Knitting? Blogging? What’s that?

Well… I guess it’s time to dust and clear away the cobwebs sitting in this corner of my blogoshere. lol. It seems that with the on set of last spring, my knitting mojo flew north for the summer. 😉 With the beginning of our costuming season, I just had no urge to knit, what so ever. I had bad knitter syndrome. I left several projects to languish in dark baskets and corners, forgotten about, and not to see the light of day until the weather cooled off, again. But, the spring, summer and early fall saw some very lovely costumes. We had the EP’s Victorian themed Tipsy Tea in May, the EP’s 3rd Annual Regency Picnic in September and (even though we didn’t wear them) some lovely Victorian costumes for the Old West Festival in early October. Miss PJ and I did wear them for trick or treat with the kids, so it wasn’t a total loss. You can see all of those adventures over on my costume blog Just Blame Jane.

As for my knitting mojo, that seems to have returned in full force with the dropping tempratures. With the approaching Holidays, my fingers have been flying to crank out a few small gifts. Nothing major, just some small items that I know will be appreciated and used. Plus, it seems like everyone is popping out babies around the circle of friends of family. Since October, there have been 4 girls and 1 boy born. But, I’m not knitting for everyone. My neighbor had her first baby on my wedding anniversary, and Katie’s new aunts had her’s about a week later. Both were girls. I have been knitting on a few items that are always essential for tiny ones. For each girl, I have cranked out 4 burp clothes, a flower shaped hat, and I am still working on a little baby kimono jacket for each. One is done, except for the ribbon tie, and I will be casting on for the other, hopefully, at lunch today. That is, unless my illness overtakes me again, and I go home early like I did yesterday. Blah. As far as my languishing projects, I won’t be able to touch any of them until after all the gift knitting is finished. Once I can get back to them, I still have my St. Brigid sweater, and my Modern Log Cabin blanket. I found that the socks I started in March needed to be frogged, as the first sock was too tight. Oops! That’s what I get for not knitting for so long. lol. I hope to post some pics of my work soon, as I will have a 4 day weekend for Thanksgiving (of which I am on call. Blah!). So, that means more knitting, and the Christmas tree gets put up this weekend. I’ll probably haul out all the Christmas dishes, too, just to make the house festive. So, until later….. Happy Knitting!

Read Full Post »

Everything is coming up…….. Green!

You thought I was going to say roses, huh? Well, after taking a look, this week, at all my current projects (knittng and sewing), I have noticed a trend. A color trend. Everything I am working on, the main color is green, in some shade or other. Here, I’ll show you:

St. Brigid in Evergreen

Project # 1: My St. Brigid sweater in the KP’s WotA Evergreen colorway. Now, I have been working on this project for well over a year. It has been tossed the back burner for some many other projects. I will be picking this back up after the Emerald Parlor 1st Annual Costume Ball, which is next Saturday, Feb. 19th. Otherwise, I fear she may languish in my WIP basket forever.

Ivy Embossed Leaves

Project # 2: Embossed Leaves socks in KP’s Ivy Essential Kettle Hand-dye colorway (Essential is now known as Stroll). I have found that I must have socks back on the needles, for the portable project. And, because I need more hand knit socks. I am just about finished with the first sock. It’s taking me a little longer than usual to knit them, as I have confined my knitting time to my lunch hour.

Lacy Cocoon Sweater

Project # 3: The Lacy Cocoon Sweater kit from Knit Picks. I was very taken with this kit when I saw it in the catalog. I’m very glad I ordered it. But, I haven’t touched it since I casted on for it, as I am afraid I will only want to knit it, and not touch my sewing projects that have a deadline looming.

1770's Polonaise

Project # 4: My 1770’s Polonaise for the 1st Annual Costume Ball. This is a gown that I have wanted to make since we started sewing costumes, back in the day. This was the first design I had picked out for my wedding dress. The fabric I lucked into finding in Amish country over a year ago. It is just about done, which is a good thing, as I have to wear it next weekend.

And last, but not least:

Annie's Federal Gown/Robe a l'anglaise

Project # 5: Annie’s gown for the ball. Her favorite color is green, and since she is 10, we went with the pale mint green and pale pink combo. Her gown is to the same point mine is. It just needs hemmed and trimmed.

So, as you can see, green has sorta taken over my crafting life.  I’m not sure about my next knitting projects, but my next sewing project is for The Emerald Parlor’s 2nd Annual Ladies’ Tipsy Tea. That will be a navy and silver Victorian gown. I can’t wait to get started on that one.

