My knittin love is fickle...

I have been way too unfocused lately to finishe anything - but that doesn't mean I haven't had time to start anything new - no-siree-bob.

I have been a kniting fool lately - with all kinds of things on the needles at once. And I am working on all of them I swear! But I can't seem to focus on any one thing lately!

Here's what I should be working on:



My Central Park Hoodie is slowly coming together. The back, the left front panel and half of the right front panel are done. But I seem to have stalled out.... I need to get going before it gets too warm to wear it!

In the last month or so - I have also been working on a top down raglan sweater (in blues for Project Spectrum) some Anemoi mittens (also in Blue!) two different pairs of socks, the Tuscany Shawl:

(which I am going to rip - because I don't like the way it's coming out...)

and way too many sewing projects!
I made these up last weekend...





Not to mention that I keep seeing new things I want to make - practically daily. I just bought Simply Knitting magazine:



It came with a prize too - a magnetic needle case with needles and pins included. I love british mags for including these little things - it's like the toy suprise in cereal - except for grown ups!! But anyway - inside it has patterns for the cutest little barn yard animals!



I need to make them! I showed it to my gals at knit nite and Coleen needed to make them too - go look at her cute cow!



Isn't it adorable!

Mmmm Bread.....

I was busy this weekend...

I decided to make my own bread. It all started on Friday night. I whipped up the dough and set it aside to rest and rise... It rested all night and part of the morning on Saturday - and then after a few more steps and a few more naps - it was ready for baking.

I am very proud to present - my first homemade bread!




Isn't it gorgeous!





It was tasty too - fresh and hot out of the oven - we ate it with butter and honey. Wow - I felt like I had died and gone to bread heaven!

Later we made bird's nests with it - oh so good!





and of course - we ate it with every meal!





(It was especially good with my last bottle of V Sattui Family Red - yum!)





Lately - I have been inspired by the amazing baking of my friend Jen and I couldn't resist trying to bake some bread for myself.

I was a little nervous about making this particular bread - it's the No Knead Bread recipe that has been sweeping the internet lately - because I didn't have a large covered pot to cook it in. So - I improvised....

I used my pizza stone and covered it with a large ceramic bowl (I made sure it was oven safe first!) This provided the natural steamy environment that the bread needed.





It worked like a charm and the bread come out looking just fabulous. I was so happy with the results - I immediately ran out to the bookstore to get a Bread book I have been eyeing...





So what's next? Bagels, Ciabatta, Naan, sourdough - you name it - I'm going to try them all! I'm addicted!

Jody is...

Bored...

So I did a little Meme to help fill up my day :) Play along if you want!
Directions: Google your name with is in quotes (like this - "Jody is") and see what you have been up to.
This was fun and very amusing! Especially since my name could also be a name for a guy!
Here are some good ones:


One of the most remarkable things about Jody is she still sounds "country"

Jody is a great guitarist, as he proves in many of the riffs. ...

Jody is the awesomest

Jody, is lonely and longs for a pet to care for

“Jody is pure hood lyricism at its finest,”

Jody is more of a target than a hero

JODY IS BACK

Jody is supposed to be a complicated, morally ambiguous urban Everyman

Jody is a conductor in the musical sign language system

Jody is sick

Jody is missing

Jody is in New Mexico. If you see her, say hi!

Jody is overjoyed and promises to take care of the pony and train it well

Jody is very social and loves to be around people. Jody always has a book

The deadline set by Jody's captors passes and Jody is to be executed. Fergus takes Jody into the woods to carry out the sentence, but cannot bring himself to kill him, and Jody is instead accidentally killed by British tanks when he attempts to flee.

Jody is fiercely resisting leaving the nest

Jody is a mama's boy

After Jody is killed in a freak accident...

Apparently, Jody is some kind of troubled student.

Jody is not married, has two different kids with two different women, ... Jody is a slacker

Jody is best described as a caring person whose favorite things are stars, and the Dukes of Hazzard.


Leave me a comment if you do this so I can laugh at you too!

