I might need an intervention

Hi, I'm Jenny and I'm an addict.

So, I bought some yarn a few weeks ago when we went to Newport, RI. We went to Sakonnet Purls & if you are a sock yarn-aholic like I am, you might want to avoid that shop (or not, depending on where you are in your 12 steps). I got some Cherry Tree Hill, some Jitterbug, and some Schaeffer Anne.

Damn those Schaefer people! They don't have color-ways. They just dye whatever they feel like dyeing that day. Which makes a sick person like me think, "this is probably ONE OF A KIND; I better buy it."

Then, my Valentine's day yarn FINALLY came in. Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Black Purl. Mmmmmm. Yes, it's for a Clapotis. I am one of maybe 6 people that hasn't made a Clapotis.

Then, I told my SnB buddy Kris that I told Lime & Violet about her & they mentioned her etsy shop on their show. So, as a thank you present, she gave me some of her hand-dyed sock yarn! I didn't do it for a reward, but I was not about to turn her down- this stuff is GORGEOUS.
I picked this colorway for my mom since she has requested socks for her birthday. Most of you know how I feel about knitting for my mom. I DON'T LIKE IT. Everything I knit her never gets used because "it's too pretty and I don't want to ruin it." This irritates the bejeezus out of me. If I'm going to knit something that no one ever wears, it's going to be for myself!

MD Sheep & Wool

Warning: Long post ahead!

Wow, what a blast! We had so much fun this weekend I don't even know where to start. Friday, we had crabcakes for lunch in Baltimore, then visited a little yarn shop downtown. I think it was called A Good Yarn. It's very tiny, but the girl at the counter said they were mostly a teaching store & they only had a few brands of yarn. I asked if they had any darning needles because I needed to weave my ends on a project I had just finished and she just gave me one of hers. How awesome is that? We went to an Orioles game that night (I had to throw SOMETHING in there for Joe).

Now, onto the REAL fun: The Wool Festival! It was so awesome. We got there right at 9, and there was this huge line of traffic. I sat in the car as long as I could stand it, and then RAN into the main gate. I knew Joe would find me eventually, right? I saw Karen & Rachel in the line for the Fold & stopped to say hi. And since no one seemed to mind that I was standing there, I just stayed in line with them. I felt very guilty about breaking in line, but it was so worth it-Look!

I totally scored! It took a lot of restraint to just get 5 skeins. I think I did pretty good. But then I found this:

It's a little evening bag liner-you pick up stitches in the grommets & knit the bottom of the bag. So cool! Yes, it is from the "evil" Tilli Tomas. The great part about these festivals is that you sometimes get to meet the owners of these businesses. Like, for instance, TILLI TOMAS! She was standing right there helping me pick out yarn. And she was really nice. So, I formed my OWN opinion about her & decided I like her, I like her yarn, and I like that little bag. And it might be the most expensive sock bag ever, but who cares? I wanted it; I got it.

Anybody know why I bought this green silk fingering weight yarn? Cause I have no clue. Let me know if you think of an answer. And, of course, some Koigu. Aaaaahhhhh, Koigu. I couldn't resist. :) I have some of the same pictures on my Flickr page, but some different ones. Go check 'em out!

We spent Saturday night drinking and catching up with the BFF at her recently-purchased cabin. Sunday was spent leaning out the window of the car as Joe drove my tired, hung-over butt home. A good time was had by all!

Sahara!

Photography courtesy of the bathroom mirror at work. Sexy!

Yay! Sahara’s done! I LOVE it! It was so easy to make & it fits perfectly.

The specs:
-Sahara pattern, size M
-8 balls of Classic Elite Premiere in 5215 (Meadow Grass). I have a bunch of leftovers; 7 balls might have been enough, but I didn’t want to weave in unnecessary ends, so I would start a new ball whenever I started a new section (i.e. each sleeve, the neckline, etc.).
-size 7 Knit Picks Options for the body (great for cotton yarn, BTW) and size 5 for the lace. I had to bring my Denise set out of retirement for the sleeves because the KP set doesn’t have any short cords.
-Started 4/9; finished 4/28
-Mods: none really, but I did a little trickery on the neckline bind-off. I bind off REALLY tightly, so I bound off with a US 10.5 needle up the front until I got to the back of the neck. Then, I did a sewn bind off on the back of the neck, and then picked up the 10.5 again for the other side of the front. That way, the chain looks neat & pretty, but the bind off chain doesn’t pinch the back of my neck. I did the sewn bind off on the waist and the arms as well.
-Thoughts: I really like this yarn. 50% cotton; 50% tencel, so soft and beautiful drape. It feels like a dream against the skin. The pattern was so well written and super easy. I just might make another one!

