heard it... Deeply sorrowful sobbing coming down the stairs. My mama divination kicked in, and I knew immediately that there had been some tragic accident with the sewing scissors and a dollie. Indeed, an arm had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had been cut off. She was traumatized! Amazingly, I knew where to find the very yarn, and we rushed her into emergency surgery. So much for my short break and my studying. She is now good as new, though I told my daughter to have Joy get plenty of rest, and to keep that arm immobilized for a few days. Everyone needs healing time after major surgery. This picture shows her with her arm in a sling, and also modeling the flip-flops created just for today's photo shoot.

One of the major efforts today was to create a story. I retold a chapter from Gooney Bird Greene. My son helped me, and with the camera, several toys, and the better part of the day we created an illustrated chapter. The knitted grrls played a big part in the chapter, with the new dollie Anne featured as Gooney Bird.

A visitor on the set.


Anne as Gooney, telling a story.


Roxxie playing a curious second grader, her eyebrow piercing carefully concealed.


Joy as another curious second grader, her arm shown before the injury.


Kitty, modeling as catman sleeping in the car.

love that cat...

Quick note to cat and dog owners. There's a recall of wet pet food, and it includes a zillion brands. Please see Menu Foods for the details. We fed a packet of the suspect stuff to our cat just yesterday, but I checked all the dates on the packets in the house and the food I have is just outside of the range of the recall.

Look what the cat trashed

sewing room wall
Originally uploaded by forestpixie.

Soon after moving into this house, I filled the shelves with boxes, and the cat claimed the shelves as her personal ladder and knocked them all off. My father nailed a board along the edge of the shelves so I could stop having my boxes knocked off. The cat continued to access the window, she just clawed her way up the wall, totally trashing the wall in the process. My latest adaptation has been to offer her a ladder so she'll stop ruining things.

finished objects

I've been knitting like mad, not even stopping to take photos or blog! I created for my son's bear a sweater and hat ensemble. He spied camouflage yarn and Michaels, and immediately requested either a sweater for his bear or socks in the yarn. Being that it was acrylic yarn, I decided to go for the bear sweater. As usual, tonight when taking photos, Miss Kitty came running.

This was knit with some acrylic abomination, I've already lost the band. I knit it on size 9 needles, with the ribbing knitted on siz 7 needles. I used a book that has knits for kids and their teddies. The sizes weren't accurate for the bear and my gauge, so I knit it as I liked, but based the neck shaping on their pattern, which worked out quite nicely.


To accomodate his request, I did knit him some sorta-camo socks. I used Andes handpaints. These will felt like mad if I don't wash them carefully. They're tube socks, which is the best solution I've come up with for his difficult-to-fit feet that grow like mad. His ankles are really large. I knit the tops in broken rib, which I really liked with the yarn colours. The broken rib stretched generously over his ankles, but pulled in well to fit the leg. I switched to stockinette stitch for the foot, and once I was past the heel area, I put in a few decreases, to bring in the sock. Then I did a spiral toe so that the socks don't wear out in one specific spot.



These are the socks made for my husband. I finished them just a few minutes ago. I gave them to him, unfinished. When he picked up the package and felt what was inside, he asked, "You gave me some knitting?" These were knit with Trekking yarn on size 2 needles, with size 1 used for the toe and heel. I used the basket rib stitch, which looks simply lovely.

This is a shawl I made for an American Girl doll. I ran out of yarn before I could put on a nice border, and the shawl seems a little small. This is the microspun, and the yarn that was left over from making a dolly dress for my knitted babe.

it's a tough life

Sleep. Eat. Kill a beanie baby. Rinse. Repeat. No wonder she's exhausted.

Studying

The paper is due at midnight. After two weeks of postponing, Sunday is THE DAY to do the work.

Guess who doesn't give a flying fish...

Seattle yarn

Miss She's-All-That plunked herself down right where I was going to photograph. Yes, she does know where the camera is pointing.

This yarn says Jarbo Garn. raggi. Kvalitet: 70% ULL, 30% nylon.

If ULL=wool, as I believe it does (you know, Baby Ull and all that), then this is just what I wanted.

Bought at Weaving Works for $8/ball.

Darn it!

It seems that whenever I go to take pictures, Miss Kitty shows up to get in on the action!

While on the plane yesterday, I was looking at the ball of trekker yarn I was knitting, and pondering that this was not the first trekker socks I'd made--where was the other pair? That's when I recalled they were languishing on my dresser, having gotten a hole after only a few wearings. This morning before work I grabbed a needle and yarn and darned up the hole. I did the traditional woven-in darning I learned in brownies, then I used my yarn to secure all the loose stitches so they wouldn't drop, and then just generally stitched the beezees outta it to make sure it was well-armoured against further troubles. I hope it lasts! They're purty socks.