Sunday, April 30, 2006
A Finished Page
Doing the Happy Dance, since I actually completed a scrapbook page today. Granted it was for MemoryWorks and a little late at that, but I'm hopeful that I'm starting to enjoy scrapbooking again.
It's a simple one, but I'm rather pleased with how it turned out considering my scrapbooking woes lately.
Supplies used:
Junkitz paper & rub-on
Etcetera chipboard tag
Heidi Swapp flower jewel
Making Memories buttons
Making Memories Misunderstood foam stamp
Staz-On ink
May Arts rick rack
Flower - unknonw manufacturer
Office Depot transparency
Font - Angelina (downloaded from Internet)
It's a simple one, but I'm rather pleased with how it turned out considering my scrapbooking woes lately.
Supplies used:
Junkitz paper & rub-on
Etcetera chipboard tag
Heidi Swapp flower jewel
Making Memories buttons
Making Memories Misunderstood foam stamp
Staz-On ink
May Arts rick rack
Flower - unknonw manufacturer
Office Depot transparency
Font - Angelina (downloaded from Internet)
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Finished Objects
Now here's my post to catch up on my Finished Objects.
I completed a baby cap for a co-worker. (Sorry for the poor photo.)
Pattern: Mix between Barb's Twizzle Baby Hat and Stitch 'N Bitch Umbilical Cord Hat
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Jimmy Beenz
Needle Size: 8
Completed: 4/2/06
Special Notes: This is my second version of this hat although with different yarn colors. It's a little large for a newborn. I should probably reduce the number of cast-on stitches.
I also finished my first felted project - a little purse for Shea.
Pattern: Hello Yarn Fulled Lopi Tote
Yarn: Plymouth Galway & Lion Brand Fun Fur
Needle Size: US Size 10
Completed: 4/9/06
Special Notes: Since it was a worsted weight yarn I used the smaller needle size, but increasing by two sizes from the yarn's recommendation, as suggested in the Knitty article: Felt This! I went ahead and casted on 80 stitches due to the smaller yarn size but only knitted to about 9 inches instead of 16 inches. The Galway yarn felted beautifully with only one 15 minute pass through the washer. Then I broke a felting rule by throwing it into the dryer, but it sped up the entire process and I was extremely pleased with the results.
Next, I felted my second bag - a Mother's Day gift.
Pattern: Hello Yarn Fulled Lopi Tote
Yarn: Takhi Donegal Tweed Homespun, Moda Dea Gleam Blue Topaz, Lion Brand Fun Fur
Needle Size: 10
Completed: 4/17/06
Special Notes: Felting this bag proves that I must purchase a zippered pillow case. Not only did I have to send the purse through 3 different cycles, but the laundry bag I was using kept coming open and, of course, this would be the yarn which could ruin my washer's pump. I spent quite a while scooping out as much fuzz from the water as I could. I'm still not entirely pleased with the size (too big & floppy) and plan to run it through another cycle with my second Mother's Day Lopi Tote. It's actually greener in person than my photo shows.
Finally, I finished The Leg Warmers.
Pattern: my own design
Yarn: Plymouth Dreambaby DK
Needle Size: 6 (picot bottom edging) & 4 (ribbing & top picot edging)
Completed: 4/22/06
Special Notes: Since I've posted many times about my woes while knitting the leg warmers, I won't bore you by reiterating them. Needless to say, I've very happy I finally finshed them. I added ribbon (from my scrapbooking stash - at least it's a little helpful) to the eyelet holes at the top. The ribbon is supposed to keep the leg warmers up because there isn't a lot of stretch to the yarn, but, of course, it doesn't work as nicely as I thought it might. Yet it does add a pretty touch, and the beads are from a Shea's princess purse handle which broke probably a year ago. Don't know why I've been saving them for so long, but Shea likes to play with them. (She calls them her "babies." Very cute, but a little odd. I just love listening to her play talk.) I thought it was fitting that they could be used for something dear to her once again.
Whew! Wow! Now that I have it all written down, I'm realizing that's quite a few projects for only one month. Right now I have 2 projects on the needles. The second Mother's Day Lopi Tote and my Calla Tank.
I completed a baby cap for a co-worker. (Sorry for the poor photo.)
Pattern: Mix between Barb's Twizzle Baby Hat and Stitch 'N Bitch Umbilical Cord Hat
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Jimmy Beenz
Needle Size: 8
Completed: 4/2/06
Special Notes: This is my second version of this hat although with different yarn colors. It's a little large for a newborn. I should probably reduce the number of cast-on stitches.
