Woodsmokes FROGGED

P1000336
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter

So I frogged these last night. I had gotten 12 rows into the first repeat and decided, with Molly's help, that the pattern was getting lost in the tweedy color mix of the yarn. I have ordered some solid color sock yarn and will try again because I love this pattern.

That little scarf

That little scarf
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter

Ann Hanson is amazing! This pattern is so fun and different.
http://knitspot.com/
http://www.knitspot.com/knitting_pattern/that-little-scarf-p-76.html

p2tog tbl is challenging but p3tog tbl not for the faint of heart

So That Little Scarf calls for a new stitch (to me) that I had to research before attempting. It is the p2tog tbl and upon attempting it I did feel like I was all thumbs. I found an explanation on the website Knitting on the Net here. So I mastered p2tog tbl but then to my shock a row or two later the pattern indicated to p3tog tbl. Yowza this stitch really took some patients. Now I only dread the one row with the p3tog tbl because the p2tog tbl isn't so bad. :-)

Fiddlehead

Every time I make a purchase at The Yarn Shop I pick up some Mission Falls 1824. Normally it is enough to make my purchase qualify for the next punch on the Pink Card which when the card is full I will get $25 bucks of free stuff. Woot! Love free stuff. What am I going to do with all that wonderfully soft superwash wool you are thinking?


Why I am going to make a Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason-Nixon Knitting for our bedroom. Heck I may just make two.

So here is my finished Fiddlehead.....


Got to love Sunday morning crazy hair!

This is a picture of That Little Scarf after knitting 3 repeats.....


The black yarn makes it challenging to capture the stitch definition but this picture is the best of the bunch I took.

Don't Blink.....

It's hard for me to believe it is the 24th of January already.....

Monday night I came down with an intestinal crud that kept me out of commission until yesterday and there was even a trip to urgent care tossed in for good measure. Thursday Jimmy came down with it too. See Mom I can share!

While sick I didn't feel like knitting much but I did manage to knit some of the flowers for Molly's flower knitting project.

Yes Poo we see you!

Speaking of Poo here is an update... He is doing much better. Jimmy took him for his first glucose check last weekend and his levels were down almost 300 from before treatment. He will go in again next weekend for another test.

Today I blocked my finished Fiddlehead scarf.


I also cast-on and knit the first 3 repeats for That Little Scarf.


Kiki is just as crazy as ever. We have recently noticed she likes to lick plastic bags. My cousin in New York emailed me today to tell me she caught her cat licking a plastic bag and thought of Kiki. Is there anyone else out there with a cat that licks plastic bags?


I recently picked up some knitting porn. First, is Knitted Lace by Nancy Bush.


Second, is Knitter's magazine where I found this pattern of a kitty blanket and pillow. It almost has me wanting to try color work. IF I do decide to tackle this thing I will have to modify some of the blocks. I am not really digging the ET looking blocks.




I think I have found my next big lace project to knit. It is Large Rectangle in Leaf and Trellis pattern from Victorian Lace Today. I have over 3,500 yards of a brown/rust color lace weight yarn I think might be perfect for this project.

Knitting Get-Away

Some friends and I are heading to the woods this weekend to "rough it" for a knitting get-away. Considering it is -10 degrees this morning I am very happy there is a warm fireplace inside our cabin. This is the cabin we are staying in.

I managed to "blow" my back out mid week. It feels a little better today after applying heat all day yesterday and taking some meds to help with the pain. Since we knew early in the week that it was going to be record cold this weekend I decided I needed a warm hat. I am not a hat person. I have a ton of hair and have never really had a need for a hat before but I feel the need to have one now. Here is a top down hat I knit up for me. I used some of the left over Hempwool and some Harmony wool double stranded. The Hempwool matches the Clapotis I made recently. I have enough to make some fingerless mitts too so that I will have a full set of matching warmies.


4 more days until we the people take our country back!

Woodsmoke Cuffs Growing

So the cuffs of my two at a time on two circulars are growing. I am getting closer to the two inches needed so that I can start the pattern repeats.

My head is spinning because I just found a few giraffe goodies! First there is Mybootee Knits Giraffe Pattern.

How cute is that guy?

Next up is another knitter who loves giraffes too. Meet Knitting Giraffe.

Oh stay tuned for a blog contest in the near future. I have some goodies I intend to give away!

Lace Giraffe

Heather is a wonderful enabler. She had a copy of Victorian Lace Today with her over the weekend. Amazon.com is a wonderful thing because a copy was ordered for me on Saturday and it arrived today!


Flipping through and reading the first few pages I found this! OMG I realize this is an example photo in the book of Victorian lace but I have to somehow learn enough about creating lace to recreate this pattern. I have to have that knitted lace giraffe!

Ice and Rain!

This weekend's weather included lots of icy rain. That lead to a full day of movies and knitting. Heather came over early in the day and by the time evening rolled around the roads had refrozen so she decided to crash in our guest room for the night. She brought lots of her hand spun fiber with her for us to fondle. Jimmy even got into checking it out. Here are some pictures of fondle and tell.




Jimmy needs hats so I knit him this one over yesterday and today. It is wicked warm! It was my first top down hat and it worked out perfectly. He wants six more in various colors.

Will that mess really be socks?

This beauty is my first flower for Molly's Knitted Flower Project. I had much better luck with it over the first attempt. I am not sure if it was my being tired or the pattern needing tweaked or a combination of both. I had emailed Molly to see if the flower should be closer to resembling a Madonna bra cup rather than a flower. Anyway this one is much better. If you have a few minutes to spare check out her project and support her research.

My Susie Hoodie is coming along. I finally reached a point where the sleeves joined the body. Wont be long before the birth of the hood.



This project has me a little scared. Learning to knit these using the two circular needle method. I have knit socks using dpns and one really long needle (magic loop i guess is the formal name). I want to determine what method I prefer as my method of choice. So far the two circular method is really kicking my butt but I have only gotten through round three so I really can’t judge just yet. They will be Woodsmoke Sock by Anne Hanson in the Knit Picks Essential Dunn Twist colorway. Looks like a big messy pile of needles and yarn if you ask me.....

I can't wait for morning....

because my tea wont be cold.

Cold Tea Sux

I am sick and tired of my tea pot getting cold to fast so I am knitting this up today.....

It is the Brick-Stitch Tea Cozy by Sandi Rosner from the Holiday Gifts 2008 Interweave Knits. I am knitting it in the suggested Missions Falls yarn.

Poo is doing well. He just received hiss third Insulin shot. He seems a bit more peppy today. :-)

Insulin Shots

I have to really give kudos to Poo's Vet. She really did try many different things to keep Poo off Insulin shots. Altering his steroid dosing and altering his food but in the end it all wasn't enough. Today Poo began Insulin shots. We did have a little good news today at the vet while learning to administer his shots and that is he gained a few ounces. He has lost almost 7 pounds since his highest weight. Other good news is he is still bouncing around the house and playing with his milk jug rings. We hope he continues to do well because we really love that little kitty cat!

Here is a picture of Kiki and Poo taken a few minutes ago. They are glowing!