Biking etc.

We went biking today and then to one of our all time favorite BBQ places, which has one table that's the back end of a car:





And an awesome jukebox:





And tonight we watched Romeo + Juliet (This one). The little ones take away was "the moral of this story is; always read your mail".
I just about died laughing.
Oh, and I'm almost done with that sleeve...

Chroma

I'm enjoying working with it. Yes, it's thick and thin and a bit splitty, but soft and light. Worked in fair isle it makes a lovely fabric.
Apparently (not too surprisingly from working with) it felts like the Dickens but maybe a pair of entrelac mittens then felted would work well?
Anyway, random thought, here's my sleeve:

Mittens done

Now on to Chroma.
Hopefully she'll like the colors.  The first picture isn't a great picture, but it does show you the structure.  I just wet blocked them as normal (you can't say that Bartlett softens, but it does get more even and the stitches look more even) and then dried them by a fire.  Bartlett is hardcore stuff - unlike Knitpicks which is prettier but not nearly so durable.  Short of having bleach dumped on them or getting lost in a fire, it's safe to say these puppies should outlast the next 5 or 6 presidential administrations.

Tournament

Soccer, all weekend.
But I'm almost done with moms mittens:



And we went to brunch.

Saturday, some epic fail (with pictures)

Today has been quite the combo of great and, well, as the kids would say, epic fail.
Soccer game at 7:30am, epic fail.
Breakfast with family, nice relaxing day.
Stupid work emails, epic fail.
Dinner at awesome new middle eastern restaurant.



Son misusing the kitchen trash, epic fail (would have been worse if my husband hadn't stopped the attempted fixing, gross):




Buying Dead Space 2 and getting carded for looking too young to buy the game a week after my 40th birthday, not bad.
And finally, playing with Chroma:






Not EF. Colors aren't quite that strong in real life.
Hope everyone else is having a great day.

Mittens, take 2

So, I sent up the mittens and gloves for Elsie and a couple pairs of pink wristers for my mom to put in her craft shop (pink, Valentine's day, ya know).  She got the package and was apparently all excited about the mittens, until she realized they were for Elsie, because she was going to snag the mittens if they were for sale.  They fit her "just perfectly!".  Smile
So now, I'm committed to making another pair.  Which really means 2 pair, but they're very simple and I have a lot of soccer practices in my future.  And it's a good way to work on my destashing.  So, finish the brown socks and the mittens, then start something with the Chroma . . .
And I'm weak.  I started working on the Stained Glass pullover in the Chroma.  It's very small right now, so I'll take a picture in a day or two.  I had the brainwave to start on a sleeve, the better to check on my gauge conversion without investing too much effort if my math was bad.

One sock down

Modeled by one of my favorite coworkers with her ballet feet:

40 candles

A postscript - my husband literally lost eyebrows to singeing bringing this in for me to blow out.  Props to not smoking for 13 years, it took a single blow to put them all out and I wasn't even dizzy when I finished.

And some knitting

So, Chroma - I was thinking of doing the Green Mountain Spinnery Stained Glass pullover in it. Here's a swatch of Upick and Fossil, but I was also thinking of Galapagos and Midwinter:

Mmmmm dinner

My birthday is tomorrow - I'm going to be forty.
So, my sister sent me 40 balloons -



See? No joke, that's a lot of balloons.
I also got taken to one my favorite restaurants in Altanta, Muss and Turners.

Sending things away

So, I'm really enjoying this stash busting thing, but realistically, I have a lot of stuff to get through.  But, I'm all excited as I'm sending Elsie her gloves and mittens today.
I also just looked at Great Northern Yarns and wow [drools on self], just amazing.  And not that pricey for what it is [more drooling].
Anyway, I have an idea for a version of a Green Mountain Spinnery design using the new yarn from Knitpicks, Chroma, in fingering.  I have to finish a pair of socks, then I'll do some swatching.
That last paragraph really pissed of my computers' spell check, which makes me chuckle.  Apparently, I need more coffee today.