Surprises!

Oh, my gosh. Have you seen the knitty surprises? I want to make this in the worst way:

I know it may seem like a ridiculous thing to knit, but I find myself in need of a parasol on lots of occasions. And, no one makes parasols that don't look like they belonged to Scarlet O'Hara. Lacy ruffles don't exactly 'go' with the leather.

This was in the parking lot at work the other day.

Have a good weekend! Sahara pics coming soon!

Yarn shop, wine shop, sub shop

I wonder if this is what Creative Fibers means when they say "conveniently located." hehehehe. I had a pretty productive lunch that day, I can tell you that much. I picked up some wine, yarn, and a sub in 10 minutes flat! Also, CF redecorated and now has a blog. Go check it out-the place looks fab!



This is Sahara's progress. Not bad for 4 days of flat stockinette. 2 more inches, and I'm in the round. Have a good weekend!

Isabella

Isabella & I haven't spoken for about a week. After a few issues with the neckline & me trying to do a 3 needle bind off where there shouldn't be one, we called each other a few choice phrases & called the whole thing off. Well, last night we made up. I undid my disastrous bind off, seamed up the sides, re-did the bind off & we were in love once again.

Here she is:
Pattern: Knitty's Isabella, size M
Yarn: Dale of Norway Stork, color 35
Needles: Size 4 Addis
Modifications: I didn't do the picots because my last tank had a picot edge. I did a single crochet all around the arm holes & the bottom. I also decreased 4 extra stitches on each armhole because I thought it looked a little too bulky on the model. I would do even more if I could do it over.




Done, done, onto the next one:

This is the yarn that came in the other day for Sahara. I'm starting it today. Yay!

Road Trip!

Joe got a new car; he wanted me to show you guys. It's a Ford Edge and it's pretty sweet. I think I'll give him a week or two with it and then go ahead & "borrow" it for good. hehehehehehehehe. We, of course, had to take a road trip right away, so we went to Virginia to go yarn shopping.


I got some Colinette Jitterbug from Lettuce Knit. Because 1-I never learn & 2-Even though my socks don't match, I really love the way they feel on my feet.

Then, we went to Unravelled, & I got some Katia Jamaica to make a Tulip at some point.








And, finally the Knitting Basket, where I just got some junk (VK & my 15th needle gauge) because I didn't see any yarn I just HAD to have. They had a bunch of nice stuff, but I think I was overwhelmed at that point. We looked for Got Yarn, but the address I had written down was an office building, so I think we were at the wrong place. We also didn't make it to the Yarn Lounge, but I figured I'll save it for next time.

Am I gonna make it?

Will I finish the sweater? Yes. Before the end of the Project Spectrum blue months? We shall see. I should finish the knitting in the next day or so, but I am dreading the seaming. This is why I knit stuff in the round. Now I am wondering why I didn't just knit this in the round. What was I thinking? Anyway, wish me luck!

---crappy cell phone picture at work because I forgot my camera

Project Spectrum 2.0: The Redemption

I am doing so much better this time around with Project Spectrum! I really went nuts with the blue & white projects this time-and I actually finished some of them! First, here's the blue dress I started LAST JUNE when PS was in its blue month:












Then, I made this blue denim skirt (it's not completely done; I need to pick out all of those white threads that are getting shreddy-that's how you make it all fringey)





Meanwhile, I was making this So-Called Scarf out of some Malabrigo in Tuareg (a.k.a. blue).










Of course, I had to start on my socks for March (blue Schaefer Anne on Blue Comfort Zone Needles)








And, finally a blue & white skirt I made in sewing class that needed the perfect little summer top to go with it; and the perfect little pattern just popped up on my screen Thursday. What DID we ever do without Knitty?