Monkey business...

It was a beautiful weekend - the weather was warm and on Saturday I was sweating it out helping my sister and brother in law pack and move.

I did find some time to finish up my Monkey socks though! I think I may have a new favorite sock!



And - as an added bonus - they are another finished object using my hand dyed yarn!

I had some trouble naming this colorway. I asked around and everyone said it reminded them of flowers... so I ended up naming it "English Garden".

It definitely reminds me of the plentiful rose gardens in England - full of the rich vibrant pinks, yellows and oranges of the roses set against the green of the leaves and grass.

I also thought it would be kind of funny to imagine a Monkey loose in one of those formal English gardens!

Anyway - Here they are - my Monkey Socks in the English Garden colorway:





Yarn: Knit Picks fingering weight with my hand dyed coloring
Needles: size 2 DPNs.
Alterations to pattern: I did one less repeat of the pattern in the leg.
Pattern: Monkey from Knitty.com by Cookie A.

Even though the lace pattern has 11 lines in the chart - it is fairly easy to memorize. By the time I got to the second sock - I didn't have to look anymore :)

I love how the colors striped in this sock:





Unfortunately I was quite as lucky with the second - the colors didn't stripe in the same way - but I guess that's what makes them art... each one is unique!



I also got some sewing done this weekend...

Yes! More mini wallets! I love these. They are so quick and easy and I get a chance to use some cool fabrics I've had in my stash for a while. The pattern is based on this one from Splityarn - but I've played around with the sizes.





Check out some of the cool fabrics I got to use!








PS - I also would like to congratulate Eunny - she is the new Editor of Interweave Knits! Eunny - it's been a real pleasure getting to know you - you are such an impressive knitter, and designer and also a truly nice person. I am honored to know you and count you as a friend :)

I spoke too soon!

Well I definitely spoke too soon about the whole Spring is coming thing....

We got snow yesterday!! It was coming down slowly all day long. I just know all my bulbs that popped out are going to die!

I know I know - everyone says they are going to be fine - but I still worry!



Even though we only got about an inch of the snow - the dogs still love playing in it and Bailey got his traditional snow mustache. It's kind of hard to see it here - but believe me - it's there!



Oh! - and can I get a "Woohoo!"

My Handmainden Sea Silk finally arrived! I was "forced" into buying some when Mama-E mentioned that the Sweet Sheep had some online. I had never seen it before - but had heard of how luscious it is - so I had to get some. I think I may make this with it:






I picked it up from the post office yesterday after work. Isn't it gorgeous!



The colors remind me of lazing on a white sand beach, looking at the clear blue sky, amid the swaying palm trees and the blue-green ocean...




Mmmmm - I wish I were somewhere tropical right now...


I did spot some turtles today though!

Check out my new turtle earrings!




I made a few pairs of these babies up yesterday for some of my friends that work at the University of Maryland. They are the home of the Terrapins after all. I let them each pick one (I didn't get pics of theirs - darn it!) and I was left with this pair...



They were the ones I wanted after all! Yeah!

I love turtles and have always collected turtle stuff. I seems to be surrounded by other people who love turtle things too. Many of my friends love turtles, my mom collects turtles and I even live in Maryland - home of the Maryland Terps! I guess it was meant to be. Hubbo knew of my love for turtles and when he proposed - he did so with a hand painted turtle box - and wrote "Will you Marry me" inside of it!


Yeah for turtles!


I will leave you with a funny (although bad) picture. (A good blogger is always prepared - camera in hand!!)

I was stuck in some nasty traffic today driving to work on 95. I was sitting there pissed at the world - when I looked over at the car next to me and saw this:



Look at the size of that dog! Look at the size of the car! I think the dog may have outweighed the car by a few pounds! The dog doesn't look happy to be stuck there either!

Good Cause...

