Bron's Blog II

Watch It!

When inspiration strikes...

Step one - Drop everything, gather your materials and get to work:

(Note to self: Use Soleil as backdrop 'cause it's pretty.)

Step two - add some beads:

Step three - Scientifically & accurately measure your wrist:

Keep going until...

Step 4: You sew on the watch face and button closure:

Step 5: Awkwardly take several blurry shots of your own hand, modeling your new watch band:

Step 6: Cheerfully whistling the Partridge Family theme song and thinking how groovy this watch would've looked on Keith's wrist, go finish the back of Soleil:

(Note to self: Working on one project makes it go very fast. Remember this feeling the next time you're tempted to have 6 things going at once.)

Step 7: Worry that your inspiration is waning, until the doorbell rings & this little package from eBay & Bonne Marie arrives:

Yep - this is the auction I won from Bonne Marie - 8 skeins of Katia Pisco in a lovely, pale, slightly mottled aqua and a copy of her pattern, "Mondo Cable."

Guess what goes on the needles after Soleil comes off??

Step 8 - Take more cold medicine & go to bed!

The Possibilities Of Spring

(Typepad is, once again, having image issues. If you can't see something now, come back later & hopefully it'll be fixed!)

Vogue Knitting is, as usual, Vogueish. But unlike many who are up at arms about the "out of touch", "only for twenty-somethings", "too far out" patterns, I think it's the magazine's job to be a little extreme. (Ok - maybe a lot extreme.)

Hey...it's Vogue. It's not Better Homes & Gardens. There are plenty of publications out there to cater to the more mainstream, sock-of-the-month club (not that there's anything wrong with socks! - please..sock people...don't email me!), cardi-toting (that's me!), baby-bootee making (I love babies too - I had two - please don't email me!) knitters. As Vera mentioned in my comments yesterday, she likes Vogue for inspiration, not necessarily ready-to-knit patterns. I tend to agree with her. Although when I plunk down my $$, I like to find at least a couple of things I might like to make. And I did. :::Grin:::

I've seen this sweater mentioned on several blogs:

There's a lot I like: the different lace panels, the shape, the collar. However, I think the colors are what's stopping me from loving this. Although I can't decide if I'd rather see it in all one color or just 4 different ones.

This one, I just might cast on for fairly soon:

Yeah - I'll make it a wee bit longer in deference to my personal preferences, not my age. :::wink::: But I like the lace, the collar & the wrap-around. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. hehe

I haven't seen anyone mention this one, but I really thought it was classy:

I happen to know at least one blogger who is making a version of this:

While I know that Marie's version will kick butt, I have to wonder why this example has to be pulled across the chest & strained to fasten? Not only the crocheted edging but the knitting too! I'm just thinking that a little more ease in the chest area would make this look SO much better. Regardless, while I like the over all design and colors, this is a scaled-down version of McGowan's "Amelie" - the cool pattern that quickly turned into a mohair nightmare for me - so it's something I wouldn't make. (Those sleeves! I remember those sleeves!!!!)

Once again, an ad caught my eye:

Which led me on to the Classic Elite Website where I found Fountain Lace Cardigan (first cardi on the list), Butterfly Lace Cropped Cardi & Ribbed Eyelet Shell in the Boathouse pattern book and, wonder of wonders, a crocheted watchband. I might have to buy those first two pattern books and the crocheted watchband has really got me thinking....

But while I think, Soleil still has my total attention:

Medical update: Colin is cured - must've been either food poisoning or a (quite literal) 24 hour bug. I, on the other hand, am still battling my spring cold. Yay for Colin, Boooo! for me!

I. A.M. B.O.R.E.D.

Could you tell?

You might've guessed something was up when I dropped everything to crochet a wild & crazy bag.

Ennui is a word even more over-used on blogs than serendipity but.......Ennui has taken up residence right beside my knitting chair, eating chips, drinking Diet Pepsi & generally making itself to home.

The Rebecca Off-The-Shoulder sweater? Eh - it's tan - it's boring. It'll be cute when it finished but ....eh.

Cables & Lace, while visually lovely, is...well...how shall I say this....

Kinda boring to knit.

Oh - I'll finish it sometime. I'm just suddenly not in any hurry to do so. Yes, the thrill is gone. And I'm not even finished with the back yet.

The Wavy Cardi? Yeah - I really like crocheting it, but I want something fun to knit!

Anyone else having this problem? Is it the changing of the seasons? Some strange undercurrent in blogland?

Regardless of Ennui's origins, I'm giving myself permission to fight. Which means permission to set aside whatever project I want in favor of something new, fresh, colorful & fun.

Not a bad way to fight a war, come to think of it. :::wink:::

I picked up the Spring Vogue Knitting today, counting on something in it's pages to snap me out of my lethargy. As usual, the magazine hit the highs and the lows. I've read quite a few blog entries dissing this current issue and, while I can't say I'm overwhelmed by it's brilliant patterns, there were a few things that I liked. But I'll save that review for next time. Can't expend all my blog fodder in one entry!

Although I will say that, in general, I'm ambivalent when it comes to the subject of summer knitting. Obviously, I love to knit with cotton, so that's not an issue. But sweating is. 'Cause summers around here hover in the 90's and on up for at least 4 months. I don't know about you, but sweating in knits - even fine gauge handknits - is not something I look forward to.

It sounds like a new Richard Simmons video: "Sweatin' In The Handknits." hehe

However, hope springs eternal, which you'll see at the bottom of this entry. :)

Yesterday I lined my new bag:

I tacked down the lining in several places so it wouldn't ride up but I didn't like the way it made the outside bunch up when I lifted it by the handles:

Sooooo....I ripped the lining out (eeek!) and went au naturale:

With a really great button to boot:

I figure I'll be using this as a project bag, so the bits & bobs that could fall through the double crochet I'll just put in a separate baggy. No problem & no more lumpiness! yay!

So - with a successful fix under my belt, I thought & thought & thought about a way to get Ennui off my couch.

Alexandra, you might very well be my savior:

Arnold is certainly impressed:

More about my Soleil next time (no - you're not seeing things, I'm knitting it flat. :::wink:::) I've been up most of the night with Colin - I dropped him off for a sleepover at 5 last night & was called to pick him up at 8 'cause he was throwing up all over! Got him home & things progressed to both ends. Sigh. My little cold has to take a backseat to something as explosive as this!

To leave you with something to get your mind off ickiness, go listen to Emma's entry today. Yes...I said listen! Very, very cool.

From Out Of The Blue...Something Red

"What did you order, Mom? Huh? What did you order?"

"I don't know! I'm not expecting anything!"

"Awww...come on - it's gotta be an eBay something or other, right? huh? huh?"

"I don't know!!! Let's open it, ok?"

:::Gulp::: Oh. Wow.

This is a "Project Spectrum" present that showed up on my doorstep and to say I was surprised is an understatement. "Bowled over" sums it up much better! Sent by long time reader (and non-blogger) Cyndy, I'm once again floored by her generosity. Protesting that she much prefers knitting with wool over cotton she wanted to send her cotton/ribbon yarns somewhere they would be appreciated.

Believe me, Cyndy - they are. :)

10 balls of Jaeger's "Celeste" in the color "lobster" and 11 balls of Jaeger's "Sienna" in a gorgeous rhubarb-rose color. I'm truly over-the-moon thrilled. That Sienna will be perfect for crocheting and I have enough of the ribbon Celeste to make something very cool for spring & summer.

In a case of true serendipity (that word is over-used, but it sounds so much better than coincidence hehehe) I woke up yesterday with the perfect plan for another bit of yarn Cyndy sent me: the "Potluck" skein I showed you yesterday. I dug into my oddball bag and expanded my yarn repertoire,

then a bit of crocheting later, I had the makings of a new, 13" X 18" knitting bag:

OK - Before I go any farther: I realize that some sweetly malicious soul is, at this very moment, busy sending this link directly to What Not To Crochet. But that's ok - go right ahead. :::Grin::: This bag is exactly as I'd envisioned it and I think it's fun & funky. It makes me smile when I look at it and that's all that matters. There are some awfully serious knitters/crocheters out there that could benefit by a grin or two...or ten. Don't you think? :::wink:::

Ahem - continuing on...

Today I'll be lining it & putting on the handles. I'd originally intended to use the bamboo:

However, I think the bag is a little too big (I'll have to use those handles for the cute little bag in Happy Hooker) so now I have these two to choose from:

Both sets of handles came from bags my Mom crocheted back in the 70's, so they do have sentimental value. It's a toss-up. Hmmmm...

Then, of course, I needed to choose the lining. I dug through the dreaded "Tub-O-Fabric":

(Quilts anyone????) and found 3 possibilities:

Yeah - I know I'll probably go with the plain purple but I liked the Hawaiian touch of the print on the left and as for the one on the right, heck - who doesn't love bats & lightning on purple? The lightning is metallic gold, even! Cool. :::Grin:::

Tomorrow I'll have a pic of the finished bag as well as (hopefully) some knitting stuff to show. But when inspiration strikes, everything else has to fall by the wayside!

Thanks again, Cyndy - both for the new yarn & the old. :)

I'm off to nurse the cold that DH so kindly gave me. Sigh. I really hate sore throats!

Yarn Dreams

Today is the first "official" day of spring break - the kids & I have nothing much to do but hang out, maybe go to the zoo or take in a movie. Perhaps that sense of freedom is spilling over into my dreams, 'cause I woke up this morning thinking of doing something with these:

And this:

(Are you paying attention, Cyndy?) And maybe this:

Then again, Bonne Marie's been on my mind because I just won one of her eBay auctions (8 skeins of Katia Pisco in a light aqua with a copy of her Mondo Cable Shell included) so I also dreamed about a Ribby in some combination of this:

I also had the thought of a Ribby in Bubblegum pink & Strawberry Cream - I wonder if my wardrobe is ready for something like that?

In the meantime, I finished the two Wavy Cardi fronts yesterday:

With the back complete,

can two sleeves be far behind?

Just in case you get excited seeing tan stockinette (it takes all kinds, after all), here's the Rebecca Off The Shoulder Top:

Because cats don't have the corner on the cute market, here's Emma & "Baby Hagrid" (long story):

That dog is truly long-suffering. In more ways than one: Poor thing's been practically starving for two weeks & hasn't lost a pound.

I feel her pain.

Happy Monday!

Project Spectrum And A "I-Can't-Wear-Wool-Mini-Sale"

Oh yeah - and Tarot too. ::Grin::

I've been getting a lot done this weekend - the backs of both the Rebecca top and Wavy Cardi are finished. I'm about 6" away from getting the back of Cables & Lace finished too. I'm 6" into the front of the Rebecca top & I at least have a start on one of the Wavy Cardi fronts.

In other words, too boring to show you pics! Soooo...on to Project Spectrum. April is yellow and orange - two colors I've never been fond of but I did find a few things on my stash shelf that would qualify:

From upper left: Orangeade CE, Banana Cream CE, Knitpick's "Shine Worsted" in Terra Cotta, Zitron's "Evita" in peach, and Moda Dea's Ticker Tape in...well...orange & gold are in there. ;)

Now, I have serious Soleil envy - check out Erica's - pretty hot, no? I....must....make....Soleil!

So - I could do Soleil from the Orangeade CE (I only have 3 skeins), the peach Evita (that, at least, would be the right weight yarn for the pattern) or the Terra Cotta Shine Worsted. The two worsted's I could make work with the pattern (which is written for dk weight) so that's not an issue. Hmmmm.. I need to decide 'cause I'm casting on for Soleil as soon as the Rebecca Top is complete.

The Ticker Tape will be a tank, I think, but nothing special since it's huge, honkin' Nylon tape. In fact, I think there's a big yarn tank pattern in the Spring Rebecca that would be perfect for this. I could whip that out too, as part of Project Spectrum.

Now - I'm planning a Scoop Du Jour with the Banana Cream since I have 6 skeins. That may be what gets started once Cables & Lace is complete...but you know me, my "what's next" list changes with the wind! ha!

I really think I have Project Spectrum covered for April. Cool!

