one set done, one to go...

i just finished a sample of BSA's new Baby Beanie & Mittens set and it turned out sooooo cute! it's in their new Melange color Blue Cheese. soooooo soft for baby's head and hands! i have pictures, on my 35mm camera of course...along with pictures of the other set i'm finishing up, the new Hat & Wristlets set using their new Suri Merino in Seamist and their new Worsted Hand Dyes color Aqua together. very hip!

if you haven't been to their website lately, you are missing out! they have some great new patterns and yarn and yarn colors to drool over. you should really stop by...it's worth it! (personal affiliations aside)

the Baby Beanie set is a fast and easy knit for a quick little gift. my SIL is having a little boy in August. he will be getting a set for sure. i think i want to try it in the Toasted Almond color.

the Hat & Wrislets pattern was a fun knit, but was a little tricky on the yo's for me personally. it was my first real yo pattern and only my second on dpns, but once i got the hang of it, it was fun to finish up! it's not really my style, but my kinda picky daughter asked me to make her a set as soon as i could cause they were 'sooooo cool mom! i really want a set please?!' how could i say no to that?

i may try the Dungeree and Cloud colors, but maybe she wants Green and Meadow...there are so many choices! i'll have to get her to keep practicing her knitting so she can make her own!

a little bulky for my diet

this last weekend there was a great little Sheep Shearing Festival at Shepherd's Choice. i got a few pics, but i have to develop the film first-drat! i am still in the stone age w/my 35mm camera so, please excuse...

anyhoo, we had chili dogs, and root beer from a keg-yum! we pet some llamas-so soft! saw some sheep get naked-umm...
Kayla got a turtle painted on her face and played the lute and penny whistle-too cute! i got a steal-of-a-deal on some Blue Sky Bulky -score! i signed up for a 'socks on circulars' class-fun! bought a small bag of lusciously soft roving to try out-someday. met a fellow blogger mommy-yay! and so much more!

my honey, Asa, came with and was such a good sport about it. i think he actually enjoyed himself at first, then he got bored. he has been so supportive of my knitting. he's the best husband a girl could hope to find--really really. i think i'll keep him!

and as per the usual we met Ali, her mom and the kids there. most field trips just aren't the same as when we're together. it's more fun when there's another mom or a friend there to chat with you know?

well, sorry to be a tease, but you'll just have to wait for the pics. if it helps, i have to wait too!
:)

Lemonade! Gitch-yer ice cold Lemonade!

ok, so you have to go visit (shoeless)Val's blog and read the amazing story about her little girl being a cancer survivor.
They are having a fundraising event at their house, in real life, on June 9th selling lemonade. The benefits will go to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Please stop by if you're in the area.
If not, they also have a 'virtual lemonade stand' where you can donate if you aren't able to stop by in person. Show your support for Val, her family and Pediatric Cancer Research by donating to this noble event! Her goal is $1,000, but I bet we can show more love than that, right!?
And spread the word, spread the LOVE!
:)

double points--away!

so i am starting my next 2 projects (#5 & #6) on double points. yep, that's right. i'm just gonna dive right in and go for it. i've read about it, watched a video about it, bought some sticks for it and made a small swatch that resembles something tubular (whoa, like totally tubular! sorry...). the only thing that's left is to actually make something! i think it should go well and it will be fun to try something new.

in the meantime...in between time...hm, hm, hm-hmm...

i can't wait to get my new yarn! i placed an order with Deb at Fearless Fibers. i got a skein of the Sand and Sun and Antique Rose colorways. i'm sooooo excited! (where is that mailman already?) i highly recommend visiting if you haven't yet. you get a ton of yarn at a great price and the colorways are ALL fabulous! Deb was great to work with and it was easy to shop/pay/contact her. go see, go dream, go drool! (and i'm pretty picky too)

i'm hoping to try a pair of socks or two this summer with it and maybe a lacey something-or-other. i've found a few sock patterns that could be do-able. my friend wants to try Monkey Socks...yikes! they are a busy looking little sock aren't they? cool, but busy. i'm still trying to not be too intimidated (yes me) by sock patterns. the socks themselves look great. but the patterns, they just look so tedious and time consuming and those tiny needles...however, i have been told that once i do one, i'll go completely sock crazy and need to make a billion of them. hopefully in sets of 2. so, we'll see...
:)

a little history

ok, so i've mostly thought knitting would be cool to learn how to do. i don't remember the actual sequence of events but it's goes something like this...

