Productivity

Ahhhhh....last week I took some time off from work. My husband, my mom and I went and did some things in and around Chicago that we never get a chance to do because we're always working.

Everybody needs a break once in a while though so in between the running-around days we took a couple of days to just hang around the house and do our own thing.

I made:

*A beaded necklace and a groovy pair of earrings to send to Brook in thanks for the lovely coasters
*2 beaded necklaces to send to another friend in a care package
*A neat totebag made from the leftover material from my sundress and lined with fuzzy brown velvety-type material.
*2 winter hats for Christmas gifts, made of LB thick & quick on the Knifty Knitter
*2 small pine cone wreaths, made from thrifted grapevine wreaths and scavenged pine cones.
*1 large pine cone wreath, also made from a thrifted grapevine wreath and scavenged pine cones which I picked up on my various adventures. This wreath contains cones from my hometown, other nearby towns, Michigan, and Virginia!

I also finished my Tzarina Wrap at knitting on Thursday, and also the pink nylon purse. I'm about 2/3 through a textured dishcloth made in pink & green.

Next project up is a felted purse made from yarn that my lovely friend CG13 sent me for my birthday!

Birthday!!!

I had such a wonderful day on Thursday! When I got to knitting group all of my lovely friends surprised me with such delightful gifts.

Dee made me a fuzzy leopard print bag that is just perfect! I went to put a pattern in there and looked to my mom and said "What do you know, a pattern fits *perfectly* in there!" Then I paused and said..."Well, of COURSE a pattern fits perfectly in there, Dee made it!"

Inside the bag were a plethora of cute little knitting notions, so I can be a part of the cool girls club. Stitch markers, little rainbow coils to hold my needles together, stitch holders, a kacha-kacha, a pair of gold scissors with a scissors fob (which features a handmade bead by Cathy!) and a magnet board and stand. Doree also surprised me with a beautiful red Chinese print tote that closes either like a regular totebag, or draws closed with a drawstring. I really hope I haven't forgotten anything, as I have already assimilated all of my new goodies in my collection, so I can't go back and check :-)

Pictures to come later....once I get back on my work computer :-)

******
On the project log, I have finished all of the knitting for my Tzarina Wrap! After a rest last week in the Time Out Basket (I decided, instead of driving out the demons, to simply give them time to leave on their own) I got the right front done at knitting on Thursday, joined the pieces and got 4 inches on the back at Ravinia on Friday, and finished up the knitting at my folks' house on Sunday during my birthday party. Now all I have to do is sew on the buttons!

I'm also in the home stretch of the pink nylon cord bag. It does look very cute even though it was rather unpleasant to crochet because of the stiffness of the nylon cord. I have some more to do with the strap and then I need to purchase a closure, then I'm done!

I should be all ready to start my next project, which I believe will be a felted Noni bag in a knitalong with CG13 :-)

Lotsa love to everyone & see you next week!

Happy Mail

I love getting happy mail...things that are not bills or junk :-) Lately I've had a crush of happy mail from my dear buddies at Glitter; some I claimed when people were cleaning house others that are swaps or just random acts of kindness.

My friend Erin sent me the cutest folded fabric pin. I admired it on her website and wanted to purchase it, and she sent it to me just out of the goodness of her heart.


For some reason I cannot imagine, my friend Brooke no longer wanted these gorgeous coasters, still in their box!!!!



And I got these darling flippies from my buddy Melissa in a Flip Flop Swap!



I also recently got a black tank top and a pair of Jack Skellington shoelaces for Mr. Knitty from my friend Sarah, but unfortunately they are not at work right now to photograph!

Yay for happy mail! And thanks to all my stuff-sending buddies :-)

One Skein Wonder

This was such a fun and fast pattern. I started it Sunday afternoon before taking a train into the city, worked on it on the train and at a tea shop in the city while visiting my friend, and then finished it up yesterday evening while watching TV.

It turned out super cute, I think I need another one in pink! Bonus for this one; the yarn was only $1 a skein at the thrift shop!!!!!

The pattern is by Stephanie Japel, otherwise known as Glampyre :-)

Third Time's the Charm

Some of you may remember back in....oh....January (?) I bought 3 precious skeins of purple & green Malabrigo yarn. For the unintiated; sort of like Manos but softer.

I intended it for a Clapotis, which I, being a sheep, decided to make after everyone in the entire galaxy had made it too. I got about half way through and decided I hated it. It was just NOT the right yarn for it and it wasn't turning out as I had hoped.

Rip one.

So I was sitting with my freshly ripped Clapotis at knit group and I still wanted to make something out of it. I was still thinking in the mode of 'big scarf' like the Clapotis. Someone suggested I try a feather and fan pattern, which is supposedly easy. They lie. It is hard. I had made it through about 2/3 of the yarn this time when I discovered, way back in Ball 1, that I was entirely doing it wrong and had jogs in my feathers & my fans. I ripped back to the problem, but I still just wasn't liking the feather and fan thing. Too hard to do; and I still had to have the pattern in front of me the whole time so I couldn't knit it unless I could focus on just that. And even still I kept forgetting what row I was on. Sigh.

It didn't help that everyone kept telling me how EASY it was to do feather & fan. I guess it is just one of those things, like keeping plants alive or figuring out which way is north, that other people can do without much difficulty but I can't.

Everyone told me not to rip it out, and to give it a rest for a while. So it sat in a basket on top of my TV for several months.

Rip Two.

Yesterday Mom and I were checking out a display of wraps at the Knitche and I tried on a wonderful asymmetrical wrap with wonderful abalone buttons. I loved it and it was totally *me*. I was trying to think up a yarn substitute, when my eyes fell on the Malabrigo display. Cue lightbulb above head! I have EXACTLY enough of my purple & green Malabrigo to make the wrap, and I even have wonderful abalone buttons just like theirs.

I began on it last night and the fabric is SO lovely. I feel like it's 'clicking' now!

It doesn't look like much yet, but here's a pic.