*To see more of my sewing adventures, with my parnter in crime and co-blogger, visit The Emerald Parlor.

Read Full Post »

Why can’t I get that lucky?

Last Thursday there was lots of excitement at Annie’s school, and not really a good kind of excitement. I got a call from my mom at about the time Annie normally comes off the school bus. Mom said that the boiler in Annie’s school exploded, and they had just put the kids on the bus without their coats, back packs, nothing. She also said that Annie was very upset. She was crying, on the verge of hyperventaling, and wouldn’t let mom talk to her, or touch her. I still had a couple of hours before I was due to get off of work, so I told mom to leave her be and let her calm down, I would talk to her when I came to pick her up.  After a little time passed, we got to the bottom of why she was so upset. It seems that, besides the explosion, someone had told her the janitor had caught fire, and she likes the janitor as he is always very nice to the kids. Just before I got off of work, I got a recorded call from the school that said school would be closed on Friday, that no one was hurt in the explosion, and that school would resume on Monday. I called Annie to let her know that the janitor was ok, and she felt much better. When I got home, she started telling me what happened. She said that just before the explosion rocked the property, the janitor ran out of the boiler room screaming, “Get the kids out!” And, then there was the boom. Now, that she knew that no one was injuried, she was excited to tell me what happened. Then, on Friday, the call came. It seems that it was a bigger explosion then they first thought (it took 4 fire departments to contain the blaze on the roof of the school), so there would be no school on Monday and Tuesday, while they continued the investigation and repairs. This made Annie happy, because it meant she could stay up late. Yesterday, the call came, again. This time we were told that it was the “migration of natural gas under the floor of the boiler room” that caused the explosion, and the school had to be secured for safety before letting the kids come back, therefore, school would be closed for the rest of the week. When I called mom to tell her Annie would not have school for the rest of the week, I could hear her jumping for joy in the back ground. Lucky kid! I would love to have a week off because of a natural disaster. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely happy that they were able to get the kids out unharmed, and that no one else was harmed in the process. I am very grateful that my child is safe and sound, but the kids are lucky to get the extra time off. I’m jealous! lol.

On the knitting front, I did manage to get a few more inches of the 1st sleeve done last night. We sat and watched Celebrity Ghost Stories and the first part of The Making of the Harry Potter movies on the Bio channel. I think this evening we shall do the same, so we can watch part 2, and I can get more of the sleeve cranked out. I would love to have this sleeve finished by the end of the week. Oh, maybe I can actually take lunch today and get a few rows done…..

Read Full Post »

On another planet……

I must have been on another planet, if I missed this:

Aran Knitting: New & Expanded Edition

All I can say is: About Time!!! lol. I have my views about this book not being reprinted before now, but it’s all moot at this point. And, the buzz started about it back in late December! That shows you how long I’ve been out of the knitting loop, no pun intended. But, I have ordered my copy from Amazon, and it should be here next week. Now, if I have any issues while working on my St. Brigid, I won’t have to worry about re-barrowing a copy of the original.

And, speaking of my St. Brigid, I was able to knit a little on it this weekend. I am about half way through the first sleeve. And, to keep from being stuck on sleeve island, I am knitting the sleeves before starting on the front of the sweater. That way, since I have the back done already, once I get the front done, I can just block and seam. Now, I just need to find more time to knit, other than lunch. lol. This evening I will be helping Katie start to pack her room, as she wants to move out of the basement and into the spare room. Then, I will have the basement for my sewing/knitting room. Granted, only a quarter of the basement has been dug out, it’s still twice the size of the spare room. That means I won’t have to sew in the great room anymore, and my house won’t look like a fabric or yarn bomb went off in it. lol. I’ll just have to find the energy and motivation to work on getting everything swapped, as all I want to do is work on my St. Brigid to get it done. But, I guess I better get back to work, the end of the day is fast approaching! Happy Knitting!

Read Full Post »

Back in the saddle, again!

