B.I.P.

I am going to try hard to finish this before next Tuesday, so that I don't have to have another post about a bag-in-progress!

It'll look better when it's blocked.













I don't have a project planned for my next knit ... I am toying with the idea of getting out some thick Merino handspun and poking around the pattern books. I've lately been in a mood to fiddle around with some of my handspun.

 Not sure how much of this I have, but I think I could make a small shawl. Problem is, I spun it veeerrrryyyy loosely, so I wouldn't be able to block it ... unless I run it through the spinning wheel again.

It's my damn scratching mat, make him get off!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

It's in the Bag

I started making this Montavilla Market Tote a while back, but then got sidetracked by a bunting and a shawl.

I love re-usable bags ... they come in handy for so many things. Shopping, carrying the sixty pieces of fruit I eat every day, knitting projects, books ...

The pattern for this is very easy ... but you have to keep your eye on it. I've pulled it back twice now. It's impossible for me to just frog and fix, because this bag is 50% yarn-overs. It's very hard for me to figure out how to un-knit and fix a frogover. Or something like that.








I am going to try to stick to JUST ONE project at a time. Wish me luck.

Today's post brought to you by Grouchy Spot under the bleeding heart bush. Meow. 

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

On Pins and Needles

And wires, of course.

This Gail Nightsongs:

Is now this:

It's not like the photos of the other projects, but I think that is mostly because I used laceweight (or fingering?) yarn. Or perhaps the needles (US6) were too large?



In any case it's done, and I shall wear it to work Monday. I'm going to go do some relaxing hexipuffs, now.



Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Finished Object Friday!

So....Close....

Almost there .... Straining to the finish line ...

My fourth attempt (or third, I've forgotten) at Gail Nightsongs shawl, a pattern that I have struggled mightily with, and roughly 3,000 people have successfully completed. I didn't look to see how many of the 3,300+ projects were WIPs and how many were FOs, but it's enough to know so many people breezed right through this challenging pattern! It kicked my rear. But you know what made it make sense?

Stitch markers.

Lots and lots of stitch markers.


You aren't even seeing all of them here; several of them are dark blue and blend right in.

Every pattern repeat adds four leaves; so every repeat, which is 15 rows or so, adds four stitch markers.

See the leaf?

Blocking this thing is going to suck be wonderfully challenging!

I hope to have it blocked in time for FO Friday, and then I will turn my attention to hexipuffs. Nice, calming, soothing, relaxing, easy, knit-in-the-round, no-purling, hexipuffs.

Relax, already

Bye, Baby Bunting

So glad you're finished! Will be gifting tomorrow.

And to display how my bizarre camera sees purples, here it is in another location, out of the direct light, showing its true color:

It's really big, so what I'm planning on doing is acting as if I meant it to be this way. I'll tell the daddy-to-be that it's a convertible garment -- a bunting for this winter, when the baby will be a few months old, and then she'll be able to wear it as a sweater/car coat until she's about 3. Brilliant!

Now I'm going back to the Shawl-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, and see if I can finish that before the summer starts (it was 45 degrees last night--not even Spring here yet)

Molly Cat likes to watch the TV from behind. Can you all guess what famous 80s action-adventure character that is on the screen? I'll give you a hint: if you can find him, he and his friends will help you.

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work in Progress Wednesday!

Ahhh, Gauge ... My Old Nemesis ...

You win again.

Behold, the largest bunting ever ...

Meant for a 3-month-old. I suspect a 3-year-old could wear it as a dress.

Ahhh, well. I'm sure they'll still love it.

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis on Wednesday, for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

The 40th Annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

It was a fabulous day for it.

I arrived at 0900, and spent about 10 to 15 minutes waiting in the car line on Route 144. I got a pretty good parking place, and the weather was great -- cool and clear, low humidity. The chilliest festival I've attended so far, probably not even 60 degrees! I loved it, but I saw lots of people bundled up.









The sheep were very friendly this year.

And of course, the cutest alpaca I've ever seen!












An amusing way to sell alpaca roving! Please note that it is sugar free .... ;-)

I spent about three hours there. Enough to get a bit singed on the back of my neck, and I walked through every exhibition hall (4) and all the tents. I hit the main exhibition hall twice. It's always just jam-packed at the festival, and the exhibition halls are like sardine cans. When I'm looking for something specific I go into every stall, but this year, I was mindful of how much yarn and roving I already have at home, so I didn't open my wallet much. In fact, I only bought two things:

Some Firestar and a diz. The button is for the 40th anniversary of the festival. And that's all I really felt like getting. Every time I'd admire some yarn or roving, I'd think back to my stash, patiently waiting to be used. Perhaps I'll do the Tour de Fleece this year, and get some of the fluff spun up.

When I parked in the field, I made note of a few landmarks so I wouldn't have trouble finding my car. I drive a VW New Beetle Convertible.  It's yellow with a black roof, and I don't normally have trouble finding it in a parking lot. There are a lot of Beetles out there, but I've only seen a few other that look exactly like mine.

The Boy Scouts are always the parking lot attendants at the festival, and I guess when presented with this chance they couldn't pass it up ... when I got back to the place where I parked my car, this is what I saw:

I'm really glad they did that -- otherwise, I might have seen the other VW somewhere else and thought it was mine!

I had a good time, and I really enjoyed the weather. It was so nice not to be sweaty and hot while walking around. Now I've got to use up as much of my stash as possible so I can actually buy something fun next year!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!