I read somewhere that you can finish this Stitch Diva pattern in 2-3 hours, non-stop. I finished mine within one day with constant interruptions. I had to stop every so often. The triple trebles are really hard on the wrist--4 yo's.

The poncho is close fitting with only one increase and looks really classy when worn.

This is my latest project, a crocheted flower poncho from the Stitch Diva Studios. This is her actual picture in her Ebay Store where I bought the pattern from, transported via email in pdf format. Immediate gratification. Love that!

I love to knit socks but sometimes, knitting them with those itty bitty, teeny weeny needles using super skinny yarns drives me crazy. One crazy afternoon, I grabbed my size 5 bamboo dpns, gathered my leftover stash, and knitted this pair.

One strand of Millenweit variegated (non striping)sock yarn and one strand of ecru Kroy 3 ply, knitted together, cast on 40, short cuff, short row heel and the result: one sock finished in 2 hours (a little less). Got so excited, forgot that I suffer from SSS (single sock syndrome), I cast on for the next one. One pair in one day, including interruptions. wooo hooo!!!

The following day (can you tell I'm obssessed?), I finished this other one:

There's lots of ends to weave on this one and I decided not to hide them, so I created a fringe running down the side of the cuff. Unlike the first one, there are five different sock yarn combinations on this sock. Hey, at this rate, I should use up my stash in no time. More excuse to buy more.

Lost Points Shawl from Soysilk.com

This was the design I knitted for them using Melody (ladder yarn in multi color) and Bamboo (solid purple). I enjoyed knitting the Bamboo, slick, nice drape and has a sheen to it.

However, I'm not a fan of ladder yarns and won't knit with it again--lol!

The pattern is rather unique. A long rectangular stole with the 3 points at each end. Beautiful for formal wear.

Here's a close up:

Oooh, ooooh, almost forgot. I watched Omarosa on The Tonight Show last night and the phrase that keeps popping in my head was "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Jay Leno kept telling her, "But you lied!"

She kept dancing around the issue. I thought she was pretty slick. She also called herself a Diva and refused the "b**ch" word. Emphasized that she's a businesswoman. If I had to do business with her, I'd be running the other way, as fast as I can. I still marvel at myself for being fascinated enough to stay up late to watch her.

Two Shawls

Charlotte's Web shawl (unblocked), a Koigu pattern.
But I didn't use Koigu! I used some variegated sock yarn that I had in my stash. The dark blackish border is some leftover Opal sock yarn. I used a total of 3.5 skeins. Imagine how much money I saved by NOT using Koigu?


Crocheted shawl, from a McCalls library booklet.
I used wool/alpaca blend yarn I won on Ebay. You can't see it but I added beads on the edges.

Both shawls were finished months ago. Just now had a chance to take pics.

New England Socks

It took me a while but I finally finished my New England socks. It was truly enjoyable to knit, not easy to memorize, but still fun. I always had to refer to my charts when knitting the lacy diamond design on the top of the leg and foot. It was also relly tricky reducing the number of cast on stitches. I have skinny feet.

Speaking of lace, our Crochet guild had a field trip yesterday to Lacis in Berkeley (1 hour's drive from Sac). Wonderful store with every imaginable knitting books ever published, some OOP. Crochet, bobbin lace, tatting, embroidery, tons of needles, hooks, looms, amazing buttons, ribbons, lace, fabrics, and even a bridal area.

I snagged their last copy of Sharon Miller's Heirloom Knitting, currently OOP I think. I have been coveting this book, a wonderful resource for Shetland lace knitting.

What I got for Mothers' Day

Went to Dixon Mayfair and visited the Shear Diversity tent and this is what I found. Lovely yarn and pattern from HandJiveKnits.com. Darlene hand dyes her own yarn using natural dyes. This lovely pink/fuschia yarn (so similar to Koigu) will be used for another pattern. The Clouds pattern in the background just caught my eye.


Then, we headed to Rumpelstiltskin in Sacramento and went home with this bunch. 2 skeins of Sockotta sock yarn (can't get enough cotton this time of year), 4 balls of Sugar and Cream yarn for my Fiona bag Knit Along, Addi Turbo circs, 40", size 0 (love the Magic Loop technique), and 2 bottles of acid and cotton dyes.

This should keep me out of trouble (for a few days at least).

