No particular thing to show

knittin and spinnin along although,
I've no particular thing to show...

Ok.. well maybe one thing to show


sari silk skein


a close-up for those actually
interested in the yarn & not the kitty

I will have you know that, not only did Barnum barge his way into the photo, but Windle (see upper left photo) decided that this would be the perfect time to play parrot kitty. I took the above pix with his hind legs drapped over my shoulders &, literally, wearing his ass for a hat! THATS LOVE!

Anyways.. about the sari silk. What a huge pain in the ass to spin! The fibers are all in a mishmash. You have to cut down the length & separate and it still comes out loopy! The stray strands keep getting caught on the hooks of my flyer & making a mess!

That said, the yarn is super fun! I think I have finally got the hang of spinning this stuff & can't wait to knit it up. (yes, I know I'm psycho)

As for knitting, I got another few rows done on the Cathay tank and several rounds done on the second Princess tank while at knit-in last night. And, I am really kicking myself for not bringing my camera, as there was so much loveliness! Elicia (sorry if I mis-spelled!!) brought the yummiest little vest she had made for her daughter out of an angora blend... I just wanted to cuddle up with it! Emily was wearing Grace, which she had finished last week, and was absolutely adorable! Jennie was working on her second beaded wrist-warmer, which simpley fascinates me. And, best of all, Ingrid brought her mum who is in from New Zealand! She knits even faster than her daughter & is frankly a fiber goddess! She was working on a gorgeous lace shawl made with a merino/possum blend that she had spun. Oh so pretty!

I think I need to find me an opossum...

Sometimes evil can be soo CUTE!

So, I was reading the livejournal of the one I have dubbed the insane blogger (see her lotr feast) and saw references to a journal called iharthdarth. OMG! Too Cute! For your amusement, here are a couple of my favorites...






Hee!

3 Blondes Knitting in a Cafe

This afternoon Denise discovered herself unexpectedly childless! An email was sent out... Cafe Felix, 7pm... knitting. How could I resist?


Cathay, Chardonay, & Crepes... Oh MINE!


Denise looking fine in her Gorgeous silk jacket


Libby is much more intent on her dinner
than her knitting


one more row until cake, one more row...


Twas a beautiful Ann Arbor evening. Moderate temp, light breeze, good wine & great company. Sure I only got about 6 rows knit, but heck the pattern I'm knitting has something like 125 sts per row! Denise, however, made good progress on her first ever sock & should be turning the heel soon. Libby learned the pitfalls of knitting with 2 strands of novelty yarn & went a-froggin a few times. A good time was had & we are thinking of doing this again next Thursday. However, that will most likely be at Casa Dominics where its cheaper & the Sangria is MUCH better.

So, did you notice how I slipped in that pic of Debbie Bliss Cathay without a single word beforehand? I was a really bad girl on Tuesday & spent $75 on that stuff at the lys. Lemme tell ya.. totally worth it. This stuff is really luscious. So soft & such a sheen! This is actually going to be for me! (gasp) An actual knitted top for me by me! This is totally unprecidented! Could this mean I'm becoming a selfish knitter? (unlikely)

Anywho.. I walked home slightly tipsy & happy to find this


mom, you will never believe what
dad is doing!


sleepy honey on the porch
(ain't he cute!)

M.J.s (mary jane style slippers) Pattern

Knit Whimsies

M.J.s

Materials- 1 1/2 skeins Classic Elite Flash! 100% mercerized cotton in Lotus Blossom (or other DK weight cotton yarn)
Size 5 needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)
Yarn or tapestry needle
Gauge- approx. 6 sts across/8 sts hgt per inch
Size- fits women's size 8-9

Upper

Cast on 10 sts.
Row 1- knit
Row 2- purl
Row 3- kfb, k to last, kfb (kfb=knit in front and back of the stitch)
Row 4- purl
Repeat rows 3 & 4 until you have 30 sts.

Row 1- Knit
Row 2- P8, K14, P8
Repeat rows 1 & 2 once, ending with ws row.
Row 3- K8, cast off 14, K8
Work stockinette st. on remaining sts (keeping separate) until measures 5" from bind off OR work stockinette st. on 1^st 8 sts until measures 10” from bind off.
Join sides with Kitchener stitch.

Strap
Cast on 3
Work garter st. for 2"
Cast off
Attach 1 1/2" from toe (14 st) bind off.

Sole
Cast on 10
Row 1- knit
Row 2- knit
Row 3- kfb, knit to last, kfb
Row 4- knit
Repeat rows 3 & 4 until there are 20 sts.
Work garter st (knit every row) for 1 1/2"

Row 1- k2tog, knit to last 2, k2tog
Row 2- knit next 3 rows.
Repeat 1 & 2 three (3) times (14 sts)
Work in garter st. until measures 8" from cast on.