Well, now that the stress of the wedding is over, and my costume sewing projects are done for about a month or so, I can concentrate on my knitting. I have picked back up my St. Brigid. After taking some time to rearrange the livingroom, I was able to cast on for the first sleeve. I have proof, see:

St. Brigid sleeve #1

I hope to have it finished within a few weeks. That way it’s done by the time my next sewing projects are due, as the next event is the Costume Ball in February, and I will have 3 Federal/Colonial era costumes to make, and I will need to assist Katie with her’s. In the mean time, besides knitting, we will be swapping around a few rooms in the house. Katie’s room is currently in the only room in the basement (it’s only a quarter basement, the rest is crawl space), and she wants the spare/sewing room that I had originally planned to be her room. Teenagers, go figure. But, this gives me waaay more room for my sewing room, as the spare room is only half of what the room in the basement is. This will give me room for not just my sewing, but also my knitting stash and all my other craft supplies. Plus, my old 27″ tv is down there, with a cable box, and I’m sure I can scrounge up a dvd player out of storage. Now, when all the girls come over to sew on our projects, we’ll have plenty of room, and the guys can have the living room to game or watch whatever they want. This way, they won’t turn up the tv and give me a splitting headache, or complain about watching the period movies we like to watch while sewing. I’ll just get some storage shelves to put my pattern boxes and storage totes on, making sure to get the ones that I can hang garments from the bottom, and I’ll be all set! I can’t wait. Now, it’s just motivating said teenager to get her room packed up for the move. So, in the meantime, I guess I’ll just knit. 🙂

Read Full Post »

Found: Knitting mojo

Just a quick post to say that I have been knitting, I promise. I just can’t find the cord for my camera, so I don’t have pictures to prove it. I found my knitting mojo over the weekend, as Shawn had to work and the only thing I had to do was laundry. So, the girls and I watched a few movies we had in the dvr queue, and my fingers found their knitting groove.  I am just about finished with the back of my St. Brigid, I have just a few rows to go to finish the last repeat. Once I get the back finished, I think I’ll use the same tactic that I used on Shawn’s sweater, and knit the sleeves before I knit the front. And, in my spare time I have been working out on my Wii Fit Plus, walking laps on the dock with one of the other girls in the office, and planning the fabric purchase for the wedding gowns. Oh, and I have been planning an outfit for the Old West Festival I just found out about. We can got this year, but not in costume as it’s too close to the wedding, and I’ll have enough sewing to do. But, it’s never too soon to start planning next years costume. Ok, back to debating if I want to brave the snow storm for lunch, or starve and knit instead.

Read Full Post »

Beam me up, Scotty!

This week, Katie brought her Competition band uniform home. She tried it on for me, so I could see how much I had to take up the hem on the pants. The first question out of my mouth was, “Are you going to attend Star Fleet Academy?” Here is what it looks like:

Katie's Competition uniform

 

It looks so close to the uniforms from Next Generation. In the words of my dear SIL, “Oh. My. Spock.” There were Star Trek references used all evening. Phrases like, “Make it so, Number One”. And here is another version of this photo, courtesy of my niece:

 

The latest Star Fleet grad

My niece is great with photo shop. lol. I haven’t got to see the “Friday Night” marching uniform, which she says looks much better. But, besides that, I have been knitting when I have time and motivation. Here is proof:

 

St. Brigid - in progress

Besides the knitting, I have been doing some hand sewing. I have been adding glass beads to the Medieval corsage I made last summer:

 

Medieval corsage

I have been beading it in patterns, so I don’t get bored with it. And I have been planning new costume projects. The next thing I may work on is a Regency Ball gown made from lavender broad cloth with an over lay of ivory lace:

 

Fabric for Regency Ball gown

 

Yesterday morning, I had a bad scare. Before we go to bed, we put Jaxx to bed in the laundry room, that’s his room. When I go up yesterday morning, this is what I found:

 

Total destruction!

The night before, he wasn’t put to bed. Being the puppy that he still is, he tore up a half a basket of sock yarn. What I didn’t know was that there was a small bag of buckeyes half way down in the basket, real ones, not candy.Yes, I was angry with him about the yarn, and scolded him for it. What I didn’t see until I put on my glasses, was the buckeyes that he chewed up and may have ate. I didn’t know what to do. I know they are toxic to dogs, and I don’t have any money to take him to the animal hospital. The only thing I could do was watch him for signs of a reaction. I was so upset that I cried all the way to work, off and on during the morning, and all the way back to the house at lunch to check on him. Thank the Heavens that it didn’t affect him in any way. He’s a lucky boy! It even made me forget about what he did to my yarn, since I’ll be able to eventually untangle it all and re-ball it. So, in parting, here’s a pic of my lucky dog that we affectionately call “Witless the Wonder Mutt.”

 

Jaxx, aka Mr. Lucky or Witless the Wonder Mutt

 

 

 

Well, that’s it for tonight. Happy Knitting & Sewing!

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »