Knitting for miles...

I've often stopped to wonder, just how many miles I've knit. Maybe someday I'll do the math and count up all the yarn used for my various projects to see how far my hands ave traveled. I'd have to look at old pictures and guess, but I'm sure I could get a rough estimate. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak at the result of my current mileage:

What's new...

Books:

Thanks Garth for not liking Walt Whitman and giving yours to me!

Yarns:


These Blue Sky yarns will become Spring 09 projects/patterns! 35 skeins by the end of August... do you think I can do it? That's a lot of knitting, which leads to new thing #3:

Yup, I've broken down and gotten a wrist brace. My poor wrist is getting more action than ever and it's feeling it big time. I've also switched to using my mouse more than my trackpad. That means my favorite activity, snuggling in bed with the computer perched on my chest, is not allowed :( (we'll see how long that lasts!)

Being a sailor:

I got this lovely number at the Flea Market yesterday! Remember the "What about Bob" line?
"I'm a sailor. I sail." or something like that. The tag on th inside says...Wearing socks:


The other morning it was chilly enough with the breeze to warrant the wearing of socks. I took a picture because the first pair I grabbed just happened to match my pajamas perfectly. It probably wasn't all that accidental, knowing me, however.

*Update*
Another exciting thing:
That GIANT pile of laundry you can kind of see in the background of my sock photo, has since been done! I now have a 'normal' person sized pile of laundry in the works and I plan to keep it that way!

New Blue Sky Pattern!

I'm really excited to see the response out there for this new pattern! I was really fun and fast to make... well, sort of. The blocking of these squares took a long time and pretty much covered my house. First, I didn't have enough towels to do them all at once and second, when your cats think blocking = bedtime, it makes your work take twice as long to dry. (Does anyone know why cats love laying on wet knitting riddled with pins?) But eventually it all dried and I pieced it together with a fabric backing. I look forward to checking out other people's color choices.

The interesting thing about this pattern is that it started out in my mind as a sweater. In fact, I actually made the sweater for Blue Sky, but it didn't turn out quite as I had hoped or imagined. Eventually Blue Sky decided to go in a different direction and suggested turning the motif into a blanket pattern instead. I think it was a smart decision on their part, but I do hope to develop this sweater idea somewhere down the line...

Goodies in the mail...

Today I picked up two packages filled with treasures...

My mom has a lovely habit (which I love) of picking up things for me at yard sales and flea markets:

There's a vintage glass turkey baster, an old curling iron, a shoe polishing kit, a little box with cuff links in it and my favorite... a bunch of spools of woolen thread. There's just a few here, but more are on their way and I can't wait to make stuff with them! In fact I already have!!!

She's pretty good huh, that mom of mine. She's getting better and better at picking out not only the little dusty things I love, but materials that help me make my "stuff." Thanks MOM!!

One of the things I've started collecting are old picture frames. I don't like to spend too much money on them or have them be worth anything because I like the ones that have been around the block a few times better. My only other requirement is that they be smaller than a breadbox. Well, I've gotten bigger ones in the past for using in my craft booth, but mostly I like tiny. So, when I was home visiting I picked out a whole slew of them at the flea market and Mom sent those a long too. As I unpacked them, it erupted into a whole re-decorating frenzy. I created a new 'tiny things' collection above my bed, which is nice because it exhibits some great lace items I've been wanting to show off.


Those stockings are amazing. Tiny tiny cotton knit sockins that only cost me $2! I feel kind of bad because whoever priced them must not have known what they had, but at least I'm giving them a happy home. Sometime people don't get old items like this. They think of the cost of a new pair of socks and that it would be crazy to ask say, $10 for an old, used pair.

This pair might not have been knit by hand, but I can tell they've been darned a number of times, which means they were well loved and important to someone. Unlike the socks we buy for $2 a dozen and throw out with little thought, right?


Last, but not least, I got a little yarn package from Blue Sky with the colors for my next project...Yippee! I love them!

My Latest Pattern!!!!


My latest sweater for Blue Sky Alpacas! I made this for them in white and LOVE the version they made in green. It debuts their newest yarn, Suri Merino: a luxurious 60% baby suri/40% merino, single ply yarn, which comes in 14 inspiring colors. My favorite thing about this design are the 14 buttons up the collar which makes for a very sexy, Victorian touch.

I loved knitting with this yarn and want this sweater for myself!!!

You can view all of Blue Sky's patterns here.

New Spring Patterns!

I'm very excited about my new spring patterns for Blue Sky Alpacas! I love using their yarns and together we're a great creative team. Look for the patterns in you local knitting store or online at www.bluesyalpacas.com