Last day

I can't believe it's the last day of November!  It went by really fast.

With house guests, illness and babysitting, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, and the beginning of December means the beginning of holiday crafting.  As I said, I'd like to weave a few scarves - I have a lot of yarn that would work, and weaving would give it a good home.  I've also worked up a slipper pattern that's quick (I finished a pair in two days) and simple (a toe up sock with the instep bound off), so I could always make up a few pairs of those for gift giving.

Unfortunately, I am still sick, and I seem to be getting worse.  A day or two of rest should mend things, but I'm not sure when I'll get that :)

I'd love to be at home with some hot cocoa or tea and a warm blanket...

Warp speed

I can't wait to get home and warp!

What do I have?

Some kind of something - super sore throat every morning.  Who knows!

My mil loved the owl cowl, so I feel good about that.  She also gave me the warping pegs and other heddle block for the loom, so now I have two sets of heddle blocks and the ability to wind a warp without running it around chairs :)  I really want to try a few scarves, really I do!

I also am almost done with a pair of slippers I made using Noro Silk Garden that I've had in stash forever.  Scratchy on the hands, but okay on the feet, and I hope the mohair will make it wear well.

Back to football!

Just a few hours

Until the big family Thanksgiving gathering with DP's family!  Should be interesting:  several of his cousins are pregnant, though I don't know if any of them are coming.

This also means we'll have another bunch of houseguests :) 

Tale of two yarns

I have some Tosh Vintage that I'm trying to figure out what to do with - a cowl for my brother?

I also have another miscellaneous worsted that's a little thicker than the Tosh, but it's a bit scratchier, so I'm not sure I could make a cowl or scarf out of it.

Finished!

I finished the cowl!  My seaming is a little crummy, but it's done, and that's the chief thing.

Almost there!

I'm at 23 inches into the cowl!  I need to finish it by Friday, so I think this is good progress.  I picked out the buttons for eyes, and DP weighed in on his favorites, but I'm putting off sewing them on until I finish the knitting.  It will give me something to look forward to :)

Sock yarn cowl?

Would STR heavyweight make a good cowl, or would it not be soft enough?  I have that skein of meet brown, joe, and I have a cowl pattern, but I'm just not sure that it will feel warm since it's so tightly spun.

I also am not sure that it's really a worsted weight - it seems mighty thin.

Inching along

I'm 14 inches into the cowl, which needs to be about 25 to 27 inches.  I take frequent breaks because seed is so boring for me.

As a reward, I might make something fun next...maybe a pair of slippers, or another pair of socks, or one of those cowls from the Knitspot club.  I have some Tosh Vintage that I want to use, so maybe if I make the smallest version in a bigger yarn it will be okay. 

The first pattern is buttoned, but I may try to engineer it to be seamed.  I'm always afraid of buttons by my hair.

I also would like to get my cowl pattern up, but I don't know where I put the picture of the cowl that I took!  I've been using it every day at the bus stop, and it actually works.  Unfortunately, I'm allergic to the yarn, but right now I don't have anything else to go in its place.  I love the color, so maybe that's why I'm still wearing it :)

My mom is coming over today to stay with us through Friday - it will be easier than trying to transport a bunch of food to our house on Wednesday.  However, this means that the whole week will be a houseguest week, and next week we'll have DP's family over, so that will be another houseguest week as well.  Eek!

It came!

DP's Kindle Fire came today! I was a bit bummed because it didn't come with the special gift message, but oh well. He likes it well enough, especially for what he's planning to use it for, but it does have some issues. If you put documents in the cloud, you can't access them. Only things you bought from Amazon are accessible. Lame!

I got to play with it when he took a nap...it's pretty neat. Ravelry looks great, and the colors are amazing. Since we have Prime, I watched a bit of Soylet Green (for free). Awesome.