Go here and pledge. This is a great cause - anything that sends books to kids is ok by me ;)

Here's a synopsis of the cause from Heather's blog:

"The pledge program is being sponsored by Usborne Books -those of you who know them will know they have GREAT books and are a great asset to all types of educators. 50 percent of the pledge money will go directly to Amelia (well not to her directly but to the school and then to her) to pick out books for her own personal library from Usborne books. She is choosing to donate 50% of her cut to purchase books for her classroom and the school, which I'm just floored by her little 4 year old generosity. The other 50% will go directly to pay for books for our sister school in South Africa. Our sister school was actually co-founded by my friend Anne, who just recently moved here from South Africa . The story is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once, but it's also entirely too long to tell all of it right now but I'll give you the basic details with more info to come over the next couple weeks. There was no formal preschool education in this extremely impoverished South African community in which Anne lived. So the women at Damion Chrysler pooled their own personal resources to start a school for some of the local children who would probably never have an opportunity to attend any sort of formal schooling. This community has literally THOUSANDS of CHILDREN in it, the majority of which are living in conditions with NO RUNNING WATER, NO PLUMBING, LITTLE ACCESSIBILITY TO MEDICINE, AND VIRTUALLY NO FOOD. And if this is not enough, the entire community has been devastated by the HIV virus as well as drought and famine. The preschool started in a shack, moved to a clinic and is now in a brick and mortar building, it is run entirely by VOLUNTEERS who pay for all expenses out of their own pockets. The school has room for 60 children, all of which are chosen by a random lottery. They are provided one meal everyday, which for most of them is their only meal, and are taught English and other skills that will help them survive in their economically devastated community. "

Thanks!

Spring is coming!

This weekend was gorgous!
Well Saturday anyway - I was laid up with a migraine all day Sunday :(
But Saturday was the perfect day - warm and breezy - the sun in the sky and nothing to do but enjoy the day. Bailey and Hurley and I had a blast playing outside - going to the dog park - and just generally being outside all day long.

Here are some of our antics:








Yes - I do believe that orange thing is a cat toy. No - I did not give my dog a cat toy - Hurley found it.... somewhere... He loved it!





And look at this!! The first flower of spring!!







I know it'll probably die with the next frost - but it's the first flower of Spring! Yippee!! And - it's a crocus.

I find this amusing because whenever my hubbo doesn't know the name of a flower - he calls it a crocus. So I was all excited about the flower and I ran in the house to tell him about it.

He said, "Cool - what kind is it?"

"A crocus!" I said.

"Oh... What's that?" he said.

Me "..."

Yeah... Men!

I must give him props though - he did manage to fix the tv - yeah! I was able to watch the Grey's Anatomy and Ugle betty reruns :( I want new shows!!!


In knitting news - I put down my CPH for a little while and started on a new sock. Jolene had let me borrow her 12 inch circular needle and I liked it - so I went out and bought one for myself. I knit one sock on the new needle - a Monkey sock - with some of my hand dyed sock yarn. ( I love this pattern by the way!!)

I am making the second sock on DPNs. I don't know if I was "doing it" wrong - but my left index finger is killing me - I managed to slice my finger while trying to knit with the mini circ. I kept using my left index finger to push the needle back. (I'm a thrower - so I would wrap the yarn around with my right hand and then push the needle back with my left.) I couldn't find a more comfortable way to move the yarn up and push the needle back. You know what I mean? How do you guys go it? Do tell. I'm in pain from my way! I really like the way the sock looks though - no ladders and it's really nice and even. But I don't think I'll use it much if I can't figure out a better way to move the yarn around.


I also managed to find time this weekend to bake a cake... It's Devils food cake with butter cream icing on top and chocolate fudge in the middle.... mmmm.....



It's already gone! It was delicious!

I want my MTV!!

Or any TV for that matter.

Our TV has been out of commission for 4 days now. That means I missed Heros, and Lost and tonight I'm going to miss Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty!! Oh the horror!

Sunday afternoon - we were innocently watching one of those laze-inducing movies from the 80s that they always play on Sunday afternoons on TBS (I love those!) when all of a sudden.... *pop* ... the tv went black - but the sound stayed on. Uh oh.

