Knitting

13, A Stash Tour

March 1, 2013March 4, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

OFF THE NEEDLES

It’s finished and is all I’d hoped for and more! Introducing –

I love it – it’s the perfect weight (not too hot, not too cool), the perfect color (love caramel), it stays put (not falling off one of my narrow to the point of almost nonexistent shoulders or the other) and the drape (OMG). After some initial misbehavior on the yarn’s part, we came to an understanding and this project truly became a labor of love.

STEP UP, STEP RIGHT UP

After reading a post on uknit2, I decided to document my stash status and share a little of it here. At the moment, it’s relatively neat and more or less organized, sock yarn, sport weight, lace weight, bulky, you get it, you’re a knitter but the more I looked the more odd I thought part of my stash was. Here, you be the judge.

Sock Yarn

Sport Weight

Odds and Ends

Here’s what I think is sort of odd

A Ziploc/Shopping Bag Stash

Actually, come to think of it, it’s not odd at all that I hoard ziplocs and shopping bags. After all, fiberphiles use more ziplocs than anyone else on the planet and for your safety, don’t get between me and a nice, heavy, handled shopping bag. I won’t pretend to speak for other crafty types, I’m trying to stick with what I know – but no, it’s not odd at all, it’s more than a little smart, green and best of all, frees up more bucks for my fiber fixation. So, strike the odd. Smarter than the average bear, us fiberphiles. I rest my totally turned around case.

IN THE OVEN

Not yet, kneading takes more than a little energy and I’m still promising Mr. Iknead to take it easy, but soon, very soon there will be fresh bread. I knead it (get it?)! I know, I love a corny play on words.

Fly by Tami Amis for more FO Friday treats – you’ll be glad you did!

Live so that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip. Will Rogers

FLASH – Bigmommy and the babies are in town and are headed over!! Pics and report tomorrow! Yay, getting a little lonesome!

Knitting

WIP Wednesday 2/27/13 and the Setting in of Antsiness

February 27, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

Me, that’s what. Today’s the first day I’ve really felt nearly back to normal, at least as close to normal as possible being only a week out from major (from what I’ve been told) abdominal surgery. Yeah, every once in a while, mostly when Josie needs to be more comfortable, my belly reminds me that it’s been much put upon in the past week or so and that perhaps I need to give up being the official recliner/throne/bed of the Empress, at least for an hour or so. All things considered, I do think I’m doing well, but I’m getting restless, not really bored, but I want to do a bunch of things Mr. Iknead has made me promise not to do for a while and, well, I try to keep my promises so today I had to be satisfied with piddling around in the kitchen but not baking and making a grocery list, but not shopping. I’m sort of embarrassed to complain about things like that, just being retired and learning to be a SAHW, but I love taking care of my home, my husband and my family. There. I said it and I’m glad I did. I’m a closet housewife and proud of it!

NEARLY OFF THE NEEDLES

The Rio Wrap is nearly finished. It’s been measured and remeasured, examined and reexamined and finally, bound off. The joining together will be done tomorrow (I hate the mattress stitch), blocking will begin and I hope by Friday will be finished and ready for show and tell. Here’s how it looks unfinished but off the needles. Boring, I know.

Today, A Pile of Stockinette

Tomorrow, Hopefully an Etched Rio Wrap!

THE GRANDS

Not as much contact with the babies as I’d like, with us all passing around a nasty upper respiratory thing and the hospital, but here’s a recent favorite –

Isn’t he handsome and isn’t she gorgeous??

Don’t forget to check out Tami Amis for more WIPW 2/27/13.

By believing passionately in something that does not yet exist, we create it. Nikos Kazantzakis

Knitting

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

February 6, 2013February 6, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

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

Knitting

WIP Wednesday 12/12/12

December 12, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

A couple of WIPs this week, Mr. Iknead’s Simple Skype Socks and a pretty cabled scarf that I started on a whim, both coming along nicely. The second sock has great potential to be a FO Friday project, only lacking the leg and the top cuff. Hope I haven’t jinxed it.

Simple Skype Socks

Cabled Scarf

IN THE OVEN

Today is my mother’s birthday, I’m in the process of making a lemon pound cake to take up to the nursing home for her to share. I’ll post a pic when it’s finished and ready to go. Happy birthday Mom, I love you!

For more WIP happiness, check out Tami Amis blog. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.

Knitting

FO Friday 12/7/12

December 7, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

OFF THE NEEDLES

Adamas shawl, as modeled by Babymama aka Katie

Babymama was such a good sport, standing in the rain and chilly temp to model for me. Is she a great DIL or what? BTW, This is a Knitty pattern. Love Knitty, my go to when I need inspiration.

THE GRANDS

Bigmommy called last evening to give us a heads up that the Papoose is going to be in the church’s Christmas Pageant on December 19. No surprise, she’s going to be an angel. Can’t wait to see her with her wings. All this with proper documentation (read pictures and videos ad nauseam to anyone but family), of course. NOTE: Wiki defines ad nauseam as “A Latin term for something that has continued to the point of nausea”.

IN THE OVEN

Today’s the day that I get serious about Christmas baking. It’s been a tradition for years that I start my holiday baking with pumpkin bread with cream cheese spread for friends, with the recipient list growing longer and longer. I think I ended up baking about 30 loaves last year. It goes without saying that that’s a LOT of pumpkin and pecans/walnuts. Lucky for me, I have a hook up for pecans for about half of what they go for in the grocery store, shelled and ready to use. If you haven’t bought pecans recently, they cost about $8.00 a pound in the store. I scored ten pounds for $38.00 and can’t help gloating a little. Pecan pie, anyone?

For more FO Friday offerings, check out Tami Ami’s blog, it’s loaded with FO goodness.

At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year. Thomas Tusser

Knitting

WIP Wednesday 11/14/12

November 14, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

First up, the Adamas shawl, about 2/3 finished –

Pattern close up –

Number 2 WIP, scrap yarn granny squares, probably ending up as a scarf –

As an aside, I haven’t crocheted in years, but I was happy that it came back to me pretty quickly. A nice change from my bigger knitting projects every now and then.

Check out Tami Amis for more cool WIPs.

I promise to keep on living as though I expected to live forever. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up wrinkles the soul. Douglas MacArthur

Knitting

The hurrier I go

November 2, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

BACK IN THE DARK AGES

When I was a kid, an aunt that I was close to and visited often had a little sign in her kitchen that read, “The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get”. It always made me giggle because I thought it was so silly. How can you get more behind when you hurry? Now, though, since I’m living proof that you can, in fact, get further behind when in a hurry, it’s perfectly logical and I try to remember its corrollary (I think that’s what it’s called), “Slow Down, It’ll Happen”. All this is leading up to is the confession that I didn’t get anything that was on my list done, but, I got to feed Babydiva her noon bottle (getting lots of kisses at the same time), spent time with my sweet DIL who graciously modeled Pretty Maids for me to photograph and fixed a mistake on my just started Adamas shawl, getting it back on track and ready to work on again. A good day all around.