Row 3- k2tog, knit to last 2, k2tog
Row 4- knit
repeat 3 & 4 once (10 sts)
cast off

Sew upper & sole together using tapestry needle & leftover yarn.

© 2005/2007 by Kimberly Truzzi. http://knitwhimsies.blogspot.com. Do not copy, disseminate, or sell without express permission from the author. Items made using this pattern may not be sold. For personal use only.

M. J.s

Remember my post on Wednesday? Well, I was going to tweak the pocketbook slipper pattern, but once I got started I really didn't like how it was headed. But I liked the mary jane style. So Friday I started making a pattern up.






I knit it in 3 pieces; top, sole & strap. It went very quickly (about 5 hours total) & took just over 1 skein of the Classic Elite Flash! in Lotus Blossom. The fit is much better, since it isn't ment to fit a range of sizes & I like that more of my foot is covered.

Wish I knew a cobbler! I would love to knit a pair that could be attached to a hard sole.. that would be so much fun!! :)

Princess Ballet

Warning!
this post contains extreme cuteness & virtually no knitting content
procede at your own risk!

Last night was my niece's very first ballet recital. It was absolutely adorable! I swear there is nothing cuter than little girls in tutus. They "danced" to When you wish upon a star.. toooo cute!


Princess Autumn Rose


this is her delicate "ballet" pose



with a twinkle in her eye & no front teeth

Every ballerina deserves a present after their first performance, so I gave her the princess tank early... (sorry the photos suck)

fits like it was made for her ;)

Thats all for now, have some spinning to finish up...

What I did yesterday....

No, it isn't another bag...


Behold! The thinnest part of my body: my left foot!(notice the elongated 2nd toe)

Super fun & fast. One size fits all Pocketbook Slippers ! It took me just over 3 hours to knit the first one & less than a skein of yarn. This is Classic Elite Flash! 100% mercerized cotton in Lotus Blossom. Very shiney & comfy! I need to do a little tweaking on the pattern. I made the strap a little long & I would like the top to come a little further up my foot.

I think these will be in lots of stockings this december...

Sari silkiness

For months now I have coveted those recycled sari silk skeins. I just have not been able to justify the cost... I mean $20 a skein! Come on!

So, last week I was browsing ebay hoping to get a deal & I see an auction for the unspun recycled sari silk. Well, I bid & I won! 1lb of it for $25 including shipping! The auction ended on Friday & the fiber arrived today..



Guess what I'm gonna be doing this week!

Secret Pal-y Goodness

Ok.. this is my third attempt at this post.. I keep accidently hitting the back button & erasing it! grrrr

Last night I came home to a note in my mailbox from my friendly neighborhood postal worker. "Devilery Attempt" it said. "Who could be sending me a package?", I say to myself.. why, in the right hand corner it says who.. "Secret Pal"! WHEEEEE! PRESENTS! I LOVE presents!!!!

The anticipation... oh, waiting waiting waiting til morning.. rushing to the post office first thing this morning..(I was running late for work anyways, whats a couple more minutes).. Barely containing my enthusiasm I grab my package & constrain myself from ripping it open right there & then. Hurry back to car, tear top flap... oooooo.. wanna see?



My pal must be reading my blog to know my not so secret obsession with bags! LOL This shall enable me nicely! THANKS!!

She also loaded me up on sugar! A handful of tootsie pops & a bag of Maynards Wine Gums... which is a British candy that is sort of a cross between juju fruits & sour gummy bears.. very yummy, although I can't figure out where she would have got them in Oklahoma! :)

Ok.. serious sugar buzz going.. gotta go knit!
Whee!

Navajo Plying, or how I relearned to make Novelty Yarn

At Tuesday knitting here in Ann Arbor, Lynne brought in a lovely little skein that she had spun & which she had plyed using the Navajo Method. Now, I have seen this several times but had never tried it. I had a bunch of blue-faced leicester sitting around that I hand painted a few months ago just waiting to be spun, so of course it just HAD to be spun immediately & navajo plyed.

For your amusement...


look at that lovely even single!


look at the lumpy, uneven ply!

Ok, I am being too hard on the poor thing! It actually is quite fun & I love the effect I get. Unfortunately I haven't yet figured out how to smoothly do this & kept wishing I had a third hand. I found that using a lower ratio & adding a little tension to the lazy kate (via foot pressure) helped a little. Even so, it came out way overspun & I ended up running it through again in the opposite direction to loosen it a little before setting the twist.

I remain undaunted & have 2 more small rovings of this left to spin. Hopefully I will have the hang of this before I run out of wool! :)