I also finished my first felted project - a little purse for Shea.
Pattern: Hello Yarn Fulled Lopi Tote
Yarn: Plymouth Galway & Lion Brand Fun Fur
Needle Size: US Size 10
Completed: 4/9/06
Special Notes: Since it was a worsted weight yarn I used the smaller needle size, but increasing by two sizes from the yarn's recommendation, as suggested in the Knitty article: Felt This! I went ahead and casted on 80 stitches due to the smaller yarn size but only knitted to about 9 inches instead of 16 inches. The Galway yarn felted beautifully with only one 15 minute pass through the washer. Then I broke a felting rule by throwing it into the dryer, but it sped up the entire process and I was extremely pleased with the results.
Next, I felted my second bag - a Mother's Day gift.
Pattern: Hello Yarn Fulled Lopi Tote
Yarn: Takhi Donegal Tweed Homespun, Moda Dea Gleam Blue Topaz, Lion Brand Fun Fur
Needle Size: 10
Completed: 4/17/06
Special Notes: Felting this bag proves that I must purchase a zippered pillow case. Not only did I have to send the purse through 3 different cycles, but the laundry bag I was using kept coming open and, of course, this would be the yarn which could ruin my washer's pump. I spent quite a while scooping out as much fuzz from the water as I could. I'm still not entirely pleased with the size (too big & floppy) and plan to run it through another cycle with my second Mother's Day Lopi Tote. It's actually greener in person than my photo shows.
Finally, I finished The Leg Warmers.
Pattern: my own design
Yarn: Plymouth Dreambaby DK
Needle Size: 6 (picot bottom edging) & 4 (ribbing & top picot edging)
Completed: 4/22/06
Special Notes: Since I've posted many times about my woes while knitting the leg warmers, I won't bore you by reiterating them. Needless to say, I've very happy I finally finshed them. I added ribbon (from my scrapbooking stash - at least it's a little helpful) to the eyelet holes at the top. The ribbon is supposed to keep the leg warmers up because there isn't a lot of stretch to the yarn, but, of course, it doesn't work as nicely as I thought it might. Yet it does add a pretty touch, and the beads are from a Shea's princess purse handle which broke probably a year ago. Don't know why I've been saving them for so long, but Shea likes to play with them. (She calls them her "babies." Very cute, but a little odd. I just love listening to her play talk.) I thought it was fitting that they could be used for something dear to her once again.
Whew! Wow! Now that I have it all written down, I'm realizing that's quite a few projects for only one month. Right now I have 2 projects on the needles. The second Mother's Day Lopi Tote and my Calla Tank.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
April Happenings
Since I've blogged so little in April, here's a quick update:
Easter weekend - we went to Phoenix for a quick visit with Grandma & Grandpa Coffey. The kids really enjoyed it. They begged to go swimming every day, but they really enjoyed spending time with their grandparents.
We decorated Easter eggs:
We got Easter gifts from Auntie:
We also played a very long game of Uno that after shuffling the deck 4 times and switching out all of the players we finally determined Grandpa won because he had the fewest cards:
The next day we visited with Jeff & Lisa and got to meet Aaron for the first time. What a cutie:
We saw the Fountain Hills Fountain:
We took a picture of Shea on Shea Blvd:
Shea gave Grandpa a haircut while Clark took a nap:
Shea loved the big bunny she got from Grandma & Grandpa, and everyone at the airport just thought she was so cute:
We arrived back home very late Saturday night, but due to the delay we got free TV on our flight back. We were so thankful to Irene and her family for watching Lilo and letting us pick her up at the late hour. The kids really wanted to have her home.
Steve & I woke up a little later than normal on Easter Sunday, but the kids had already found all of their eggs left by the Easter Bunny. No photo ops of the egg hunt, but I did manage to convince them to let me take a shots of them together in their new clothes.
The Browns kindly invited us to join their family for Easter luncheon, and we spent a very enjoyable day over at their house. The food was fabulous but the company was even more fun. Steve & I played the game Apples to Apples for the first time, and it's quite a hoot. You really get to know how people think about things. We also watched much of King Kong, but I was happy that I didn't sit through the whole 3-hour experience. It may have been cleverly filmed, but it truly dragged on and on in way too many places.
