Raindrop Shawl - DONE!

Ta-DA! My first.ever.REAL.lace.shawl! With beads, even! I am so impressed with myself. Bless Shelly, owner of Twist Yarn Shop, for blocking it - I am NOT very good at blocking stuff.

This is the Raindrop Shawl, stitch pattern invented and shawl pattern written by Renee Strouts. And it's free!

Thanks to Becca, I got enough confidence to put beads at least on the edge, once she reminded me that I could use a crochet hook instead of stringing the damn things onto the yarn (which I refuse to do). Well, it was too late to put them on the body of the shawl (wah!), so I settled for just the bottom, but the next time...watch out! Beads up the wahzoo for me!

Introducing...Anabelle Marie!

I'm so glad I remembered to do this. Not having blogged all Summer, since May in fact, I never got the chance to introduce a very awesome, cute Somebody. Her name is Anabelle Marie, my First.Ever.Dolly!

I hated dolls as a kid - couldn't stand 'em. Thought they were for "sissies", I guess - and there was no way I was ever going to be One Of Those.

My toys were trucks, capguns/pistols, ropes hanging from our backyard trees (I was Tarzan), the crazy swingset Dad made for us (on which I frequently soared into outerspace), crayons and books for rainy days.

No, sirree! No dolls for me, thank-you-not-at-all.

Until...one magical day at Twist, a very dear (and totally awesome) lady named Diane (it's a real privilege to call her friend) started pulling these...dolls, for pete's sake!...out of her massively capacious knitting bag. One of several, I believe. Doll, after wild-looking doll, came out of her bag. They were each a different color...no, colors. They were crazy. They were beautiful.

They were so cool.

They had bright-colored dreds! They had rasta hats! They had fabulous clothes! They were so different from anything I'd ever seen, that they didn't seem like doll-dolls. They were more like...doll-people. Yeah. Even though they didn't have faces, they seemed so person-like to me.

I don't know what came over me then. Instant Doll-Lust, I guess. I had to have one - now!

Well, it took some time after that before I could get the money together (not to mention my courage) and ask her if she could/would make me one that was allll me. I got together some cool yarns that I liked (mostly greens and browns, my faves) and before I knew it...

Anabelle Marie was born!

That's some gorgeous sock yarn dreds she's got, eh? And socks! Matching socks!!! Diane knitted those wonderful, itty-bitty socks! Aren't they fab?! They EVEN contrasting heels and toes - LOL! Diane knew I was The Socknut and looooved socks (well, still do). And that drop-dead, totally awesome rasta hat! OH yeah! [fist pump] A tiny, perfectly knitted, very full rasta to fit over those awesome dreds! Do you see that tiny orange flower in her hair? tee-hee. Diane didn't know it at the time, but I used to wear flowers in my hair :-) And I always wear skirts - so Anabelle Marie does, too.

Anyway...just braggin'. It's a Momma's right.

Can you autograph DVDs?

I'm so anxious to get Abby Franquemont's new spinning DVD: Drafting: The Long and Short Of It. Interweave is allowing pre-orders, but it looks like it was available by the 14th of this month. I can't quite decide if I'm reading that right, or not - I hope so. If it's true, I might be getting it soon. Maybe this coming week (fingers crossed). Sure wish it was possible to get Abby to sign mine. That would be just SO totally cool!

Even cooler yet, I might be able to learn how to do REAL long draw! Woo-hoo!

Just to keep my oar in...

and to have at least ONE more post done before the end of year... Okay, it'll probably not be the last post of the year, but just in case. Couldn't hurt. After all, my last post was in May, for pity's sake. Five months and one day ago! Geez lah-weeze!

So much to tell and so little time (not to mention so little inclination on my part to endlessly type). I've spun and knitted my fingers nearly off. But I never, ever feel as if I get enough spinning time, no matter how much time I spend doing it.

As is usual, though, I've hardly taken any pics of all the stuff I've made, or at least started. This Summer was a weird one, with weird and distinctly *un*Summer-like weather. It felt like it was 3 weeks' worth rather than 3 months. I think we were cheated!

I got several BSJs done, with 2 more needing to be completed. Started 3 shawls (finished one). It's not blocked yet, but I beaded it, using the crochet-hook to great effect. That's about the only thing I use those hook-things for. I WILL get a photo of that one - I promise. It's the Raindrop Shawl. I don't have the url handy, but it's a free pattern - and very well thought-out in terms of stitch design placement. Google it if you want it; otherwise, you might be waiting 'til a Really Hot Place freezes over before I get around to hunting it up for you (sorry).

I've started more than a dozen other projects (at least) but laid them down one by one as I became bored with it and went on to another project. I am totally not monogamous when it comes to knitting. Faithless is thy name, O Fickle One!

I've done a lot more knitting than what I mentioned, but mostly in the realm of playing around and then frogging the - at times - strange results. I don't think I got done but one pair of socks this whole Summer. Must be some kind of record or something.

