by Kat | Aug 26, 2007 | General
Or why you should not knit on cold medication!
Hello everyone. Summer is winding down and with it I have come down with the mother of all colds. I am living on cold medicine and my poor brain is in a fog.
Now, knowing all that – what on earth possessed me to pull out my “Wing O’ the Moth Shawl” and work on it.
Count me as an idiot – no life line was anywhere to be found in the rows I had previously completed.
I tried “tinking” a bit – okay, that did not work either.
The end result – off to the frog pond for me!
I was not too far – but far enough that it was a painful experience.
This caused me to stop and ponder the value of a life line. Some days it would be awesome to have a life line in REAL life. Imagine this with me a minute, dear readers…
This would help tremendously at work – when a problem pops up, all you would need to do would be to pull back to the point where there was no problem. Great idea huh? I could have used this life line on Friday – work can be complicated when there is more than ONE person involved. To “tink” back and remove the subsequent involved parties – what an awesome thing that would be.
This caused me to think even further – imagine being able to “tink” back to remove ex’s from your life! Now, would this be awesome or what!!! The glee one could experience in that bit of “tinking” would be something to savor!!
How about the ability to “tink” back to take back those stupid things I say – you know – the “open mouth, insert foot” comments! Another good idea, no?
The possibilities are endless, are they not?
Oh for a little “tinking” in some areas of life!
Have a good weekend all – I am heading back to bed. Here is to being “cold free” by Monday!
by Kat | Aug 19, 2007 | General
Hello everyone! Fiber Festival in Allegan was so much fun – and there was some stash enhancement! And, I bought a drop spindle – I know, I was just going to look! Well, it looked like an interesting and wonderful way to drive myself nuts this weekend! So I purchased a nice spindle and some roving – this roving was specifically suggested for a beginner! I cannot remember what the green roving is – but the natural roving is from Blue Faced Leicester. I have been playing at this a bit this morning – and I am, of course, struggling with drafting. I have the spin and park down, but figuring out this drafting thing is not as easy as the gentleman made it look! So, I worked at this until my back was telling me I needed to do something different. I would have posted some photos of what I have spun, but my camera battery died, drats!
There was lots to see though – and Chris from Briar Rose was there. I went with 2 patterns that I was looking for some yarn for – her latest and greatest “Bee” designs. Well, of course, Chris had some amazing yarns that I think will work beautifully. I also saw Susan who is designing an amazing bit of lace out of Chris’ fiber that has been dyed a lovely shade of “cherry”. Look for the debut of this lacy goodness in Leland in October!
The upper photo is some lovely Briar Rose Fiber – Heritage. Which is 100% Wensleydale and the color is so incredible. This will knit up into Anne’s Bee Fields Shawl. In the bottom photo is some Sea Pearl – a blend of Merino and Tencel. This shimmery yarn will become the Honey Bee Stole. There’s a whole lot of knitting to be done!
The weekend was just wonderful – filled with fibery goodness. I saw sheep and more sheep – some Angora Rabbits – and looked for Alpaca, but I did not find any!! There was fiber everywhere – and more. It was a fun weekend!!
by Kat | Aug 18, 2007 | General
So, here is my first EZ knit – this is the Baby Surprise Jacket for Steve and Jinda’s “baby in progress”! This little bundle of joy is expected to arrive sometime early in February. I am going to join the shoulders with an attached i-cord. I absolutely loved knitting this. The simple brilliance of the pattern was perfect! A new EZ devotee has been born!
Next on my schedule is Fiber Fest in Allegan! I am meeting up with several friends – Susan from Indiana, some other ladies from Ravelry, Ann and Mary from our Knit Knight group – and hopefully AnnMarie as well! On my radar – some powder dyes, maybe some STR – I’d like to find a couple of skeins to knit the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts – it would make a lovely gift for one of Ken’s sisters for the holidays, I will stop by and see Chris from Briar Rose and look to see if she has some “honey-ish” yarn for Anne Hanson’s Bee Fields Shawl. Then, I am even going to go look at some drop spindles – just to see!! I am not saying I am going to purchase one – but I am going to look.
On the work front – it was an insane week. I will have an early morning on Monday – and will probably head in on Sunday afternoon for a bit. There is an open house in my Grand Haven office and I need to make my office look “homey” so I am planning on bringing up some art work to hang up.