We have one of those fancy flat panel DLP things and the bulb apparently only has a shelf life of 3 years or so. WTF! I didn't know this! Apparently hubby did. I don't know about you - maybe I'm old school- but when I buy a TV (especially an expensive one) I expect it to last forever. I don't expect it to just go *pop* one day and need expensive parts and repair to get it running again.

I was definitely not amused either when hubby opened up the guts of this expensive TV and began playing around. The TV looked like it had been in that ferry crash I saw last week on Grey's Anatomy! Wires and circuit boards strewn everywhere. Now I must admit - I didn't have too much confidence in hubby's abilities to fix the TV at first... but he seems to have identified the problem.

After replacing the lamp (and the TV still not working by the way) - he delved deeper and found the root of the problem. He now thinks can fix it with some soldering and a new "lamp power ballast" - whatever the heck that is!

All I care about is the fact that I can no longer sit in front of the tv and knit. I've come to realize that I rarely knit without the tv on. I sit on the couch in the silent family room with my knitting and I just can't seems to do it. It's not the same! Weird huh...

So - I went upstairs to my craft room and decided since I wasn't feeling the knitting - I would sew something. So I did!

I sewed this:




I have been wanting to make a needle case for my double point needles for a while now - since they are everywhere! Some are in a vase in my craft room, some are in my knitting bags, some are still attached to uncompleted socks and others I will find weeks from now stuffed in between the couch cushions.

With the completion of my new needle case - I started collecting them and putting them in the case and I realized I have a freaking lot of DPNs! I have 4 pairs of size 3's three pairs of size 2s and many double sets of other sizes. Why so many?
Duh - I already told you the couch eats them.

I swear - every time I would go to make a sock - the hunt for four or five of the same size double points would ensue. I know what you're thinking - Magic Loop! Two socks on two circs! No need for DPns! Jolene even let me try her 12 inch circular that I have seen her and others make socks on with ease. I tried it - I liked it - I bought one - I'm making a sock on it right now - but I still think I will always go back to my DPNs. The other methods just didn't stick. So - I am happy to finally give my beloved DPNs a proper home.

I made up my own pattern for this needle case - so I'm sure a more experienced sewer may have come up with something better - but I'm extremely proud of myself for not using anyone else's instructions to help me. This is all MINE baby!












Oh and I can't resist posting this - my neighbors got a new dog! Allow me to introduce you to Riggo. (named after the Redskins player - John Riggins)

He's a pound puppy who found a home - isn't he adorable!


Look at those brown eyes...

Silly

Get a bunch of knitting gals in a room together and there is bound to be silliness. Laughing, joking, sarcasm, and down right silliness. Here is an example of said silliness:





The reason this is such a bad blurry picture is because I was laughing way too hard to hold the camera still!

Last night I got together with Sarah, Jen, Coleen, Jolene and Erin for bit of knitting. We ate, we knitted, we shared stories and had a grand time!


In all seriousness - I am very lucky to have gotten to know such a great group of women. Thanks ladies!

Sarah made stitch markers for everyone too - aren't they cute?




I love the packaging - and the sheep stamp is just perfect.

While I was there last night - I worked more on my Central Park Hoodie. Over the weekend - I managed to finish the back, and now I'm not working on one of the front panels. I realized that I had somehow managed to put an extra row in every cable repeat in the back panel. I realized this because when I went to do the first cable on the front panel - it didn't look quite right. Why? When I pulled out the back to look at it and compare - I found that it didn't match! I went back and counted the rows in the cable chart and wouldn't you know it - I added a row (two actually - a knit and a purl row) to each repeat.

Well - I guess if I'm going to do the pattern wrong - I better be consistent! Because there is NO WAY I'm ripping out the entire back. I actually think I like it better the way I did it!





I also did some more spinning over the weekend. I worked on some of the silk roving Amie gave me. I am very proud of this yarn so far - it is much thinner and more consistent than my last batch.

I can't wait to spin some more! Even my hubby was interested in the spinning. (Which is more than I can say for his interest in my knitting!