Edited to add: SOLD! Now, the mini sale skinny. I've had 6 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold's "Silky Wool" in this nice denimy color for months:

with very firm plans to make this:

Since this is now out of the question considering my newly confirmed wool allergy, I'd like to offer the yarn to someone out there with tougher skin than I have. :::wink::: This is color # 010, "Woad", 6 skeins, 3 have been wound into balls, $7.00 retail price, $27.00 for the lot plus shipping, another $5 and you can have the book, "Designer's Choice, Book One" that includes the tank pattern. The book has patterns for larger sizes - up to 50" chests on some. This particular tank pattern goes up to a 45 3/4" chest and there's more than enough yarn to make the largest size. Just drop a line if you're interested. If I have no takers here, I'll list it on eBay. :)

I don't talk about it much, but I collect Tarot cards. I think at one time I had over 35 decks (hardly a drop in the bucket compared to some collectors who have hundreds!) but I've sold a few so now I'm probably down to about 25 or so, with only 3 I read with regularly. Since I'm not as avid a collector as I once was, I seldom check what new decks are out. :)But I was cruising Amazon the other day & this caught my eye. After reading several glowing reviews, I ordered it:

Not surprisingly, my favorite Tarots have a Celtic theme: Merlin's Tarot, Hallowquest, the Arthurian Tarot, etc. so I figured "The Druid Craft Tarot" would fit right in. :) I won't do a Tarot review here since I'm sure I'd be straining the attention spans of my knitting audience, but I did want to show a few of my favorite cards:

Pretty stuff - simple without being simplistic, Pagan enough for any path, I think I'll actually keep this one. Yay! (Besides - in the "High Priestess" card (top middle), to the right of the Priestess there is a cat sitting on a rock that looks exactly like Arnold.)

I've kept decks on my shelf for lesser reasons. :::wink:::

Wasted Days And Wasted Nights

Or is that, "No good time goes unpunished?"

Eh - it had to happen. After two days of near perfection, the gods thought to themselves, "Not so fast, there, girlie!" and smote me with a sleepless night. Bah humbug. Too much on my mind once again. I'll muddle through today somehow & then....then next week I'm definitely calling my Dr. & getting some Lunesta. I've put it off too long & it'll be worth any price if I can sleep those 2 or 3 nights per month that my brain just won't shut down. So hopefully this will be the last time you hear me whine about it. :::Grin:::

Just 'cause this is a knitting/crochet blog & you need pictures, last night during "Supernatural" I almost finished the back of Wavy Cardi:

I also received this in the mail yesterday:

"Ah yes" you must be thinking "A pile of weirdly variegated yarn." Well - you'd be kinda right:

That's a very true representation of the colors - at least on my monitor. This was an impulse buy on eBay and for some reason I had it in my head this was Berella "4" rather than "Platinum." These are huge honkin' skeins! Granted, they're 25% wool so I can't plan a next-to-the-skin sweater for me, but I have 10 skeins of the stuff so the sky's the limit on other projects. Not sure what, yet, but for about $10.00 all this can stew in my stash for awhile. :::Grin:::

Now - to leave you on an upnote for the weekend, I must tell you about the smashing time I had at Robbyn's Knitting Chatter last night! It was the second Thursday that her chat room's been open and I must tell you it was a blast! So much fun to talk to other knitters in real time and meet new friends! Robbyn is a lovely "hostess with the mostest" and we all talked a mile a minute. So mark your calendars, bookmark her site (the chatroom entry link is on her left sidebar) and drop on by next Thursday - I'll definitely be there with bells on and hopefully will be able to stay longer than the hour I chatted last night.

Thanks again, Robbyn! You really had a winning idea - it's wonderful of you to supply this opportunity!

Have a great weekend everyone - I think I'll try & sleep as much as possible Saturday, so see ya Sunday!

Incandescently Perfect Days

Yesterday was as close to perfect as it can get.

