I’m trying not to hate him too much… But we are going to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Actor’s Express tonight (now through July 26th.) I, for one, can’t farking wait it is all I can think about, just get through 8 more hours girl, 8… more… excruciating… hours.

DISCLAIMER: I have to make sure that I am clear- the above comments were all in playful jest. I was in no way making disparaging comments about my man, his love of the bat or his work ethic, he works his fanny off. Work. Work. Work. This was a kodak moment of his fun time. Fun time I wish that I could have been a part of while I was at work, which isn’t so much fun right now, it happens to be the anti-fun. A veritable black hole of fun suckage. I was trying to tap into his fun, savor it, partake in it, live vicariously for a moment, enjoy it just a little teensy tiny little bit and post a fun picture in the process. I apologize if my commentary couldn’t be seen for what it was intended to be- playful. Jest.

I have had some successful finishes this week. I finished Pixie’s Fruit Loop!

Look at it blocking in the morning sunshine. Is this the cutest thing ever or what?

The yarn is hempathy (a hemp/cotton/modal blend) and even thought it is a little splitty (but only when you’re ripping- arrrrrgh) it knits like a dream! The lace looks more like a watermelon than a strawberry (oops, too many repeats.) This is a pattern I test knit for Miss Pixie (the designer of the Country Kiddie.) Be on the look out for it for sale on her website and through Ravelry as well!

Ok, one more time and I’ll quit, I promise.

The finished project (International Fiber Collaborative) and I can STILL spot my square a mile away. I’m not crazy, just very good at finding something I stared at for approximately four months.

One more shot just for yucks.

Ok, I’m done. (Oh, and again, both photos courtesy of www.internationalfibercollaborative.com)

Have a dancing booger-free day!

Man is this cute. Here is the emerging from the shell shot:

And the inside out reversible chicken, fully out of his shell

Cute and squishy. Minor modifications as follows: I used buttons for eyes instead of embroidery and I didn’t put eyes on the exterior shell, it seemed a tad… weird, so I omitted this. Someone on Ravelry made the shell like an easter egg, using some fancy fairisle and bravo to them! Mine, naturally, is plain.

I must say that I’m very pleased with the results. I find him to be a little “buff,” I don’t know how that happened, maybe I unconsciously styled him after Henry the Chicken Hawk (you know, the Looney Tunes character? Trys to catch and eat Foghorn Leghorn in spite of his miniscule size? No? Just me then?)

I know I always say this, but I do think that this is my favorite stuffed animal yet. Maybe even more fun than Sheldon, or even Baby Bobbi Bear… I know, blasphemy.

The photo really doesn’t do them justice, I’ll have to take some more pictures in natural light. But they feel soooooo good!

And my puckery square (sigh) at least it is finished!

Great news- I think I have finally achieved gauge for the beautiful yarn I was gifted at Chrismas from the lovely Barbara and John Olin. I’ve been looking for the perfect garment, a simple silhouette that would compliment this silk mohair blend without being too fussy, too complicated or something I would never wear in a million years.

Best of all, I’ve achieved gauge- which means I can finally get started on this lovely top. It was designed to be knit in cotton, so I have some minor concerns about using the Silk Rhapsody, however the drape and stretch of the swatch of the fabric is quite pretty, so I’m optimistic that the results will be nice.

Look how pretty!

Also this week, I’ve finished my first pair of socks!

Let’s see, what else. OH! I entered the Interweave poetry contest with this Haiku. The first prize is your poem knit into a pair of mittens, how cool is that?

Alas, I must work on my taxes now- feh. I figure I’m thirty years old so my mom shouldn’t be helping me with my taxes any more- adulthood and all. Maybe I’ll reward myself later and dye some sock yarn with kool aid. FUN!