Let's see...I've made a good start (with the kids' big help) on my Fiber Room. Of course, I have to share it with my son's Really Big Drum Set (cymbal stands up the wazoo), so I just kind of ooch around the perimeter to get to my shelves and drawers. One of these days, I'm going to ditch all the clothing in the room's closet - and the pile of wrapping paper and bows - and put in some organizers for the rest of my yarn still squirreled away in every room but the kitchen and bathrooms. I haven't rescued all of it from Durance Vile, yet. However, at least I haven't got any more shoved down coat sleeves and in my big canners. I gotta get more bins, too. Waaay more.

I had no idea I had that many knitting and spinning magazines! I've got TONS - you should see the stacks! One fell on me (a stack) and I nearly got buried. I thought my son was going to have to excavate to find me. No one warned me that magazines reproduced themselves...

Anyway - photos to follow (I hope) covering all sorts of things I've done, wish I'd done, started-but-not-yet-finished, started-but-decided-to-frog, AND ... one really awesome, cool thing made for me!

Yet Another Three Weeks!

Well. From yakking it up nearly every day to just barely putting in a post-a-month. Must be some kind of record. I should get a reward for being so quiet. Didn't help that we all came down with walking pneumonia 2 weeks ago; we're still choking and coughing our way back to life. yuck.

In the meantime, I've knitted up what feels like tons of baby things (very simple things, mind), but I don't have photos of them yet. I've done a lot more frogging than I like - too much experimenting with my own patterns, I guess. I feel like I really haven't gotten all that much accomplished except to find out What Doesn't Actually Work. :::sigh:::

Still working on my Forest Canopy shawl, and trying to figure out how to make those color runs stay the same depth, even though the shawl gets wider and wider. So far, those runs aren't getting any longer, no matter how much wishing I do. Pretty soon, the rows are going to be so long the colors will change 4 times before a row is done! I keep wondering if there isn't a way to wrap-and-turn at the center stitch and work back. You know...work only 1/2 the shawl at a time to eke out the color runs for a bit longer? Without making the middle stitch of the shawl look really, really strange, of course. If anyone knows of a way...

Come to think of it, even if you do know of a way, I don't think I can frog THIS yarn. It thinks it's mohair - it has more more hooks than velcro ever thought of having. I took out 3 rows once. Never again. Ever. It's staying knitted, no matter what errors creep in...

Better Late Than Never. I guess.

Wow. I can't believe I've let so much time slip by since I last posted; March 5th! Sheesh. I have a pretty good excuse for nearly 3 weeks of that, though. I was so dog-sick with the 'flu I couldn't have sat up in a chair long enough to play. No knitting, no spinning - and definitely no blogging - got done. However, since my almost-recovery (still coughing my head off), I've gotten quite a bit accomplished (for me).

I don't have much time to post a lot about each item (and aren't you GLAD!), so I'll just show you, instead. We received lovely news a few weeks ago that my oldest nephew and his sweet wife are expecting their 1st child after 4 years of trying. Woo-hoo! Everyone is over the moon about it. Rosie-lass has just begun her 2nd trimester. That kid's going to have more knitted and crocheted items than his/her mum knows what to do with. :-)

Anyway, the first pics 2 are of my first-ever Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) (EZ's pattern in Opinionated Knitter). I've wanted to knit one for a long time - now I have a perfectly good reason! I used Cascade's Venezia and Berroco's Inca Gold yarns for that one. I didn't realize they weren't machine-washable, so I sure hope Rosie doesn't mind. I can't believe I made a hand-washable item for a new mum! Way ta go, ya dork! I won't do it again - I promise! The 3rd and 4th photos are of my 2nd BSJ, using Berroco Comfort.













Because some of the Comfort skeins were spun 's'/plied 'z', it was really splitty for a 'throwing' knitter like me. I worked with it using a 'picking' style (German/so-called Continental) and it was a bit less crazy-making. Unfortunately, due to my slowness in 'picking' I'd have gone even crazier had I tried to knit that way through the whole thing :-) I've also nearly finished a third BSJ done in Comfort DK (properly spun for knitters!) in order to make a new-born size. I'm using traditional baby colors for this one, but he/she sure won't wear it long. It's tiny! It's pretty darn cute and I'll post it when I'm done. If I can just remember to take the photos...











And here's my latest project; a Forest Canopy Shawl by Susan Lawrence. I got the pattern on Ravelry, but I don't know if it's available elsewhere. I'm using Crystal Palace's Mini Mochi in the Autumn colorway.

Ooof!

>Okay Connie, I'll understand if you are busy, but you need to pop in on the list just so we know you are okay :) We miss you!

Dang, Dori - I didn't even know you'd commented!!! Ack! I know, I know - it's been a freakin' MONTH since I posted or anything, but life has been INSANE, lately!

I can't believe, either, that it's been a month since I last posted. I can't believe I've been that busy! No, no pics to show for anything - yet. Just half-finished, half-baked stuff-on-needles (which may get frogged).

Just letting folks know I'm still kicking. Sort of :-)