Reblocked

Kind of as a way to prepare for blocking and after talking with Shelia at spinning that I could block it like normal, I soaked my Diamonds and Pearls shawl and then using pins and blocking wires re-blocked.

I didn't get a good fresh pic of me wearing it but here are some new pics:

One of the cool things that Brandon made me for Christmas is a wood lazy kate. I figured out that we'll need to replace the wooden dowels (too fat), thankfully I guess, he has a couple days to get it ready before I need it. The lid was hand carved, can you tell where the scene came from?

We got just a smidge more snow than what is here, why yes that is green stuff growing on the patio, we grow a lot of it in Oregon.

I think I'm ready, are you?

Finished the Diamonds and Pearls shawl this week. I was able to add in six extra rows and still had a bit of the skein left. I tried iron blocking it, but think I'll try spraying it and pinning it to dry. My pictures are with me wearing a burnt orange sweater, not the best for showing off the shawl. I'll try to do better, oh and wear makeup. ;-)

Broke even on the number of books read this year. Using Shelfari (right side bar) it's been keeping track and telling me all year that I was ahead of my pace until this week. I was one short of last years reading of 108 books. Thankfully I had one book left to finish and I was able to get it wrapped up Thursday night. I tried to sneak one more in, but no time! Oh well!

I spent the morning playing on Ravelry. I have tabs organized for the four groups I'm playing with this year in my queue. Thankfully there can be overlap in goals with some of the groups. I couldn't do a tab in my stash for the handspun that I want to get spun this year, but I could number them and that helped bump them into order. The overall plan is to knit from stash. I do need to spend a bit for the spinning.

Okay, here's my wild goal with spinning to be able to enter skeins at Black Sheep Gathering (I actually have to make it to one, hopefully this is the year!), Washington County Fair (have done this but want to fill more categories than I have in the past), Oregon State Fair (new) and Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (new).

I'm going to have to buy some small amounts of fiber to spin for the State Fair. I get to take advantage of a 20% off that Cindy is going to have in her shop for the Seattle to Portland Yarn Crawl coming in a couple weeks.

A new set of print cartridges were picked up so I can print out patterns. A number of gallon sized bags are available. I don't think it will be until Sunday that I'll be able to start getting them all kit up.

So I'll have a year long sock, shawl and fiber club. I'll be working on Christmas gifts with monthly goals, and also trying to knit a cardigan for myself finally.  I shall be flabbergasted if I manage to keep up with all of them and get them done. Fingers crossed!

The day turned out to be bright and sunny and thirty degrees, so we popped Leeloo into her hoody sweater and took the dogs for a walk around Rood Bridge Park. Only half of the park is currently accessible due to winter flooding of the Tualatin River. We get creative and still manage to get a full walk done by doing two loops around the different paths.

Leeloo had managed to squirm out of her harness earlier in the week and chewed on one of the straps. Little brat! So was in need of a new harness. Norbert's is at least eight years old and showed the time when he was younger and nibbled a bit on one of the straps also. A stop in at Petco and trying out different sizes showed that the XS really was the best fit for Leeloo and a S for Norbert. Leeloo also needed a new collar, so a matching one to her harness. She's sassy in red and Norbert with his manly blue. They're all set for the new year walks.

A bug must have gotten in my bonnet because I came home determined to start the new year with everything all cleaned up. So started laundry and then washed dishes. This made it easy to make the Key Lime Pie and get the eggs boiling. Brandon was busy making some cheesy bread, but once he was at a point I could pull him away, I got his help stripping and remaking the bed with fresh clean sheets. More dishes were washed as things were made. William was scooped up by his friends to go to other friends apartment for movies and games for the next couple of days. I'm almost finished with the laundry. It's amazing how you think you've found everything and turn around and there's a batch ready to go.

So Brandon and I are having our first child free New Year celebration. Someone had a Mary Poppins song stuck in his head so I got a copy from the library. There's also The Princess Bride in line. Snacky food for dinner and movie watching. Different from the last few years where we've had William and Luke and played games on the XBox.

The 11 Shawls in 2011 had the new year officially start at the CET time, which meant I could have started my Haruni shawl at 3:01pm (PST). As mentioned above, I was a bit busy. So I'm going to get a few rows started in a few minutes, then wait for midnight to cast on my Orion's socks.

