Elektra Ohh Baby

Ok, so, I’ve been absent for a while, you know the Holiday thing and the time off from work thing and all that. To top all of that my camera has been with the Fuji repair in New Jersey, and who wants to read a blog without pictures anyway?? So, to catch you all up with my life, I have been off from work since the 23rd of December, the plant shuts down, and we are not required to be there at shut down, Yeah!! (However, there is this small problem of money coming in and no one there to get it. (And I am talking some major dollars sitting in the mailbox.) So, being the diligent accountant that I am, I went in to work yesterday (even though I am sick as a dog, happens every year at this time – I think I was pretty close to pneumonia this time though, although my doc just said to take it easy and take the meds he gave me).

Anyway, I am getting off subject. I’ve been home for a while and spinning and knitting and reading and just doing all the fun things that you want to do while you are stuck at work! I have made some progress with the Electra Wensleydale that Lisa S. created for me, and believe me when I say, I just can’t get the color exact on this – the purples just don’t come forward on the picture, no matter what I do! Although, I didn’t try going outside with it, but baby, it’s cold outside and I’m sick. So, you’ll have to take this as is! I am just ecstatic that my camera is back and working properly now! I also suggest that you all run and get some of this stuff as it is just too fun for words! My first skein came out a little heavier than I had originally wanted, so I am trying to cut back a bit on the next two bobbins to come back to DK weight.

The other thing is, is the first skein is plied from one bobbin, by winding into a ball and plying from inside and out - I do not have the control I like to have plying this way though. So, this skein is a little messy, and that is why you see two bobbins being filled for the next plying session! But, of course that way you always end up with left overs . . . any other suggestions out there for this dilemma?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder??

Hello to all my cyber friends out there! Sorry to have been away for a bit, but life is busy sometimes, I suppose. The camera has been delivered to the Fuji Photo plant in NJ and I plan to call tomorrow to see what the status is on the repair work. I hope they can fix it or get me a new camera. It was under warranty so let's see if they honor it.

So, unfortunately, I can't show you this drop dead gorgeous Elektra Wensleydale that arrived on Friday, thank you, thank you, Miss Lisa S. ! I am really enjoying spinning it up. I think I am going for a nice DK weight, and maybe this will be transformed into the clock vest from Folk Vests, if I actually end up with enough, I would like to make the vest into a sweater. . . but we'll see.

I also can't show you my finished Sunset Cardigan, with the perfect buttons, but the BG Knitter's group got to see it up close and personal when I wore it last week to our stitch and bitch at Barnes and Nobel Cafe on Tuesday night. It got rave reviews. . . (blush) I am now looking for my next fair isle to do. . . any suggestions?

I got 6 inches completed on Arches, and once again, I can't show you due to my dag-gum camera problems. . . it's a fun fast knit so far. I'm not sure how far Miss Mel is on hers, or if she is stalled due to the life getting in the way thing too. :(

Almost finished with Christmas shopping and doing the Cards this afternoon. . . who ever said it was correct etiquitte (sp?) to send out Christmas cards anyway?? "I hate the Christmas card thing - Jerry"! I guess I generally don't like this time of year due to all the work and effort with very little/no feedback or general help. Then it's all done in a half hour and whew! I made it through another year, and what a darn let down. It must be me.

Think I'll go spin some of this fabulous Wensleydale sitting next to me!

Ta- Da! An almost finished object!

Well, I have been working on this cardigan until I am almost sick every time I look at it! Do any of you feel that way about your long projects? The ones that seem like they will never end!! I realize that I am working this on tremendously small needles (3.0 mm's) but this was ridiculous. So, ok, here is a picture of the Sunset Cardigan without blocking, and without all my ends neatly tucked away, and without the absolutely perfect buttons:

Ok, that's pretty good. It shows how much Christmas Spirit I have, and it's actually a really great shot of a picture of my darling childern, but do you think it could have been just a smidge closer? So you could see the painstaking care I took with the details of this cardigan. . . so here I try to show you that:

Well, it's not too bad I suppose. I really wouldn't have worn purple if I had thought about what I was doing today. . . but, my son had to be driven back to Lexington, to the UK Campus and I was rushing around trying to make sure I had given him all the "stuff" he needed to make it through the next few weeks away from home. But I digress . . . the fact that he is so totally not needing his family (he doesn't even bring laundry home with him) is another story. I should be very proud to say I am the mother of a college freshman who is doing very well, and has totally adjusted to college life! And actually I really am proud of him. . . so, let's move along here -

I am off to finish up the sewing in of the "ends" and then to block out the button bands. They actually came out pretty good, but I like everything to hang just so. . . and right now they have just the slightest curve in them. I really stink at button bands and everything that goes with them, I was thinking of getting a video on this by Leslye Solomon/Dorothy Ratigan, but I'm not sure how much that would really help. Has anyone else seen this video? (Buttonholes and Bands.)