sometime during this last year or so, i remember something about red chenille and Ali trying to help me learn to cast on. i found this knitting bag at a garage sale or hand-me-down or somthing-or-other with tons of needles (poo-mostly crochet). then, getting a Susan Bates 'learn to knit' kit at Wal*Mart and my MIL teaching me the thumb cast on because i had forgotten the cast on that Ali taught me. i spent a lot of time learning/mastering that (i'm not terribly coordinated. i can't even do the 'running man'. *sniff, sniff*. this ones for you Ali!). then i tried actually knitting the chenille on needles that now i know were too small and it was so tight it broke so i gave up for awhile. then i got a skein of Homespun from my FIL who had also knit me this great scarf the year before in 'eyelash' yarn(?) and that sat around for awhile. several months later i tried again and came up with exhibit 'A' in an earlier post below. then i was a 'master' so i ran to wally world and bought several skeins of 'red heart' acrylic b/c i thought that's what you knit with. in between there i learned stockinette and was practicing some random knitting and purling. i then dug out the chenille and tried a larger needle and lo-and-behold, it worked!

i was working on that garter scarf when i was asked to make the camo scarf for the violist. that turned into exhibit 'B' in the other post below. that was this last February/April-ish? then through Ali, Blue Sky Alpacas asked me to knit a couple Baby Hoodies for them and i learned seaming, following a pattern, 3-needle bind off and a bunch of other stuff. which leads us to exhibit 'C' right here:

not too bad huh? i was a bit nervous at first, but i kept on task and watched EVERY video on KnittingHelp.com, Ali gave me a helping hand and a few technique pointers and they turned out great! (thanks again Ali!) i had a lot of fun making them once i focused and became more familiar with things. i've always been a fast learner (whew!) and that character quality comes in handy often.

so, other than a few fuzzy details in between, that's it in a medium-sized nutshell!

Summer Knitting

well, because my great friend Ali is having a contest on her blog 'Skeins Her Way', here's my hopeful list for the summer months to complete my entry.

~start a few knit-a-longs and knit the items for them (i already have the ideas, just need to implement them and design blog buttons. so check back for the list!)
~find a great sock pattern (and/or make my own) and make 2 pairs (i'm open to suggestions)
~design/knit some scarves for winter gifts for family members
~design/knit a teen-style cardi or pullover that even my daughter will wear
~keep teaching my daughter to knit a few basic items
~knitting samples and testing patterns that Blue Sky sends my way
~make myself a cardi/pullover or some other little treat
~have my daughter and i make the Felted Clutch from BSA to try out felting
~and of course building up my stash of fibers and needles!

i think there's something about seeing, in writing, what you want to accomplish (and what you think you can accomplish) that gives a bit of clarity. and i love checking things off as i go. there's nothing quite like the feeling of completing something!

SOOOOOO, there you have it. here's the link to the contest, now hop on over to Ali's and tell her i sent ya!

a short while later...

...i found myself offering to knit up another scarf for a young violist at my daughter's chamber orchestra lesson. she is learning to play the violin. i am learning to knit. i knit while she practices. it's a great excuse to get some knitting time in. i also get to chat it up with my great friend Ali while she knits and her kids are practicing. what a spoiled life i have huh? i'm very grateful for it trust me!

anyhoooo, onto the story...
so i'm knitting and Ali's knitting and we're chatting and in walks the young violist and he starts to admire my 'work'. he mentions something about wanting a scarf and i mention i could accomodate that and the next thing ya know i'm on a hunting expedition at wally-world for camo yarn! it was a very neat little exchange and my first 'comissioned' work. it actually turned out well and i was able to give him a pretty decent looking scarf as a gift. i felt bad it was in scratchy acrylic, but he felt great about getting a scarf--so it all worked out in the end!

here's my ever-so-loverly daughter with the aforementioned scarf. tres chic, n'est-ce pas? sorry for the camera phone pic.

see you in a round,

~traci

In the Beginning...

...there was the garter ridge scarf. and it was good.

the rite of passage for every new knitter-wanna-be. *sigh*
'memories...all alone in the moonlight...la da da de da dah dah...hm hm hm hm hm hmmmmm...'
oh, sorry, i'm back now.

and here is my very first one. as you can see, there are already signs of my numerous talents with fibers and sticks. notice the uneven lines and extra bumps/loops for that 'textured' look? and the raw 'triangular end stretch' that i accomplished without foreknowledge? i know, i know. that's some pure prowess right there people.

of course for the 'full effect', here i am modelling it for all it's worth (a quarter maybe? any takers? anyone? any ebay-ers?)

i want to say this was a candid 'i love what you've done to your ceiling Ali' look, but it's not. it's hard to tell, but i was actually trying to pose. yep, there's a reason i'm not a model (and you thought it was b/c i'm short-silly you!). don't get me wrong. the pay is good, but not worth the neck strain for poses like this one--which are common (a little known fact right there for ya). and of course the blue-on-blue really makes the bluesness of the yarn POP out atcha.

well, i don't want to overwhelm everyone with too many goodies. hopefully i've whet someone's appetite. so check back every so often for a little treat!

see U in a round,

~traci

where have U been?!

i have recently discovered knitting.
need i say more?

stay tuned, just in case...

~traci