Tag: Metalico

Knitting

Inevitable

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THE GRANDS

As of yesterday, all three grands have the sniffles and little fevers.  The Papoose and the Sprout came to visit on Friday so, of course, Babydiva and her mommy joined us for lunch and a nice, long afternoon of play.  The Papoose had a little runny nose, but that was all.  None of us is particularly germ conscious; there were perhaps more sneezes than usual, but everyone felt well and like I said, played nice.  I did catch Babydiva and Papoose swapping paccies back and forth, but that’s pretty par for the course with a two year old and an 11 month old, it’s going to happen, no big deal.  Now all three grands have the sniffles and sneezes, along with me and Mr. Iknead.  I, for one, caught a couple of sneezes full in the face but that’s the price you sometimes pay for two year old kisses and hugs.  Totally, totally worth it.  The Papoose did progress to croup and wheezing and got a tour of the Stuttgart ER Friday evening, but after a breathing treatment and some cough syrup, went home and resumed normal two year old activities.

BY THE BOOK

I started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society yesterday and am totally enthralled.  The setting is Guernsey (duh), a channel island off the coast of England, during World War II.  The letters sent back and forth between these friends are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and always interesting.  Remember when you actually had to compose a letter, stamp it and take it to the post office to send it?  Remember the anticipation of getting a letter in return and then doing it all over again?  I still love getting and reading real letters, on paper, with pen and ink.  The mailbox is so much more exciting than my inbox, I think.

ON THE NEEDLES

I finally got the Metalico yarn sorted out and rewound.  With encouragement from vocalizard, I decided to salvage it and keep using it for my project and I have to admit, it looks a lot better than I thought it would; maybe a little fuzzy in spots, but that’s about it.  Here’s a look at the one of the fuzzy spots.  I don’t think it’s too terribly noticeable, do you?

I’m dying to start a new pair of socks with the lost then found Parakeet yarn but just can’t seem to settle on one pattern.  The yarn here is the star, not really the pattern, so I want it to be fairly straightforward, so the yarn can shine on its own, but fancy enough to catch the attention of admirers.  Does this make any sense?  I’m always in search of the perfect pattern for the perfect yarn for the perfect sock.  Must be a knitter thing.  Suggestions?

Question:  When’s the last time you sent a real pen and ink letter?  Mine was to an aunt a few weeks ago, along with some old photos I found and thought she’d enjoy.

Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.  Mae West

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Knitting

%#$%^&*(

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ACK!

Had another setback with the Metalico last night.  All was going well, maybe too well, had a nice, center pull ball going – until it collapsed on itself, becoming this:

Kinda made me sick.

It self destructed about 10 p.m.  At 1 a.m. I gave up trying to get it under control again and went to bed.  Got up and started working on it again this morning and finally decided it was as good as it was going to get around 3 o’clock this afternoon.  I’m beginning to think I’ve lost my knitting mojo with this yarn, but I’m not giving up.  I will, however, reevaluate my attitude if it happens again; you can be sure of that.

I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.  Pablo Picasso

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Knitting

Yippee, WIPW 02/06/13 and a Stash Dive

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YIPPEE!

Thanks Mollie aka deepbluerenegade for making me the winner of your 100 Blog Posts contest.  I opted for a $10.00 gift card from Mr. Yarn and plan to use this to feed my Shibui Sock addiction.  I’ll make my final decision sometime today and get it posted to share the yarny love.  I love me some contests!

THE GRANDS

I found this cute pic when I hacked into visited Mr. Iknead’s Shutterfly stuff.  I’m a Flickr-phile myself so every so often I check out his Shutterfly to see if I’ve missed something.  Here’s this week’s fave –

I love the way the Papoose has her chin in her hand, it seems to be such a “big girl” attitude and the way Babydiva is looking at her, little girl learning from big girl.  So cute!

WARNING!  STASH DIVING CAN BE HAZARDOUS!

Earlier this week, I got it into my head that I’d misplaced a skein of really expensive (for me) sock yarn and since I didn’t have any socks on the needles, decided I couldn’t go one more minute without getting a pair started and absolutely, positively couldn’t use anything but the misplaced yarn.  Naturally, this meant turning my yarn stash upside down, digging feverishly, just knowing it had to be in the next box or bin or bag.  Didn’t find it.  Looked under furniture.  Didn’t find it.  Looked in the stash overflow area.  Didn’t find it.  Instead, this is what I did find – balls and skeins and hanks of yarn that I, either intentionally or unintentionally, had forgotten and this is why organizing/reorganizing your stash can be hazardous – you get caught up in one of two reactions or at least, I did.  The “what was I thinking??” reaction or the “OMG, I love this stuff!  How could it have been languishing all this time??”  When this happens, all work comes to a screeching halt and for the next little while, I’m looking, remembering, fondling and running to Mr. Iknead repeatedly showing him the treasures I’ve found.  Mr. Iknead’s enthusiasm for this is so low as to be nonexistent, by the way.

OK, back on track.  Anyhow, last night I figured out why, after multiple searches, this yarn is still MIA.  It’s because it’s been wound already and I’ve been looking for a hank.  I even remember winding it. Today I’m going to search again, but for the correct shape and I bet I find it right away.  This yarn has nearly reached “Holy Grail” status in my single minded obsession to find it.  Is that odd?

ON THE NEEDLES

Here’s what I’ve accomplished on the Etched Rio Wrap so far, when I wasn’t turning my stash upside down (see above).

I love the color of this Metalico yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas, a pinky-gold.

BY THE BOOK

I’m currenting listening to A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.  Strangely enough, I learned about this book while watching one of those sort of embarrassing shows on the I.D. channel.  You know the ones, with bad reenactments and strange voice overs.  The author committed suicide back in the early 1970s and after his death, his family found this unpublished novel hidden away, sent it to a publisher and, bang, a bestseller.  Interesting book, interesting back story.

Don’t forget to visit Tami Amis blog  and  Small Things Yarn Along for more WIPW goodness!

Man’s mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.  Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Knitting

My Winter Tonic

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TRENDING NOW (what’s that mean anyway?)

Any time one of us had the droops or doldrums, especially in winter,  my grandmother always said we needed a tonic.  She never gave us a tonic, just said one was needed, which was probably a good thing since when I hear the word tonic, I think of cod liver or castor oil, both of which are off the scale on the official Disgust-O-Meter.  My own personal winter tonic is this:

Take one cold and cloudy day

Add a nice fire and some knitting

Mix in a couple of grands, chocolate milk and cookies

Monitor closely as not to miss anything

and

Watch your contentment rise

Repeat as often as necessary

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

The Papoose Gives the Sprout a Clean Bill of Health

ON THE NEEDLES

I’ve done very little knitting the last day or so, still working on the second Phloem Sock; I did remember that I promised a quick show and tell of the Metalico yarn that The Yarn Mart ordered for me and it’s more beautiful than I remembered –

 

Here are the stats:

Metalico

Blue Sky Alpaca

50% baby Alpaca and 50% raw silk

All natural/No dyes

Gold Dust

This is going to transform into Sarah Smuland’s Etched Rio Wrap and I can’t wait to get started.  The softness and shimmer of this yarn is amazing.  Check out the Blue Sky Alpaca website for a look at the pattern.

POP THE QUESTION

What’s your favorite winter tonic?

The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.  Tony Robbins

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