I am not sure if I will be able to get the pictures of the completed Sunset avec perfect buttons next week or not, my camera is really not working properly and I am sending it back to the manufacturer tomorrow. Darn it! I really like my camera too, it's not zooming, and objects are not showing up on the view finder, and a whole host of problems. I guess I should be grateful that Chris got this shot at all!

I'm in Tune to the Season -

You Are Pumpkin Pie

You're the perfect combo of uniqueness and quality Those who like you are looking for something (someone!) special

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Ok, so seriously now. . . This was just too perfect not to post! I finished sleeve #2 and before I could talk myself out of it, I ripped back sleeve #1. So I am now trying to figure out where the heck I am in the pattern! The yellow thread is dmc thread I used to pick up a row to rip back to - I didn't see it until I posted this picture of course!





See Ya'll, Happy Thanksgiving to the US readers!

I think I'm Insulted!

This is how I rate with regard to yarn:


You are Dishcloth Cotton.
You are a very hard worker, most at home when
you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly
born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain
Jane, but you are too practical to notice.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I think I should at least be a wonderful wool - Geez!

Anyway, been sick almost all weekend, so no photos, and my camera (not even a year old) is acting up. . . crud, crud and double crud. Have an appointment with a surgeon on Monday, I can never seem to get through November for some reason, to discuss a bad mammogram. . . so, we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I'm not totally worried as the bits they found are so small I don't see how it could hurt much taking them out!

Off to watch West Wing - hope everyone has a great week! Wish me luck, if you think of it!

Burgess Falls, Tennessee

Just no time this past weekend, so only a picture of the beautiful Burgess Falls. We took a short hiking trip to see the fall colors, and here are the middle falls, there are actually three sets of waterfalls on this hike and they are beautiful!

The days are getting shorter . . .did you turn your clock back?

We took a ride into parts of Bowling Green that I had never been to before, and the colors are beautiful, but difficult to capture on my camera due to the fact I have a husband that will never stop the bleepin' car! So, instead here are pictures of the pumpkin patch at Jackson's Orchard in BG:

I love Fall and all the colors, I can remember oh so long ago, when the kids had to have pumpkins to carve every Halloween. My daughter did not disappoint us and we will be carving up a pumpkin tonight. She chose from this wall:

On the knitting front, I have only 5 inches left on the sleeve and only 83 stitches at this point, so I plan to show you the finished sleeve and start of sleeve number two next week. But I don't want to disappoint so, here is a sock in Cascade Fixation, and I got sick of the purple so added some stripes myself. I wish the bulls-eye toe was a little smaller, but oh well. The second sock is in the beginning stages (turning the heel now.)

Cutting Up The Cardigan Pt. 2

Hi everybody! I have been working on the Winter Sunset Cardigan, and finally have some progress to show you. This entire sweater needed to be sized down to a 42" width, and that has made some slow progress at times, besides the size two needles. . .Maybe I will actually be able to get more than one photo on this page, wouldn't that be a miracle! Anyway here is the "Sack" After the shoulder bind off.











The next step was to sew with a sewing machine (OMG!) the steeks, this really wasn't a problem, until my bobbin ran out of thread. Then it took a half hour to find the instructions on how to fill the bobbin up again! Good Grief!












Ok, so now I have a sewn steek, now is the time to cut the sweater. I decided to leave all the other steeks sewn and just cut one at a time. This leaves less chance of unraveling, although I am using Jamieson's 2 ply shetland yarn, which does have a lot of "grab" to it. The yarn just seems to want to stick together, but I was not about to try cutting without the sewing first! It took me at least an hour to find a size 3.0 mm needle! Tthen I could only fine one, darn it, I like to use two and make up my sleeves just like socks on two circulars, I haven't quite figured out what to do when I don't have enough stitches to go around, but here is the start of a sleeve! Yeah! Almost done with one!

The problems with Size Two Needles

The problem I see with working a cardigan such as posted above is that working with size two needles just doesn't cut it when you want to show progress. . . well, I have worked and worked on this cardigan, and it just doesn't really show! So, I will post the sweater again, after the big bind off of the shoulder seams.

In the meantime, I have spun another 4 oz. of Spinderella's Peace Thrums, so I'll so you that instead. Compromise it's the best bet. . . I think!

See you all next week!

June

Well, this is a first posting on my first attempt at blogging. . . so here goes! I have been working on the Winter Sunset Cardigan in the Jamieson's Shetland Knitting Book for about forever, but I am finally up to the neck line! Yeah! So, here's a picture of my progress:

The colors are the actual colors called for, I don't normally stray when it comes to fair isle, I don't think I have much color sense, but I am working on it! Guess I will leave it at that for the moment since I have no idea what I am doing on this post! Take care, every body!

June