Brown Sable Sweater

Sorry I haven't been posting regularly lately, I have been really busy. I did manage to make it to Purly Girls on Monday, but I haven't done much knitting since. I have started a sweater for me in a color called sable. I am using Lamb's Pride worsted and using the percentage method for knitting the sweater. If you don't know what that is, there is an article on Knitty.com that gives directions for knitting that method. I am going to try it, and if it works, I will design my own sweaters. It seems like I might have better luck with sweaters fitting than using a store bought pattern. Here is the progress I have made so far:


My new job is going really well. I have been working hard on a project to get a new line of business started. Today, an underwriter I work for gave me a gift certificate to Starbucks! How did she know I was a caffeine addict? It was such a sweet thing to do, the people I work with are the best.

It is raining here today and probably will be all weekend. I was hoping to get outside and do some photography. That is another one of my hobbies I am passionate about. If you haven't already, check out my photography blog called Outdoor Photograpy

Inner European

I found this on this blog. It says my Inner European is French. I've never been to France, but hope to visit someday. I can read French, if that means anything.

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's Your Inner European?

Trip to the LYS

Below you will see several of my purchases over the weekend. They are: Vogue Knitting, a drop spindle, some roving, and Lamb's Pride worsted in sable. Weaving Works is such a great shop for those who want to spin!



The Lamb's Pride is for a sweater for myself. I am using the percentage system to knit it up. I have a hard time finding patterns in my size, so I decided to design my own. If this sweater turns out, I will post the pattern for us large sized women. The Vogue Knitting book should also help me with my designs.

The drop spindle and roving are to learn how to spin. Before I invest in a spinning wheel, I want to make sure I enjoy it. Looking forward to using it.

Felt and Film

I finally finished the felted bag!!!! It's a good thing too because my niece's birthday party is Saturday. I will try and get a photo of her with it. I hope she likes it.



On Sunday my friend Aaron and I went to a Sneak Films movie. It was called "A League of Ordinary Gentlemen". I really enjoyed it. It was a documentary about professional bowlers, and was very entertaining. If you are in the Seattle area I recommend going to one of their monthly films.

New Purchase

Today I made a trip to the book store and bought Vogue Knitting. What a great reference book! Just about everything you want to know about knitting is in that book. It will be great for designing my own sweaters. I am looking forward to pursuing knitting design. If I am successful I will post the patterns here on my blog.

Tomorrow I should have pictures of the felted bag, one before felting and one after. My niece asked me today if I was making her the present she asked for her birthday. It is a good thing I have it finished, my sister says I am not to show up at their house without it. She has been looking forward to it for a long time now. I made her sister one, so of course she needs one too! You know how kids are.

I am planning a trip to my LYS on Sunday to buy a drop spindle and some fiber. My boyfriend always reminds me when I tell him of my new endevors that "You can buy sweaters at the store." He just doesn't get it. He is a musician and is very creative and just refuses to see knitting as being creative. But for the most part, he always is complimentary of my finished objects, so he does see why I enjoy the art of knitting.

Kid Serta

The Kid Serta I bought over the weekend is knitting up nicely, but I wouldn't say it is easy to knit with. I have started the Branching Out scarf 3 times. I'm on my fourth time and so far things are going fine. I think I finally have it figured out. If I finish this scarf ok, I may have to knit some for Christmas presents. I can't believe I'm already thinking that far ahead, but I am a slow knitter, so the sooner I think about these things, the better.

I should be ready to sew up the felted bag by this weekend. The problem is, am I going to have time? I also need to get started on the second sock of the Lithuanian Amber Socks. It seems the second sock is always neglected, at least with me anyways.

I have decided I would like to learn how to spin. Jessica has suggested I start with a drop spindle and see how I do. I think that is a good idea, and I plan to buy one this weekend along with some wool. I think I need to move into a bigger place to accommodate my knitting!

Stash Enhancement

Arlene and I went to our LYS on Sunday to get some yarn for new projects. I picked up some Kid Serta to knit this and this. The red is for Branching Out and the blue is for Tie One On.



Arlene is progressing from scarves to shawls. She picked a lovely color way from Noro, but sadly I don't have any pics. I am still working on the felted bag. All I have left to do is one strap and to sew it together. Then it will be ready for felting. Boy will I be glad when I am finished with it, so I can work on some of my other projects.

Frustration

The other day I spent 30 minutes working on a post to this blog. When I went to publish it, Blogger went down and I lost my post! I was so mad. I think if I have another long post, I will type it in Word first and copy and paste it into Blogger. I did some Pilates to relax and then I was fine.

I am almost finished with the felted bag, I am working on the handles. All of my other projects have been on hold until I complete the bag as it is a gift that needs to be done by next weekend. I can't wait to work on other stuff! My Flower Basket Shawl has been neglected.

Tomorrow a friend of mine and I are going yarn shopping. Should be a lot of fun. I'll post a picture of my stash enhancement.

After Picture

Here is the after picture of our bathroom remodel. A couple of posts earlier you can see the before picture. I think it looks a lot brighter and cheerier, less 70's looking. Which can only be a good thing.



I am still working on the felted bag. It is coming along nicely. The colors came out a little too bright in this picture. I will post another picture when the bag is felted.

Finally Feeling Better

Today I finally feel back to normal after being very sick for 2 weeks. I was on some strong antibiotics which really upset my stomach, so there were two problems for the price of one. This weekend I will be back to knitting.

I will be finishing up the felted bag, and maybe making a trip to my LYS to get some yarn to make the tennis sweater from the new Vogue Knitting Magazine for my sister. She is a tennis coach and I think that sweater would look great on her.

I was asked to teach a knitting class during our lunch hour at my new job. I think that would be great fun! I love it when people are interested in learning how to knit. That would give me a whole new group of people to knit with during lunch!