The mini poncho from the Knit Stitch book. The yarn is my own handspun, a blend of turquoise wool, black wool, and white mohair. Knitted in the round, from the bottom up. Fast and easy.

Crochet night.

Looking forward to our monthly Crochet Guild meeting tonight. Once a month, I have 2 wonderful hours of uninterrupted crocheting and hanging out with the ladies of the guild. We will be doing a workshop on Irish crochet.

My New England socks (from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road book) is finally completed, washed and blocked. Okay, so far, I've completed 2 Knit Along projects: The Broadripple and New England socks. I also joined the Six Sox KAL, the Fiona Bag KAL, and the 63 Squares Afghan Crochet Along. Maximum of 4 KALs (I hope). Am I addicted to KALs too?

Everytime I check out Julie's (Yarngirl) crocheted squares, I get motivated to work on mine. Like I tell her all the time, her stitches are so even, close to perfection. Her blog is here.

As a pattern tester, I'm also finishing a knitted shawl for Soysilk.com. Interesting pattern called Lost Points Shawl. But I hate the ladder yarn I'm using. My first time working with this kind of yarn and I hate it with a passion. But the colors are beautiful. I will post pics soon.

New Project!

I've started a new one called Wildflower Cardigan from the Green Mountain Spinnery book. I'm using Noro Shinano (wool/silk blend) from bonnieskozyknits on Ebay. Good price, good deal at $49 for a bag of ten skeins! I've finished both fronts and now, halfway up the back. I love working with Noro yarns, with all the changing colors and soft feel to the wool. I'll probably finish this one fast.

Here's another view:


Survivors

Spent 3 hours last night watching that show. I don't care much for the winners (they deserve each other) and still believe Rupert should have won. But he still has a chance. Go to cbs.com and vote. Another survivor can win $1 million. Rupert's the only one who has integrity and a big heart. I won't talk about lying, back stabbing Boston Rob because it's hard to stop when I get started--lol!

To those of you who haven't been to her website yet, Denisecrochets.com is a wonderful source of free patterns, from squares to toys to doilies galore.

Her latest freebie is a Peacock square, here.

I finished my red Fixation Broadripple socks! wooo hoooo! Another FO! Hardly made a dent in my unfinished projects though but I'm happy. The socks look pink but they really are bright red. Must be the way the early morning sun hits the room. I took the pics at 7:30 am. This part of the house has big bay windows and faces East. I love sitting in this room with a cup of coffee, at dawn , with my knitting, watching the sun rise above the roof tops. This is one of those times I wish I lived in a farm or ranch surrounded by hills and trees, watching my sheep grazing on the hillside. Okay, like EZ would say, I digress.

80% done on my New England socks. I'll get it finished before my next pattern testing project from Soysilk comes.


Finished 2 more squares of the 63 squares afghan, for a total of 11 squares. So much fun!

Crocheted coin purse.


I used 2 strands of sport weight rayon chenille on cones (languishing in my stash for years) in the lovely kiwi color that is so in right now. Size F hook creates a tight fabric. No lining.

I worked around a 4" zipper given to me by Daphne from Malaysia. Can't find a 4" zipper at Walmart.

Ch 18 (about the same length as the zipper), sc in the 2nd ch from hook and all remaining chains. 3 sc in the last ch.

You will now be working on the unused loops of your foundation ch. Sc in each loop until the very last ch. 2 sc in the last ch.

Continue working in the round (no need to slip stitch to join) until you've built up the sides of the purse. I made mine a 4" square.

Before you cut the yarn, make a loopy strap by chaining 30 sts and join to form a strap.

Sew on the zipper by hand. Tricky but can be done.

Back from Monterey

We had a wonderful time in Monterey. Will write about it in a later blog.

Before we left, I had a chance to download the new E-book at Needletrax.com, compiled by Mary Moran. It's free and the designs look beautiful. It's uncanny because one of the designs, Clover Rib, is so similar to Mary McCall's Cloverleaf socks, a design I just tested. The lace pattern was adapted from Barbara Walker's Knitting Treasury. There is no way that both designers could have known that either one is designing similar socks. I got Mary's pattern several weeks before the E-book came out.

The good news, Mary, is that even though the lace pattern is similar, the schematic and techniques used were different. It only proves my point that great minds think alike!!