My Favorite Things

Two more projects I've finished. These are 2 of my favorite things to do: a crocheted purse and lace socks.

This design is from Maggiescrochet.com. I changed the color combination, some stitches, and the way the handles were attached to the body of the purse. I used J&P Coats crochet nylon thread.


Below is a lace sock using Durasport sock yarn from Briggs and Little. I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn. The design is from Socks (3X) book by XRX pub.

Classmates

I found my high school classmates (or they found me?) and we've started a group in Yahoo.I have been so busy e-mailing them back and forth that I haven't had a chance to blog or read blogs. But no fail, I zoom in on Yarn girl's and Vera's, Yarn Tomato's, Marlo's, Cat's, Susan's, Chicknits and Keyboard Biologist's blogsites. I find myself reading more crochet blogs nowadays.

I've also dyed more rovings and yarns. I love experimenting with hand dyeing or kettle dyeing. I save those little plastic bottle applicators that hair dyes come in. Those are perfect for applying colors. I just have to remember to put on gloves.

I'm also pattern testing another sock pattern for Mary McCall. She's a genius at making charts! And finishing up some socks I have lying around. No matter what, I go back to socks. I can't make myself go back to the Sheep Shawl project that is almost finished. Just do the borders, Vicki, and you're done!

Was it Susan who was talking about a Poncho-Along? Well, I started one, from the Straw.com site, using my own small skeins of handspun wool. We'll see how it turns out. Just too lazy to take pictures.

Experiments in Dyeing

Tequila Sunrise roving



Violets in bloom



Tie-dyed Rhapsody



Durasport sock yarn

Amazingly, I had fun handpainting these rovings and yarns. I like knitting with that Durasport sock yarn! It's spun by Briggs and Little, single ply, wool and nylon blend. They're the makers of Tuffy and Heritage yarns. Very affordable.

You have to check out these crocheted sandals at the Gotta Make Something blogsite. It is so cute! It's a freebie and requires Adobe Reader. Do check it out.

I have been busy dyeing some yarns and rovings which I'm going to sell in my Ebay store. My fingers have turned black. And I used Latex gloves. Must be the fact that I keep taking them off--lol!

Pictures to follow.

Tribute to a Great Man

I cried my eyes out last night watching President Ronald Reagan's funeral. It's so heartwarming to see how he was loved and to know that Nancy will miss him terribly.

In 1982, my family and I came here to the US as immigrants. Ronald Reagan was in office then. I was totally amazed at how different it was here, us coming from a country that was under Martial Law, under the dictatorship of one man. Soon after we left our beloved country, the Marcos regime crumbled. President Reagan was the first US president I knew. Five years later, we were naturalized US Citizens. I value that gift, I value the democracy that this country offers, and I value the privileges that most people craved, that this country gifted us. Here's to a great man! Thank you, Mr. Reagan!

Okay (wiping off tears), on a knitting note:
Here's sock #1 of my Cloverleaf socks, part of the Six Sox Knitalong.


And here's another sock I just finished, from Handjiveknits.com


The yarn used is the same Nature's Palette yarn I got from her, color is Owl's Clover. Very pretty color.

I am so NOT good at scanning pictures either. Just as terrible with digital cameras.

Flower Mini poncho from Stitch Diva Designs

Aside from the obvious fact that I don't know how to center my digital pictures, here's a pic of my Flower mini poncho. Very enjoyable to crochet inspite of my reservations on doing triple trebles. And very quick to finish. Of course I made some changes to suit my fancy. The yarn used is a peachy blend of acrylic and wool from Bernat. It is a discontinued yarn and I doubled the strands to meet the chunky requirements of the pattern. It drapes well and even with the holeyness of the fabric, it can keep you warm and cosy on chilly summer evenings. I think I will take a better picture later, with my daughter modelling it.

BTW, Vera has started a Crochet-along for this pattern. Of course I joined since I plan on doing another one. I got the pattern on Ebay under username "Stitch_diva".

I can't believe I've finished 2 of my sock knitting UFOs. These socks were started 2 years ago. Inbelievable!

Oh my! After reading Rachel G's comment on my blog, I got nosy and went to her website. What a Treasure Trove of free Crochet patterns! Why have I not seen it before?? Visit Crochet Pattern Central and go crazy. Big problem- I don't know which one to click on.

Check out the Midnight Knitter website for lots of free crochet and knit patterns. They're way too cute!

I finally got to watch THE LORD OF THE RINGS #3 on DVD. This is so far the best of the 3. Everytime I watch this trilogy, I always fall in love with Legolas, the elf of Greenleaf. But, this time, the one memorable character who stood out is Eowyn, the blonde niece of the old King. Very courageous yet feminine. A woman after my own heart. She didn't have to fight but she did, just to be with the people she loves. And she killed the one nemesis who cannot be killed by any man. Her words: "I am no man!" She would have made Aragorn a great queen. But it wasn't meant to be. Aragorn's love is Arwen.

Oh yes, I've done some knitting and crocheting and spinning too. But that's for later.

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!