Its a yarn-y kind of day...

I got another sock knitted this week...which is a good thing...except it is another single "looking for love in all the wrong places" sock, instead of a" found my solemate" kinda sock. Oh well, I blame it on the yarn as I couldn't resist casting on this colorway of Blue Moon Socks That Rock to see how it would knit up.

This is Beach Blanket Bingo... a homage (prononced oooo-mage) to Annette Funicello...a quintessential summer delight! This one gave me a little pooling around the ankle...and I'm intrigued with how the "stripes" on the foot seem narrower and closer together than on the leg even though there is the same number of stitches both sections. I wonder what the mate will look like...stay tuned, but don't hold your breath. It may be a while before I get back to this skein as 3 more skeins of BMSTR made an appearance in my mailbox yesterday.

These 3 don't have names other than being classified as Rare Gems. They are one of a kind skeins. I purchased them sight unseen... took a chance... a sort of yarn lottery...and I think I came out a winner. I have high hopes for pooling out of the first skein on the left. I probably wouldn't have chosen the middle skein but I like it and I think it will be pretty too. The last skein on the right I'm not sure of yet. The contrast between the teal and the hunter green isn't as pronounced as in the picture. I'm envisioning a pretty little shawl or perhaps a pair of patterned socks. I think patterned socks are better in more tone on tone kinda yarns.

And then there is this mindless project...Nerine by Drops Design... you can see it here. It is a free pattern.

The yarn is Drops Kid-Silk and it is like knitting a cloud. I'm using the color Sea Green (although to me it is more Sea Turquoise) and you can see all the colors here. I've had to work on keeping my stitches nice and loose. I can be a tight knitter but much improved from my first pair of socks that were so tight they cut off my circulation below the ankle..arghh!! I'm placing the blame for this project on Mary Ann who made sure I saw the pattern...and I couldn't resist.

Have you noticed there is a lot I can't resist where fabric, yarn and floss are concerned? It is good thing that my vices are liquor, drugs and gambling. LOL

Well, I'm waiting for the inspector from Duke to come and look at the electrical work I had done 2 weeks ago. Glad to have this project finished and feel my house is safer for it, although I could have bought a WHOLE LOT of yarn for what it cost me.

hope you have a great weekend!
happy knitting!
carol fun

Mid- week stuff

Yeah I know it's not a scintillating title but I'm tired. I spent the day making gigantic messes and then trying to clean them up. I was semi-successful in corralling and organizing my yarn, but my fabric area looks like my studio's has been ransacked. I was building some shelves with wire grids and connectors (shelving stuff left over from my son's college days) and I am short a number of the connectors. I think that several were lost during my son's many moves, and I am going to have scavenge some from his room. I'll do it tomorrow after he goes to work, he'll never notice that I've rearranged his piles.

It was a good day to stay inside with the AC cranked up. It was 95 with a heat index of 105 - hot hot hot! So I will share with you my latest knitting project, my Cladonia shawl.




I love how it turned out. I used Fiber Optics Kashmir yarn and it is soooo soft.It isn't as big as the pattern suggested since I used smaller needles but that's okay since I wanted a shawlette size.




This lace was very easy to knit. You can put a marker at the beginning and end of each repeat so staying on track was a cinch. Now that picot edging took hours but it was worth it.

Okay off to sit and veg a while and then back to the cleaning tomorrow. After I get my shelves put together I want to take down my dusty dirty design wall and put up some nice clean and fresh batting.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

The best I can manage today...

Oh I had high hopes for my week. I was going gangbusters on my Kitchen Sink quilt - all it needs is the borders. And I started laying out my Christmas quilt - all the Christmas fabrics are cut and I remembered I have some cute Nancy Wolff Christmas prints - a flamingo with a Santa cap and Santa in a snazzy sports car. I can tell you this is going to be one busy quilt but I'm loving it! And then came Wednesday evening.... around 10 pm..... I tried fighting it off as long as I could but I couldn't win and boy did I get sick! I haven't been this sick in years. Who knew that projectile vomiting would make abdominal muscles hurt so much? I certainly didn't! So yesterday I spent the entire day laying on the couch counting the hours since I last errped -- I don't recommend this activity for anyone! I was able to keep down a bit of banana and some chicken soup today. I am upright and have spent several hours sitting in my chair working on the picot bind off to my Holden shawlette.



Isn't it pretty? I love it but my brain is so addled that it has taken hours to get to this point - I'm having a lot of problems counting to 4. How bad is that? You don't even need a full hand to count to four! Oh this picture is taken from my chair on top of my laptop. The only reason this post has a picture is that the camera was in a basket next to the chair and I didn't have to get up, cause it hurts to stand up, and cough too -- coughing is not on the agenda today, at all!

Well tomorrow has to be better, doesn't it? Remember I'm giving fabric away on Sunday!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Oh I did it again.....

I made another 22.5 Degree Shawl. This is my third one and I think there will be more of these in my future. They are addictive.



I did this one with that Amazing yarn by Lion Brand. I used all of 2 balls, about 300yds. The colorway is Acadia. The only place I've seen it is the Joanns in Centerville, OH. I love love love those scallops on the edge.



I spent time today cutting 5" squares of my Christmas fabrics. There is a great mix of colors and styles. Red, forest green, limey green, gold, hot pink, turquoise, aqua,orange. And there are some great contemporary prints - Riley Blake, Kate Spain, and some retro looking prints. Notice I said retro not vintage or antique - the prints remind me of wrapping paper from my childhood and I'm not old, I'm retro! LOL --so much more hip, dontcha think?

And you have to see this wonderful chicken fabric I found at Fabric Shack. I practically squealed when I found it -- ok maybe I did actually squeal - but come on it is wonderful!



It is from Timeless Treasures. Now there is a border stripe too in the red, black and yellow that would make great valances for a kitchen. Unfortunately my kitchen can't handle it. I have a peach ceramic tile floor which is looking pretty dated but the powers that be in this house would never even contemplate replacing it, so I work with it and continue to entertain visions of my dream kitchen which would be black, white and yellow - maybe some day.

Happy stitching -
carol fun