But, for today – I am focused on fiber in all it’s goodness! If you see me today in Allegan – please say hello – that will be me in my “Green Ripples Skirt” with that glazed over look in my eyes!!
by Kat | Aug 16, 2007 | General
Hello Everyone! Well, even though it is not a “stitch and pitch” game – I have procured 4 tickets to the West Michigan Whitecaps game tonight. I am heading out with Ken and two friends – Paul and Linda. I will be bringing “Something Black” to knit as I “watch” the game. Now, understand me here – while baseball may be the national passtime – it is not mine. Yes, that is right – I don’t pine away for the moment that I can sit and watch a group of men put mitts on their hands, hats on their heads, and pick up bats to smack a ball. YAWN!!!! But, several hours of knitting time – hold me back!! That is right up my alley.
So, my hope is that I will get the ribbing portion completed tonight!!
I did manage to finish a project – EZ’s BSJ is off my needles, I do need to find buttons and I am thinking I am going to do an attached i-cord around the edges. I love this little sweater – so much so that I am going to join a KAL with Friends of Wool – yes, we are all going to be knitting EZ’s Adult Suprise Jacket!! If you have not knit a Zimmermann – you definitely need to.
Have a great evening!!
by Kat | Aug 10, 2007 | General
Hello Everyone! Well, it is Friday! It was a LONG week, but one that ended on a very high note. I got to “work” at Friends of Wool today! If you can call spending the entire day in my LYS work!!
So, how did I get so lucky? Well, Rose and Ruby were heading to Chicago to catch Stitches Midwest – so I took a vacation day to come and play in the yarn all day!
I put new yarn away! I helped customers find yarn for their projects! I lured customers into the “sock trap” – you know that trap, the one where you actually start believing that sock yarn does not increase your stash yarn volume.
MuaaaaaHaaaaaHaaaaaaa!
Okay – Rose and Ruby may have created a monster – a fiber monster!!
Speaking of fiber – are you all heading off to the little town of Allegan next weekend? The wise women (and maybe men) are bringing in Fiber, Animals, and Yarn (and all it’s accessories) to the wee town of Allegan. Yes, Fiberfest starts next week Wednesday with a host of classes. There is a large group of Ravelers heading there on Saturday. I shall be heading there! If you have nothing to do – head on down to Allegan, to the fair grounds, and get your fiber fix. Plus, you will be surrounded with other fiber junkies. Can it get better than this?
Have a good weekend everyone!
by Kat | Aug 9, 2007 | General
Hello everyone! So, here is the blogger challenge – to blog when nothing is going on!
I have been reading lots of forum posts on Ravelry – one of particular interest – what to blog about – and especially, what not to blog about. It seems that everyone has definate opinions about what not to put on ones blog.
Okay – here and now, I officially take back all posts regarding relationship issues – this seems to be a taboo subject! So, scratch that from the annals of my blog history!
Next, I take back any other personal issues – this is also a no-no topic!
Here is my question – and I am not “fishing for blog lurkers to come out and post” – this has a wonderful name in blogdom – one I will not use here! But, back to my question – if I cannot talk about what is really going on in my life – and everyone thinks that my life is like Ward and June Cleaver – how long will you all read my blog?
It is not as if I want to share all the gory details of life at the Christensen Huis – but really, I put my pants on just like you all do – and I have things that are a struggle each and every day. This is real life folks – and sometimes real life is messy!
So, for an August post where not much is going on – how about if I update you on my knitting forrays – I am plugging along on EZ’s BSJ – this is my first Zimmerman knit – foolish me for not picking up something she designed before. I am in awe of EZ’s brilliance. This is like knitting Mystery Stole #3 – just knit as she tells you until you are finished. I have just bound off the stitches for the neck – I am knitting this in Koigu – and I am in love with this little miracle sweater – for my girlfriends little miracle baby!
Speaking of my Mystery Stole – I am so thrilled with this pattern – kudo’s to Melanie for her design genius! I am plugging away on it, making my way through clue #3 – yes, I am behind. But, I have always found – the more in a hurry I am, the more behind I get. I don’t want to have to frog this gossamer gem – so slowly I go. I have so fallen in love with lace knitting I have cast on with my Briar Rose Angel Face – yes, that is right – I have Anne Hanson’s Wing O’ the Moth shawl started! There is something so magical about holding this thin strand of wool in your hands, twisting it in stitches and yarn overs on some Addi Lace needles, and watching the strand turn into the most lovely of creations! Knitting is truly amazing – a wonder of wonders, that me – a lowly human – can create something so extraordinary!
I am also plugging away on “Something Black” – I have divided the sleeves – and knitting down the body – almost to the ribbing. This is my mindless knitting right now – no counting, stockinette stitches – back and forth. But, I truly love this pattern – another genius designer – Ms. Wendy Bernard – it is amazing in its simplicity.
So, for a whole lot of nothing going on – it seems I rattled on quite a bit. Hope your week is flowing nicely – the weekend is knocking on the door. Here is to you all having a wonderful weekend! Cheers!