Last Saturday 4/23/06 we went to the Rockies game. Our first family trip with our season tickets we share with three other families.
Unfortunately, the Rockies lost, but right when we walked in we saw Barry Bonds' first home run of the year, and the kids loved their cotton candy, of course.
On Monday we went to Skate City. It was for Clark's Cub Scout Troup meeting, and the kids first time roller skating. They both loved it. Shea's skates were locked, and she basically spent the whole evening walking around the rink. Clark started out with locked skates but once he was on regular skates he was fearless. Even though he kept falling down he would get right back up and try to skate as fast as possible. Steve and I were much more hesitant. Steve had braking problems, and I just had problems all around. Every time I would skate too fast I got scared and started to lose my balance. I only went around twice. Oh, to be young again.
Easter weekend - we went to Phoenix for a quick visit with Grandma & Grandpa Coffey. The kids really enjoyed it. They begged to go swimming every day, but they really enjoyed spending time with their grandparents.
We decorated Easter eggs:
We got Easter gifts from Auntie:
We also played a very long game of Uno that after shuffling the deck 4 times and switching out all of the players we finally determined Grandpa won because he had the fewest cards:
The next day we visited with Jeff & Lisa and got to meet Aaron for the first time. What a cutie:
We saw the Fountain Hills Fountain:
We took a picture of Shea on Shea Blvd:
Shea gave Grandpa a haircut while Clark took a nap:
Shea loved the big bunny she got from Grandma & Grandpa, and everyone at the airport just thought she was so cute:
We arrived back home very late Saturday night, but due to the delay we got free TV on our flight back. We were so thankful to Irene and her family for watching Lilo and letting us pick her up at the late hour. The kids really wanted to have her home.
Steve & I woke up a little later than normal on Easter Sunday, but the kids had already found all of their eggs left by the Easter Bunny. No photo ops of the egg hunt, but I did manage to convince them to let me take a shots of them together in their new clothes.
The Browns kindly invited us to join their family for Easter luncheon, and we spent a very enjoyable day over at their house. The food was fabulous but the company was even more fun. Steve & I played the game Apples to Apples for the first time, and it's quite a hoot. You really get to know how people think about things. We also watched much of King Kong, but I was happy that I didn't sit through the whole 3-hour experience. It may have been cleverly filmed, but it truly dragged on and on in way too many places.
Last Saturday 4/23/06 we went to the Rockies game. Our first family trip with our season tickets we share with three other families.
Unfortunately, the Rockies lost, but right when we walked in we saw Barry Bonds' first home run of the year, and the kids loved their cotton candy, of course.
On Monday we went to Skate City. It was for Clark's Cub Scout Troup meeting, and the kids first time roller skating. They both loved it. Shea's skates were locked, and she basically spent the whole evening walking around the rink. Clark started out with locked skates but once he was on regular skates he was fearless. Even though he kept falling down he would get right back up and try to skate as fast as possible. Steve and I were much more hesitant. Steve had braking problems, and I just had problems all around. Every time I would skate too fast I got scared and started to lose my balance. I only went around twice. Oh, to be young again.
The Joy of Swatching
Or maybe I should say the pain and agony of swatching.
After seriously contemplating joining the Design your own Tank KAL at Knitting Help, I finally decided to just go ahead and knit Calla from MagKnits instead. I realized I was spending way too much time trying to design my own version of Calla. It's a lot less brain damage for me to knit Calla rather than "reinventing the wheel." Plus, the cool thing about knitting is that I don't have to design my own FO's unlike scrapbooking in which it's always considered best to design your own layout, techniques, paper, embellishments, and so on. Of course, I'm being a little facetious, but I love the freedom of being able to do whatever I want with knitting without worrying about some "police" judging my work. It's very liberating.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the swatching. Since I'm working with Debbie Bliss Wool/Cotton (which I recently learned has been discontinued) and it's not the same gauge as the original Calla, I have been forced to make a swatch. I didn't think I could find the original yarn locally, but I did find a great sale on the Debbie Bliss at my LYS, which is sadly going out of business. So far I have attempted at least 5 different swatches, but I keep frogging them all. And I'm not even frogging because of needle size. I'm just trying to get used to the cable and lace pattern and restarting it after I make a mistake. Plus, I'm attempting to alter the pattern for knitting in the round. I find it rather frustrating to make swatches knitted in the round because of all the extra strings hanging in the back. The funny thing is that all of this effort for the last 4 days has thrown me back into scrapbooking. I attempted to make my first page in a long time last night. It's not going well either. Oh well, back to the drawing board. I'll figure out something tonight especially since it's TV Turn Off Week for Clark, and we're all working at not watching TV, although honestly it's much more difficult for me to not get on the computer. Leave it to me to finally try to catch up on my blog during TV Turn Off Week, when I'm not even supposed to be on the computer! So don't tell Clark, but I will work at trying to get caught up, since I have a lot of completed objects to post photos on.