It was gray and cold with just a few snow flurries in the morning - "gray" is my favorite kind of weather, although I do prefer rain to snow. :) The boys were in school, DH was at work, I had nowhere I "had" to go, so I stayed home & puttered. I watched "Amazing Race" on tape, I knit, I did some work on my family genealogy, I crocheted, I downloaded "The Essential Chieftains" and listened to it with a big smile on my face. I made a crock pot full of corned beef & cabbage for dinner and, in general, felt very pleased with myself.

I think what really made it "perfect", though, was the fact that I didn't have any nagging worries. Nothing on my mind that I needed to stew about, nothing I could obsess over. Believe me, those days are few & far between 'cause I've raised obsession to an art form. :::Grin:::

I'm hoping I'll have one more "perfect" day today. :::knock wood:::: It won't be a gray day, but I'll have to make do. :::wink:::

Tomorrow I'll be subbing for Dylan's gifted teacher & then tomorrow night the girls come back through on their way home from Arizona. By the way - tomorrow night is also the newest incarnation of Dr. Who on the Sci Fi channel. We watched the premiere last Friday and we love it! I was a big fan of the original BBC series (shall we discuss our favorite Doctors?) and was skeptical about this one, but I've been won over. The best thing is that Dylan is now a fan - I love being able to share my old favs with my kids & have them enjoy them as much as I did/do. :)

Now - just when you thought I'd have no fibery stuff to share......I've decided I really need to buckle down & work on "Cables & Lace:"

You can't see it, but I've just decreased for the armholes. I don't know why I haven't been working on this more - I know I'll love it when it's complete. I seem to have the same mental block I had with "Rosamunde" all those months ago. That was another allover lace project that seemed to drag on forever. Hmmmm...there's something psychological in all this, I know it! :::wink:::

Here's my Rebecca top, almost to the armhole decreases:

This, as I've said before, is my TV knitting - I always need something super simple going so I don't need to watch my hands!

I crocheted yesterday too:

Once again, I'm loving the fabric I'm getting with the TLC Cotton. I think this will make a wonderful, basic black cardi which, believe it or not, I don't have. :)

Wish me luck with my "perfect days"....'cause (cue theme music from "Jaws")....

.....spring break is next week! Aaaaargh!!!!

Third Time's The Charm

Here is that black TLC Cotton in it's third and (I hope!) final incarnation:

My modifications to "Flutter Sleeve Top" just weren't working out plus the fact that the bust was ending up to be about 50" around. Hmmm...guess I didn't adjust quite enough for the change in yarn size, you think? :::wink::: Because this Wavy Cardi was on my mind, rather than rip & re-do Flutter Sleeve, I just started something new. Hey - crocheter's perogative, right? :::grin::: So far this is going great - whew!

Here's another book to talk about - I know I've seen it on quite a few blogs. Amazon delivered it a couple of weeks ago and although I haven't tried any of the patterns yet, I do like it.

Here are some of the highlights for me:

I can't wait for someone to have a baby. In fact, I may not wait & just knit this up to have on hand! Toooooo cute. Steph just made on in orange - love it!

"Accessory bags" - a nice add-on gift at any time.

There are lots of hat patterns. Above you see crochet, and here is a simple cable knit:

Baby hats are also included, and with Dulaan always at the back of my mind, I see lots of possibilites here.

I thought of Robbyn when I saw these little sachets - she is so talented in making dainty little bags/sachets/creations using different yarns & stitch patterns. :)

There isn't a lot of crochet in here - something that probably won't bother knitters, but would frustrate crocheters. As Jillian said in her review a couple of weeks ago, when it says "knit & crochet" in the title, most people would kind of expect if not an equal number of patterns, at least a sizeable showing of crochet! I wouldn't recommend this book if you only crochet, but for those who do both or knitters only, I believe it's a good buy.

All in all, there's probably nothing in here that you couldn't find elsewhere through diligent searching, but heck - who wants to search? And who wants to have 10 or more expensive books on your shelf with a few patterns each when you can have them consolidated into one?

I have a huge bag of oddballs and this is just the thing to put a dent in that portion of my stash. :)

No Knitting Yesterday

...due to visitor preparations, however I did watch this when I really should've been cleaning:

Jane Austen never gets old, no matter which movie adaptation you're viewing.