I'm working on that seed stitch cowl for DP's mom, but it's going slow. I love what seed stitch looks like, I just don't like stitching it :)

I dowloaded the latest Fall in Full Color patter from Knitspot, and it's great. It's actually two patterns, cowls, and they look perfect for gift giving or self making. I'm debating whether or not to join the club for next season - Bare Naked, I think it is. The club with the yarn is just way too expensive unless I don't buy any other yarn for the year, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying without the yarn. We'll see.

Fun fact

Knitting with 4 strands of splitty dk is somewhat problematic on Denise needles :)

It didn't work

I decided to spin thin and triple ply, but the yarn is really only a heavy worsted, or maybe a bulky. Certainly not super bulky.

Soooo...I'm going to try to knit with 4 strands held together and see what happens. It means I'll be making this cowl in beige instead of cappuccino, but beggars can't be choosers!

Spinning

The eternal question - is it better to spin a thinner singles and triple ply for thickness, or to try to spin a bulky weight that ends up thick and thin?

And another thing

DP called me to tell me that his mom needs me to knit a cowl for her to give to someone :) The only problem is that it calls for super bulky and I don't have anything that big. Sooo...I need to spin the yarn,wash and dry it, then knit it into a seed stitch cowl. Eep!

Yarn for my MIL

My mother in law found Ravelry a couple of days ago, and she is kind of overwhelmed by all the patterns :) She wanted a free pattern for a crochet scarf, and she came up with over 2000 to choose from!

Besides that, her stash is pretty low, so DP and I will be raiding my stash for some goodies. The only problem is that most of my yarn is fingering weight, and she was planning on using it to make gifts. They'd be nice, but take longer, and she has nine siblings to craft for. I also need to check if she has a ball winder; it would suck to have tons of yarn but have to wind it all by hand (witness the reason I bought a ball winder four years ago).

I'm going to see if she wants any of my cotton yarn. I just don't knit with it enough to make it worthwhile.

Some of my yarn is also a bit...natural...so it would be better for gloves or mittens than for hats or cowls.

Off to stash dive!

Despite the allergies

Every day brings us closer to getting our cat! We found a cat that I am less allergic to, and we'll be picking her up after Christmas. It's very exciting, but kind of scary - another creature to care for.

We have to confab with my sister on what accouterments we'll need for the kitten; my sister is my resident cat expert. DP was talking about how excited he was about the cat yesterday - a good sign.

Still on that kick

I'm totally on a sewing kick. I bought more Moda Prairie Cloth to make napkins and a quilted table runner that's a combo of a runner and a hot pad - no need for unsightly trivets :) It's another pattern of - you guessed it - the Purl Bee. I just need some batting, and I'll be ready to go. I used my last batt to make a baby quilt for my cousin.

I also talked to my sister about my stocking idea for the twins: make blank stockings and let my niece decorate them with fabric markers and quilting scraps. She could even make one for herself if she wanted (I made her one when she was a baby).

I'm still getting over whatever sickness I have...I'm really congested and it's hard for me to breathe except sitting straight up. I'm drinking a lot of tea and hoping for the best.

We also upgraded our internet and phone and got U-verse yesterday. As they say, I've become the very thing I most abhorred :) I'll be able to watch more sports, which is a bonus, and visiting relatives will no longer complain about having to watch PBS.

Holiday knitting

Christmas is coming quickly, and while I can't stand the fact that stores have Christmas stuff out already, it does remind me to get stuff made up sooner rather than later. It's too bad that scarves take so much time, because I know several people who'd love them this year.

I may end up crocheting a few things too, since I crochet much faster than I knit. I also need to spin up those yarns I keep talking about, and warp the loom.

Hooray for cold weather!

Nakpins, cont.

I made the 8 napkins, realizing as I was cutting the fabric that if I had gotten a 1/4 of a yard more, I could have made 2 more napkins. Irritating! I may sew the scraps into a couple more napkins, since I'll have more than 8 people at Thanksgiving. I only wish Joann Fabrics actually had something besides polyester and cotton in stock!