After seriously contemplating joining the Design your own Tank KAL at Knitting Help, I finally decided to just go ahead and knit Calla from MagKnits instead. I realized I was spending way too much time trying to design my own version of Calla. It's a lot less brain damage for me to knit Calla rather than "reinventing the wheel." Plus, the cool thing about knitting is that I don't have to design my own FO's unlike scrapbooking in which it's always considered best to design your own layout, techniques, paper, embellishments, and so on. Of course, I'm being a little facetious, but I love the freedom of being able to do whatever I want with knitting without worrying about some "police" judging my work. It's very liberating.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the swatching. Since I'm working with Debbie Bliss Wool/Cotton (which I recently learned has been discontinued) and it's not the same gauge as the original Calla, I have been forced to make a swatch. I didn't think I could find the original yarn locally, but I did find a great sale on the Debbie Bliss at my LYS, which is sadly going out of business. So far I have attempted at least 5 different swatches, but I keep frogging them all. And I'm not even frogging because of needle size. I'm just trying to get used to the cable and lace pattern and restarting it after I make a mistake. Plus, I'm attempting to alter the pattern for knitting in the round. I find it rather frustrating to make swatches knitted in the round because of all the extra strings hanging in the back. The funny thing is that all of this effort for the last 4 days has thrown me back into scrapbooking. I attempted to make my first page in a long time last night. It's not going well either. Oh well, back to the drawing board. I'll figure out something tonight especially since it's TV Turn Off Week for Clark, and we're all working at not watching TV, although honestly it's much more difficult for me to not get on the computer. Leave it to me to finally try to catch up on my blog during TV Turn Off Week, when I'm not even supposed to be on the computer! So don't tell Clark, but I will work at trying to get caught up, since I have a lot of completed objects to post photos on.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Catching Up
I did finish my MIL's scarf in time for her birthday, although we had to send it via second day air. Plus, I didn't have enough time to make it as long as I would have liked, so I added fringe to the ends. The fringe helps finish it off.
I took the kids to see Ice Age: The Meltdown last night. They really enjoyed it. The kid behind me kept kicking the back of my seat - not surprising at a kid movie. I quietly asked him to please stop once, he looked at his parents who didn't notice and then stopped for about 10 minutes. At least he only kicked it off and on the rest of the movie. One other note to self: do not order 2 medium sodas to share with the kids. By the end of the movie Clark really had to go. After he kept telling me he could wait just a couple more minutes to the end, we finally ended up leaving right before the end because he couldn't hold it any longer. Unfortunately, the poor guy had to walk further than usual because he was used to going in the men's bathroom with DH, but he made it in time.
We went to Clark's District Pinewood Derby race this morning. Clark's car won 3 out of the 4 races it was in. Unfortunately, Clark didn't get a trophy though. Everything was judged by time and not by number of races won. I guess he was racing slower cars. Clark was a little disappointed about not placing, but I think his parents took it even harder.
I took the kids to see Ice Age: The Meltdown last night. They really enjoyed it. The kid behind me kept kicking the back of my seat - not surprising at a kid movie. I quietly asked him to please stop once, he looked at his parents who didn't notice and then stopped for about 10 minutes. At least he only kicked it off and on the rest of the movie. One other note to self: do not order 2 medium sodas to share with the kids. By the end of the movie Clark really had to go. After he kept telling me he could wait just a couple more minutes to the end, we finally ended up leaving right before the end because he couldn't hold it any longer. Unfortunately, the poor guy had to walk further than usual because he was used to going in the men's bathroom with DH, but he made it in time.
We went to Clark's District Pinewood Derby race this morning. Clark's car won 3 out of the 4 races it was in. Unfortunately, Clark didn't get a trophy though. Everything was judged by time and not by number of races won. I guess he was racing slower cars. Clark was a little disappointed about not placing, but I think his parents took it even harder.