Lined mittens

This using up stuff - it feels good. Here are leftovers from Elsie's gloves and from the Detroit Lions hat:

Mitten progress and hiking

I feel like the tailor

3 with 1 blow:

Progress

Needed backing and ironing.

Recycling

Yes, another day off so ....
I am not going to finish that ugly stars sweater, and much as I hate it, I can't bring myself to throw it away and unknitting it is pointless. It's intarsia and I'd just spaghetti when I was done.
But I also have leftover blue velveteen from the fish shawl and stuffing from Sack Boy so today I'm making a pillow...

Blocking

One of the questions I get a lot from other knitters is how to block. It scares a lot of people - I get questions from non-knitters who don't want to dry clean their knitwear. I don't blame them, I don't go in for dry cleaning if I can help it.
You can block in various ways, Knitty.com has some great tutorials, but I like to full on wet block, or wash my knitting. Fiber content will also factor in, but i find most anything can be washed if you're careful. In addition to blocking and shaping, I like my sweaters to actually be clean.
So, since we're now on our 3rd snow day, I thought I'd do a visual blocking tutorial:
You will need lukewarm water, baby shampoo, 2 sets of towels and a basin large enough to submerge the piece you're washing without smooshing it.





You might also want "help"

Fill your basin with lukewarm water - it should feel neutral to your hand, maybe slightly warm. Imagine you're washing a baby or cat. $$ There are 3 things that will shrink and felt wool (actually once it's a garment you're fulling, rather than felting); heat (not just too much heat, but shocking wool, ie going from hot to cold quickly) detergent and agitation. So, controlling your temperature is important. Keep the water the same temperature for the washing and rinsing. $$
Once you have filled the basin add the shampoo (or wool wash like Euclan, I like baby shampoo because it's cheap and readily available and it's designed to clean something made of protein) between 1-3 teaspoons, depending on the size of what you're washing/blocking and froth the water to disperse the soap throughout. Drop in your knitting.

Prod gently to make the water and soap reach all the fibers. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. You'll probably notice some dye bleeding out if your piece is new, some grey dirt if it's older. If you're seeing a great deal of either, drain your container and repeat.

Next you need to rinse out your knitting, so repeat the first step (minus the soap) until the water is clear; no soap bubbles, no color.
Now gently press out the water - don't wring, just press against the side of the basin, turn the work and repeat.



Now lay out your first towel flat on a counter or other waterproof surface and lay out you piece on it. Doesn't need to be shaped, just laid flat in a single layer.



Now roll up the towel into a big cigar:

Now press firmly all along the roll the remove water. The towel will wick away water and pad you pressing to keep the piece from stretching. The towel is also insurance against agitation, which can cause felting/pilling. When you unroll the piece you'll see the absorbed water in the towel:
Repeat this process with the second towel. Leaving a little water in your piece helps to shape it but too much will make it stretchy and blocking evenly will be harder. Also, too much water will take a long time dry out and possibly bleed onto your bed/couch/rug which isn't great.
Finally lay the piece out in a warm dry place, shaping gently for a garment, using wires or pins for something like a shawl:
I'd suggest using a towel under your piece on a bed or rug. For small things like socks, the bricks of the fireplace work just fine.

Another day off

In a city with 11 snowplows for a metro area of 4 million, you're gonna lose a couple days of work and school.
This Dec. the small one lost one of his dragon mittens so I made another fast pair the night before the day of the storm:










They took a couple hours to make, and they're not lovely, but they work.
I'm also finishing a pair of socks for him:



Have I mentioned that mine 9 year old son and I have the same size feet?

Snow day

Everything is canceled today. Work, school, heck, some dolt lit his car on fire spinning out the tires. Check out the video here.
















Now we're making cookies.

Well that's different

I'm from New England - it snows there. Sometimes a lot and things get a little crazy.
Now I live in the Deep South and this is what happens when they predict we MIGHT get freezing rain tomorrow night:



Pathetic.
You know what really stinks?
Left my knitting in the car.