Tomorrow is a drive down to Salem to visit my side of the family - Bridges, Tibbets and Silbernagels for a potluck, game playing and for some of the menfolk - football watching. Cheesy bread, deviled eggs and the key lime pie will go down with us. Monday we're going to take advantage of the kids going back to school and a day off to see a few matinee showings of Tron and Harry Potter.

Good bye 2010. You were a difficult year with losing my sweet Nessa girl. You brightened up with little Leeloo, but left me way behind on my knitting and sewing. Deep cleansing breath and here we come 2011!

I made it!

I didn't accomplish everything that I had hoped, but everyone still got the basics of what I intended. I even managed to get the items that needed to be shipped to Seattle, Sparks and San Mateo off in time to arrive before the great day. A couple of days to spare even. So success!

I shipped off three pairs of Amy March Slippers by Tiny Owls in three sizes to fit 8, 9 and 10 inch feet:

I also finished Brandon's Dragon Pouch. It's for him to wear with his SCA garb. It's loosely based off of the idea of a sporran:

There's enough room in the pouch to hold his cell phone, wallet and keys. I'll have to knit him up one of the Monk's Travel Satchel for extra carry ability at events.

Nephew Cole's birthday is the beginning of the month so knit him some socks and a Gnomey hat. The socks were just a basic k2p2 rib in the Stitchjones Liger colorway.

Cole being held by Grandma Jeanne, sitting next to dad Scott

I had showed the Baby Surprise Jacket that I had made for baby Alyssa. Then I saw all the red hair she was born with and worried that it might clash a bit. Plus we didn't get to see them at Thanksgiving, so she's now nine weeks old and I was crazy enough to decide to do a new one for her. I was going to start with a baby weight fingering yarn, then decided that wasn't going to help me get it done. So went back to Ravelry to look through my stash and found a pretty combination, though it turns out I had enough of the pink to do it all just in that, of purple and pink in the Vanna's Choice yarns. I found three purple buttons in the stash and had it all knit by the time it was time to go over Christmas Eve. Shannon thinks it looks about six month size and Alyssa is currently wearing three so she'll have some growing room in it. I didn't get a picture of her in it, hopefully mom will do that for me.

 Alyssa and daddy Kyle napping Christmas day

Before the buttons were put on. I add to sneak the sewing in while getting dressed. We were running later than Brandon wanted to be there. (We were actually fine on time.) Pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February).

I've received three skeins of pretty yarn as gifts, so it will be nice using those in the future. Two are sock yarns and one is a skein of hand dyed mohair. 

Took the opportunity last night to start a project for me from, the Diamonds and Pearls Shawl that friend Shelia designed. I'm using a pretty red mohair and silk yarn and its knitting up quickly. I was through row 44 out of 79 before bed. I haven't knit any today, yet, but if it gets done today, okay. ;-)  

I've been planning out the knitting for the next year. I hope to be more successful with the Monthly Make Ahead group than I was this year. I still have things in the box (yarns and patterns together), but I did dip in and steal some yarns, so I'll have to check that to see if I still have a workable plan. Also joined the Socks from Stash group. I have more than twelve sock yarns and patterns, so printing out the patterns and putting them in ziplock bags with the yarns is the next step. Then the goal is to do a pair each month for my own sock club. I also realized that I have more than twelve shawls and yarns so joined the 11 Shawls in 2011 group (name changes in January if you check out the link). They're more flexible in their time line. You have all year to get them done. I think they also have some KALs and group contests, so that will be fun to possibly participate in. I'm also going to tackle at least one sweater for myself. I have one planned for mom but I have yet to knit a full sized cardigan for myself. I'm also setting up a goal of spinning a skein a month. This will help decrease the fiber stash and increase the yarn. ;-) Cause I also want to knit more from the handspun stash. The shawl knitting will help with that goal.

I hope you were able to make your holiday knitting goals too! Have you set any for the new year? Trying out a new stitch pattern? Knitting a pair of socks or shawl for the first time? Doing a sock or shawl club?  Or am I the only crazy knitter out here? ;-)