I would really like some Indian food right now, I'm not sure why.

The snow we had was just beautiful! I could not believe it when I looked outside. It's the kind of snow that melts quickly, but it was so nice to see.

Napkins and spinning

Using a tip from another person who made the Purlbee napkins, my plan is to cut them out, sew, and then wash them. Supposedly it makes fringing easier.

I'm spinning up the wheel of the seasons braid into what I hope will be a two ply. I'd like to make some fingerless gloves with it, but we'll see.

I'm also going to spin up some bulky yarn for more cowls. I discovered that the cowl I made, though itchy, is actually worthwhile, so I need to concoct a few more.

I hate being sick

I don't know what I have, but it's not good. Fever, runny nose, cough. Ugh.

Thankfully, I'm able to stay home from work today and get some rest. I think I'll break out the chicken soup!

Napkins

After seeing these napkins on the Purl blog, I couldn't resist. I got the fabric in, and I just need to wash, cut and sew. I should have new napkins by Thanksgiving. Hooray!

Scarf-ish

So, based on a pattern I saw and then couldn't find again, I'm making a scarf. But not just any scarf; you make a colorwork cuff, and at the end of the cuff, you start knitting back and forth flat. Keep knitting until the yarn runs out, and then wrap it around your neck and tuck the end of the scarf into the tube to keep it in place! I'm very excited to see how this thing works.

Baby socks

When my sister asked for some baby socks, I figured I could bust out a few pairs in no time flat. Dead wrong. I've only finished one sock since last week!

My latest scheme is baby tube socks (no heel) made in traveling rib. Hopefully this will help me get the dang things done.

Decisions

I need a good traveling project - should I pick something with lots of stockinette (boring but safe) or something with lots of shaping (interesting but possibly trouble)?

I also may need to clean the entire house if DP ends up having a business meeting here. Eek!

I got the latest wheel of the seasons shipment, a braid of BFL in beautiful autumn colors. I really want to make it into a pair of fingerless gauntlets for me, but who knows if I'll get around to it.

I also got the Webs catalog...ideas, ideas!

Hooray!

One day closer to the opera! I can hardly wait - mom and DP are going to the opera with me.

Nothing much on the spinning front. The replied merino/bamboo is finally dry; a cool house means a looong wait for anything to dry. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. Maybe a scarf for my sister or sister in law.

I'd also like to weave something, now that I got the replacement heddle blocks for my loom. I don't have any warping pegs, but I could figure something out. All the sock yarn I'm not making into socks could make some nice scarves.

I also discovered The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell, and I'm halfway through book 5. That's not really that impressive though, since I started on book 4 :) 1-3 have long wait lists at the library, so I didn't even try to check them out. If I end up liking how this ends, I'll get on the list for the others.

A day late, but still

I totally forgot about the blogging challenge for November - blog every single day.  I'm already behind!

It's a rainy day, but that's just the kind I like.  When I was in college, I'd spend rainy afternoons just walking and walking.  I never caught a cold, but I did ruin a couple of pairs of shoes and socks.  Today I'll be stuck inside all day working, and hopefully escape in enough time so I don't miss my bus.

I got my next sheep shares shipment, and I think I'm going to try to spin it into a bulky yarn, two ply probably.  I'd like to make another cowl or two.  I'm really wanting to make an infinity scarf for my sister in law, but I can't decide on a pattern.  There are several that look super boring, but I might try one of those so I can knit and watch sports at the same time...we'll see.

I'm not sure what, if anything, I'll make for my brothers.  Maybe fingerless gloves, but what to make for a brother in Texas?  A mosquito net - or scorpion net?

I'm really wondering what the next wheel of the seasons shipment will be.  I couldn't really get into the September silk hankies, because I really just hated the colors.  I think I'll try to do something with them eventually, but I'm not sure what.