This is my niece, Miss Ashlyn Skye and she is probably the cutest baby on the planet and I just love, love, love her. Particularly when she looks so damn cute in the ruffled baby hat I made for her. I used a stray ball of Knit Picks Shine Sport in a periwinkle color (sorry, I don’t know off hand.) I just love how the cotton blend drapes for this delightful little ruffle! I also don’t remember where I got the initial pattern from which I drew my inspiration, but I really didn’t use it for much more than the general idea and then made up a pattern myself so it would fit her age group since the pattern was for a newborn and at almost six months, her head is decidedly larger. I cast on 180 sts. using US#5 Addi Turbos, joined in the round and worked for an inch or so and then decreased by knitting two together all the way around. I worked an eyelet row (K2tog, YO) for the ribbon then proceeded in stockinette until it was almost four inches from the beginning, then did my decreases (K 8, K2tog, repeat, then knit a row, then K7, K2tog, knit a row) until I was down to 9 stitches. Voila! Baby Hat that fits a 5, no, 6 month old baby!

Still working feverishly on the top secret, non-knitting but still needle worked project for a special birthday that was, er, yesterday. (I’m still so behind!)

UPDATE:

This hat is getting rave reviews from Mommy. She likes the ribbon, it makes it a little ‘adjustable’ as well as fashionable. She likes the yarn choice a lot too because it is cotton it is warm without being too warm, or something. She sees her wearing this into the spring, circumference of head allowing, of course.

Here is my Mima and Dida:

Gosh I love them.

Excuse the crappy bright photo, there is an equally dark craptastic photo here.  I’ll have photos with it on after this weekend.

This bugger took a while to finish. Thankfully, Shari gave me a booklet recently called “Learn to Crochet in just One Day” (Thank you Shari!) with some fantastic photos, because the crochet edges were to be lace and I wouldn’t have had a clue what the abbreviations were for otherwise. I learned to single crochet, and triple crochet, and chain- and now I don’t know why I was so hesitant to learn, it was really easy. The garment fit well, but with the stretch, it met in the middle a little more than desired- I should have made the smallest size- and probably swatched (yeah, I don’t always wanna and YOU can’t make me!) So Jeff and I called it my “tummy sweater” (because that is the only area it really keeps warm.) I think it will be cute over a white starched shirt with jeans and boots for a date night this winter.

This weekend I also whipped out (at warp speed) a simple roll brim hat – a pattern from one of my favorite bloggers- Crazy Aunt Purl.

This hat was a belated birthday present. It is not made from crappy yarn. It is the why-oh-why-didn’t-I-buy-more-of-this-stuff-at-half-price yarn from my stash. Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed (wool/silk/cashmere blend.) So soft it makes you want to cry (particularly after knitting with nasty acrylic.)  The recipient’s head is much smaller than my big ol’ melon so it is even cuter on her. She seemed to like it very much (and said that it would go with her brown coat) which, of course, was the very idea. I’m so hating my stash right now and I want new, sexy yarn. The SAFF folks are probably going to make me weep with the beauty of all of their loot, I just know it.

And some eye candy for all you cat lovers. I have a very, very bitchy cat. And I love her. She is grumpy, grumbly and growly, but she loves to snuggle with me (as long as it is her idea) and will let me pet her (as long as I adhere to her guidelines). Her name is Manxie-Moo- and sometimes, in the spring I shave her- because her hair gets matted (the fact that it pisses her off is just a bonus.)  Here she is making poo-face at me on Sunday night.

Don’t you love it?

“Grrr,” a lion-faced washcloth, 100% cotton (Sugar n’ Cream). I got the pattern from knity.com here. It was super easy, I’m already working on my second one. I’m going to play with a double-stranded version before committing to a final product. I’m just going to keep making things with faces right now- very satisfying.

I started planning this shawl a year ago when I started the Dammit Lace (aka Janet Lace.) It was at this time that I grossly over estimated my lace making skills and started to search for an appropriate and simplified shawl design that would still be pretty and warm.

The shawl was designed with a beach theme in mind- and I gave it to her at the beach last week- very fitting. The pattern is Wave and Shell  that I found here- it is a variation on the Feather and Fan motif and modified for a lighter weight yarn. Again, I used six hanks, double-stranded  Gossamer (Knit Picks) in the Caribbean colorway. I really like this yarn a lot, I used it for Mom’s clapotis in January and, of course, the Dammit Lace. The merino is very soft and the drape is lovely.

Before blocking:

And after:

I’m totally bummed that I didn’t take a single photo of the shawl actually being worn by the recipient, but I forgot entirely. Maybe she will take a photo and send it my way…