Crafty Girly

Relisting Time!

Be on the look out, I am relisting items that have not sold and really need a new home.  Things like Girasol and Falling Tears which are completely gorgeous and if they don't leave soon, I will end up turning them into something. 

I'm making progress!

I'm finally making progress on what I have coined my "Never-Ending Shawl", otherwise known as the Frost Flowers and Leaves Shawl. I am working on the border now, which also seems to be never ending. I've been working on the border for 2 weeks now and haven't reached the midway point yet. I'm getting there...slowly.

Quick update

I haven't been doing much lately.  I've been concentrating solely on what I've termed the "Never Ending Shawl", which is really the Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl.  I've made some progress and am finishing up the second of three charts.  I should hopefully be done with that today, but we'll see.  I want to get started on Chart 3 already and be done with it.  It's truly coming out beautiful.  

I'm also planning some future knitting that I'm really excited about when I finish this shawl.  I haven't been spinning as much as I like because of work, but I will get to it.  Soon enough.  There's also been some other things going on in my life lately that I will reveal in due time.  A lot of really exciting stuff going on.  Keep an eye out fo it.  

Current projects

I seriously hate that I've been too busy to blog.  I hate even more that I just finished spinning to bobbins of yarn that I started something like 5 months ago!  That's right people I said five months ago!  Another thing I hate is that with all my enthusiasm to rip back the Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl and start all over again so my pattern would not be skewed - of which  I fully intended to have it completed by this time - I am still only working on the 5th lace repeat for chart 2 of 3 and have picked it it up only sporadically to knit on it over the past 7 months.  This project really does seem like the never ending project.  We are going on something like 5 or 6 years that I started this shawl, and I just can't seem to get it completed!  Maybe since I know it's for me I'm not in a rush, but I know that if it was for someone else, I would be sweating and stressing over it and it would have been completed a long time ago.  

So I just wanted to update everyone with pictures of my current work.  The bobbins below, the brown one is natural Jacob's Fleece and the other one is a Wool Blend in Neopolitan colorway.   

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Happy Thanksgiving

I hope all of my friends out there and those are not yet my friends have an enjoyable and memorable Thanksgiving this year. Even in this political and economic climate, there is still a lot to be thankful for.

This time for me is a time for reflection on past events and people and to look forward to the future. I hope all of you will have the opportunity to spend this holiday with those you love the most and safely.

I did a BAD thing...

I have a huge collection of knit socks.  Huge.  And even though I have a huge collection of knit socks, there was one pair that was my absolute favorite.   My Knee High to a Grasshopper socks from the Blue Moon Fibers Rockin Sock club were my favorite.  The fabric was super soft and silky, the socks fit me just right - better than any of the other socks I've knit - and they were my perfect cold weather socks because they not only kept my feet warm, they also kept my calves warm.  They were perfect.

I say were because, I did a bad thing.  I used them recently on a camping trip.  I usually take them along because of their amazing warming capabilities, and at this point they've become more of a comfort (like a teddy bear) than anything else.  Well, when I got back from the camping trip, a really wet trip I might add, I naturally had a boat-load of laundry to do, so I did laundry.  I haven't had time to put all of said laundry away - I admit - so some of it has been sitting in the laundry basket in my room.  Today I started going through it and I found my socks.

With my whites.  

About 1/4 of the size they originally were.  

I apparently washed them all together without thinking about it and felted my favorite socks.  I'm in tears.  I feel like some mean little kid ripped the head off my favorite teddy bear in the playground.  

Be Back Soon!

I've been working on some things lately that has not allowed me to knit or spin lately, but things should start to calm down some within the next week or two.  Will blog more than.

I love Knit Picks!

I love Knit Picks and here is the reason why.

The other day I was knitting with my US10 Harmony options when the wooden needle separated from the metal base.

As you could imagine, I panicked.  I just about started crying, I was upset, my beautiful harmony had broken.  I purchased the set in 2009 (after some research I found this out) and I hardly ever knit with needles so big.  I'm a sock and lace knitter, which means that I use the smaller sizes.  At most I'll use a US7, but US10?  Hardly ever.  I contacted Knit Picks and let them know of what happened to the needle.  And they said they would take care of it.  This was on Wednesday or Thursday of last week.  Today, I got this in the mail:

I contacted them to find out the best way to repair the needle without damaging the quality, and they sent me a whole new set!  Who does this anymore?  I have purchased a lot of things from Knit Picks because their prices are right, their quality is good, their shipping is fast, and now adding to this list, their customer service is excellent!  They stand by their products, and if there is a problem, they fix it for you, even if it was purchased 3 years ago!  

And the winner is...

Everyone who commented on the blog post was entered for the Shades of Green book.  I placed your names, emails, and blog addresses in an Excel file and were therefore assigend a number that way.

Random.org has given me the following number.

Congratulations to Rose!  I will be emailing her the code for the book on Ravelry and I hope you enjoy!!!  Thank you everyone for participating in this little contest, and head on over to A Craftsteaders Journal to congratulate Rose for her win.

Review - Shades of Green & Giveaway!

I seriously can't think of a better way of breaking in the Fall Equinox than to review this amazing ebook.  The Shades of Green by Erica Jackofsky is not only visually stunning, with the the gorgeous pictures of the patterns within, but throughout the entire book Erica has included little tidbits about all things green.  Things like the different names for the different shades of greens, the names of green gemstones, where the meaning of the word green comes from, and all kinds of very interesting facts.  

As for the patterns themselves, they are written for any kind of knitter - those who like to work with charts will have very easy to read charts, or those who do not understand charts, the patterns have been written out row by row.  These are very easy to follow patterns and there is a little bit of everything here from sweaters, shawls, to a coffee cup cozy, and it's perfect for the novice knitter and an expert knitter alike.  If you're not sure how to work a certain stitch, or what the abbreviation means, she's included a guide int he back to follow and even step-by-step instructions for how to do the kitchener stitch, which is perfect for me because even though I've done it a million times on several different pairs of socks, I always like to have the instructions in front of me so I could be sure I'm following it correctly.  Most patterns/books/etc. do not include it, which means I have to Google it so I can have it up on the screen while I kitchener.  The fact that it's included as part of the book is so thoughtful and just makes it that much easier to finish off your knitting without having to scour the internet looking for the instructions.

The Peridot Tunic is a pretty versatile top that I think can work for any body type and is a good sweater to knit as a beginner sweater or even someone who has never done lace.  It's a very simple lace pattern, and the sweater construction is also fairly simple.  It's knit in the round, so there is no seaming and the finished product looks anything but simple.

My personal favorite from the book from the book is the Cutting Ferns Shawl.  Firstly, I love shawls, I have a few knit already and one on the needles that I'm trying to finish within a decent amount of time.  This one I would knit as well, even though, like I said, I have enough shawls to get me through the cold season for a long time.  It is absolutely gorgeous and I have it queued in Ravelry and ready to go, once I cut down on some of my other projects that are already on the needles.

All the patterns are nature inspired patterns, which is why I feel a review of them the day before the Fall Equinox is perfect! Take a look at all the available patterns within this book on Ravelry.  If you would like to win a copy of the book, leave me a comment on my blog by next Friday, September 30th to enter to win a copy of your own.  I will pull a winner using a random number generator and will email the winner a Ravelry code provided by Erica.