Jenny's got a brand new bag

Jenny's got a brand new bag
Originally uploaded by jeneration-x.

Guys, I know I go on and on about how great Joe is. But, dude, look what he bought me! He went to Vegas for his annual work conference & won some award ( that came with a handful of cash) and he said we could go to the yarn shop & I could get anything I wanted. EEEEEEE!!!! I was in Creative Fibers about 30 seconds & I knew exactly what I wanted. Jordana Paige Knitter's Purse, duh! A piece of goo-filled candy broke in my old purse, so I needed a new one anyway. I figured kill two birds with one stone, right?

Cherry Tree Hill Knee Highs

Thanks to the wonder that is toe-up socks, I found out how far a ball of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn will go:

Up to my knees! Now, I have teeeeeny feet (size 5), and I'm 5'2". So, it might not make knee-highs for everyone.






Pattern: Knitty's Universal Toe-Up Sock
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (I think Country Garden, but the ball band is at home & I am not)
Needles: Bryspun DPNs size 2

Um, OBSESSED much?

One of my little "goals" for the year was to knit one pair of socks every month. Well, I am off to a good start:

Left to right: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in "Jewels," Louet Gems Topaz (i think in French Blue), and Colinette Jitterbug in "Jewel." The whole jewel, gems, jewel theme was completely unintentional. I started with the socks for Joe on bamboo needles. Then I got a major case of hand cramping and had to go buy some flexible needles. The cramping was better, but I knew deep down that it was time to turn to the dark side.

I watched this video about 10 times and before I knew it, I was knitting continental. I was knitting continental A LOT. I couldn't believe how fast it was. What the hell have I been throwing for all this time?

On a side note, there is a new yarn shop in our area. Sit N Knit 2! (or too! or two!) is now open in Wethersfield. FYI, they are JUST as snotty at this one as they are at the West Hartford location. I love one of their employees (Jodi), but the rest of them can go screw. I was in there for 20 minutes and they didn't say a word to me (I was the only customer this whole time). Then, two wealthy-looking women came in and the three employees that were too busy to talk to me fawned all over these two women. To my delight, the women told them they weren't knitters, they were just curious what kind of shop had opened. I left without my usual "skein of guilt." (You know how you always have to buy at least one skein so you don't leave empty handed--even if you don't want anything, you HAVE to buy something. Not this time.).

I just.....I can't......Why did it........AAAAAHHHH!

I’m baffled. Absolutely baffled. This yarn is from the same ball. No lie. THE SAME BALL. Stupid Colinette. I have the worst wrist cramp from trying to finish them because I was so excited about this yarn. Now I want to just cry.
















The legwarmers are what I made the step-daughter for Christmas. They’re American Eagle “knock offs” and are my first knits without a pattern (not counting garter stitch scarves, of course).

More proof..........

Lookie what I did this weekend!!! IT WAS JOE'S IDEA!!! He rocks.







If you ever go to Webs, this little shop is about a mile away & should not be missed. They are so nice there & really helpful. It's tiny, but you can find stuff there that will make you dance around.















Case in point:
Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn. SCORE!!!







I also got this trekking (which smells like apple pie for some reason) and the short Plymouth needles that I look for every time I go to yarn shops. The long needles annoy the kitty when I'm knitting with him in my lap, so he was happy too.









This is my loot from Webs. Some Schaefer Anne & some purple Trekking.









I had not planned on getting 2 balls of Trekking when the day started, but we went to Webs first & I wasn't sure if I would find anything good at Northampton Wools.

Silly me.

Joe is maybe the best husband EVER

Check out what he made me:

A yarn swift!!

I saw this link on Carrieoke's blog the other day and asked him if he thought he could make something like it. He is not one to be outdone, so of course he had to improve the design to his standards and he painted it so my yarn doesn't snag. And he put little rubber feet on the bottom so it won't scoot around on the table when I'm winding the yarn.

See? Woo-hoo!!

And since I can't be outdone either, I finished his sock (And am winding the yarn for sock #2 in the picture above). It is Gems Topaz yarn and the Universal Toe-up Sock from Knitty.

Christmas Goodies

I did get some knitterly gifts this year.

I got THREE Stitch n Bitch daily calendars, one knit pattern a day calendar,

the Knitter's Companion book (which I've used twice already!),

I got this awesome row counter from the Yankee Swap at SnB (there were 2 in the package-1 is currently in use).

My fellow SnB-ers will be glad to know I got a new knitting bag (the old one was a grocery store sack).

I'm using the pencil holders as dpn holders.

I also got a Senseo coffee pot and a lap desk for my laptop that totally rocks. Oh, and a DVD recorder so I can get all my episodes of Knitty Gritty off of Tivo.

Resolutions

1. Blog more. I really suck at this.
2. Stop using sunglasses to pull hair back. Buy clips for this.
3. Get better at sewing. I signed up for a class, so that should help.
4. Keep the house organized. We spent 2 days getting stuff in order this week, so it would be nice for it to stay that way.
5. Brush the cat more often.
6. Cook every night except Fridays (and sewing class night).
7. Do not drink soda except when migrane is coming on & Dr. Pepper is the ONLY cure.

Happy New Year Everybody!!

Brunch

I wrote this entry months ago, but could never get the picture to load. It is the cheesy puff sweater in action:


Well, brunch was great. If you live near Hartford, the brunch at Dakota's steakhouse is phenomenal. Here's the pic of the happy bellies:

So cheesy

I had to stay up until 12:30 last night, but I finished Joe's wedding gift in the nick of time! We are having a party tomorrow for our family members that can't come to Aruba for the wedding, and I really wanted to finish the sweater so I could give it to him then. Well, here it is:

(Sorry for the ridiculously bad picture. I think the carpet in my cubicle freaked my camera out) It is Cheesy Puffs from Knitty (I am a free pattern whore, apparently). He really wanted the orange yarn like the pattern calls for, but I cannot trust him with 100% anything. Plus, 100% alpaca in a bulky yarn just sounds really hot to me. I looked and looked for bulky weight, partly acrylic, bright orange yarn, but oddly enough, there is not an abundance of it around. Who knew? I actually found the perfect yarn (Opera Feza) when my LYS went out of business, but there were only 3 balls of the orange and no other store on the entire planet had any more of it. ANYWAY!

Modifications:
I used Plymouth Encore chunky (perfect substitute!)
I knit the body and the sleeves in the round inside out. (reduced purling)
I knit the collar in seed stitch (to match the waist band and cuffs)

This was actually pretty fun (and quick) to knit. I loved torturing him every 5 minutes to try it on, take measurements, asking his opinion and then doing the opposite. It was great! It took me exactly 2 months to knit (it was my MAIN project, not my only project).

I'll try to talk him into some modeled shots after I give it to him tomorrow. I know I always promise these things and never deliver, but we're going to brunch on Sunday and I know I can guilt him into wearing it when we go. Stay tuned!

All kinds of busy

Where the heck have I been? Well, we went to the big E:







Mmmmmmmm. Millennium fries.















Then we went to a Yankee game. They lost. Oh, well.










Then I went to North Carolina to see my bff get married! The ceremony was great. Very romantic. It rained the whole time we were there until about 1 hour before the wedding. As it turns out, their beach house was decorated with an Asian theme, so there was a statue of a Buddha in the living room. Aimee offered a fifth of vodka to the statue in exchange for some sunny weather. Buddha did not let her down.

Finally!

Well, here she is:


Clearly needs blocking and end-weaving, but otherwise done! I would have modeled it, but I wanted it to be a prettier picture than just me and my hairy legs and all those ends hanging out of it. So, maybe later this week, we'll have a nice little photo shoot for her. It looks really short, but keep in mind I'm only 5'2".








OK, 5'1.5"

Early Honeymoon

Woo-hoo! I finished something! I worked on this little baby during my lunch hour and at Stitch n Bitch only and I finished it in a month. I know it's plain stockinette and no sleeves and all, but I am still impressed with the quick progress. I really like it (and Joe LOVES it). If you want to know, it's Knitty's Honeymoon pattern & my new favorite yarn, TLC Cotton Plus.

Sadly, it is too friggin cold to wear now in CT, but I'm thinking it will be perfect for Aruba!

**The dress is almost done. I don't know why I get so close to finishing something and just give up on it, but I'm trying to work on that. Hopefully it will be done by the end of the week. :)