Happy Weekend: Knitting & Reading

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TGIF!

It's a long weekend! Woo woo! Happy Memorial Day! Tomorrow we are going to a BBQ and Sunday we are going on a long drive to the high desert! I'm pretty excited.

My two favorite weekend (and evening) activities are knitting and reading. I like to knit while we watch tv (I'm currently obsessed with Fairly Legal & wishing Haven was on RIGHT NOW) and I love to read outside and before bed.

I'm part of a book club online and my friend Shelly, who's pretty much a professional reader, has started a book review blog! She got us all hooked on the 50 Shades series months ago, she's good at finding neat reads. I personally like my reading light hearted/smutty/supernatural. I look at books as my escape and I love love love to read. Anyways, this weekend I'm reading a few of the books she's recently reviewed. I got a kindle touch & I'm working on getting used to it. Some days I wish it was backlit (usually in the evenings before bed!) but I really love the screen on it!

I've started knitting something new and fun. Squirrel Sampler Mittens! They are by far the most complex thing I've knit yet, I've learned lots of new things: picot edge, how to hem a knit good, stranded knitting and...

Yarn dyeing! I bought a skein of gray yarn off etsy but unfortunately it was much more BLUE than GRAY. My friend Amy had sent me a big box of acid dyes last fall and I decided..what the heck! I'm going to try this! And it worked! My blah blue gray went to the rich deep charcoal I had hoped! woo! I sort of felt like a backyard scientist when I was working on it.

I also completely understand the hype behind Plucky Knitter. I'd bought 3 skeins from her back in 2009 and used them and loved them. I was able to get a few skeins recently, honey wilkes was one I was dying to get in plucky feet. I'd made a honey cowl from the same color in worsted weight and knew it was super pretty. Now that I'm using it in these mittens...oh boy! The color just G L O W S! It's kind of silly for me to be knitting these mittens, it's rarely cold enough here for them but I *really* want them. I'm obsessed with all things autumn/acorn/halloween/sampler/new-england-like, so this just HAD to happen. I haven't quite decided what to change the numbers too, I thought about 1982-2012 for my birthday or Fall 2012?! I have a little more knitting to conquer before I get there :)

Also, if you haven't signed up yet, check out Dessert of the Month Club, June is coming out and it seriously is the cutest thing ever. I've stitched him on 3 different things in different colors. He is THAT CUTE. And addictive.

Phew! Have a good weekend :)

Nutkin Socks in Cakewalk Yarn

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I finished these cute Nutkin socks last week. I modified the pattern so it was toe up, gusset heel and taller. I really love tall socks. I think I'm going to ask for a pair of knee high sock blockers for my birthday.

I used my very favorite yarn, Cakewalk Footsie in Weenie. I can't even talk about how amazing this yarn is because I kind of start to fall over and drool. I genuinely didn't want to finish these socks because I *loved* watching the grays turn into pops of orange & black. These are my first pair of halloween socks, my goal is to have a weeks worth of halloween inspired socks. That would be rad right?

One of my goals before I turn 30 (in August!) is to knit a sweater (or at least start a sweater!). I think I'd like to knit this one with some Cakewalk Weenie Worsted. It's going to take me a while to save up for the yarn and I'm not even sure they sell sweater quantities of yarn but I'd love to try! I'd love just a simple gray but fun sweater for hanging out at home.

:):):)

knitting a small sweater:

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Last month I started knitting a sweater for a good pal who's having a baby! I'm knitting it a little bit big so she'll be able to wear it in the fall.

It's my first sweater, one of my goals before I turn 30 in August is to knit a sweater. Since she's due in June/July (I think?) this will meet my goal! rad!

The pattern is called Korrigan and the yarn is Viola & so very amazing to knit with! I've been researching little buttons, I think either tiny wooden owls? Or maybe something more girl-y like flowers? I have time to decide at least! ;)

This is a very fun knit so far, it's tricky enough I have to pay attention but not to hard that I can't watch Top Gear while I work on it.

:):):)

Toes with Potential

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I finished some socks last night so today during my lunch break I cast on for a new pair. I haven't decided which pattern to use yet but I'm excited! This yarn is such a pleasure to knit with, Pigeonroof Studios High Twist Sock in Garden Party. I love watching the colors change and it's really soft with great stitch definition. I might pick something with lots of slipped stitches to show it off or maybe just plain knit, who knows ;)

I'm anxiously awaiting a new pair of knitting needles so I can start knitting Nutkin with Kayanna. We are making them in Cakewalk Yarn Footsie in WEENIE! But I'm in between gauge sizes so I'm hoping the new needles will help! And I've been knitting with metal needles which are GREAT (addi turbos & hiya's) but I find I'm constantly dropping stitches and last night I had to repair 3 inches of dropped stitches. Ouch. I'm hoping bamboo needles will be easier.

:)

Hexipuff: The Beekeeper's Quilt

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I made a hexipuff today!

Hexipuffs are little knit hexagons for The Beekeeper's Quilt!

I have little scraps of yarn from my socks and I thought it would be fun to make a hexipuff from each blob of yarn I have left. I was thinking they would be tricky but they are EASY PEASY. I started on dpns but switched to magic loop, I find it easier. I did have a tough time on the 3 needle crochet bind off, mostly because I'm kind of clumsy but it's me, not the pattern.

I love love love this pattern, it's really cute, well laid out & clever. $5.50 is totally a bargain, because I know I'm going to just keep making little puffs over & over. I'm going to make a hexipuff or two from the leftovers of each pair of socks I make (crosses fingers!), I think I have enough yarn leftovers right now to make 5-6. It's just like sewing a scrap quilt, except these are knit & you can always add more. I like that part a lot.

This puff was made from Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Valentine, left over from my heart socks.

These are my current socks: Charade in Cakewake Yarns Footsie in Edisto. These are REALLY fun but I've been sewing a lot lately so I haven't had a chance to work on them as much as I want too :)

Don't forget that Fruit of the Month is on sale until Saturday for only $9.95! And Saturday night Dessert of the Month for April comes out! EEK!!! Have you posted your guess what the new dessert will be on facebook yet? The first person to guess correctly gets a free pattern of their choice! woo woo!!!

I'm going to finish sewing for the day...and obsessing over this album. Don't laugh, it's soooo good!

Sock Knitting

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I'm kind of obsessed with sock knitting.

This is my sock knitting bag & all it's contents!

This is my bunny measuring tape! eep!

And this is my stitch marker collection!

I made a holder for my ninja needles. They aren't REALLY ninja needles, but hiya-hiya interchangeable needles which sounds a lot like the noises ninjas and Chuck Norris make. HIIIIIYAAAAAAAA! Karate CHOP!

oooOOOOOooo!!! Cephalopod Yarns, a Valentine's Day gift from Kayanna that she dyed! and some Cakewalk Yarns! One of these will become my March Socks.

My current project!

Fun right???

I'm hooked on the etsy app, I like looking at all the neat indie dyed yarn. I love that sock yarn is small and really FUN. It's like buying candy. I like knitting a little bit before bed but I've learned I can't watch Downton Abbey & knit lace- I had to pull out half a sock because I was so hooked on the Christmas episode (zomg!)

Normally I hate knitting in the summer, it's very hot here and who wants to be touching wool when it's 115 degrees. BUT SOCKS! They are small and I think they'll be fun to bring camping and on car rides. To me, summer is sewing time and winter is handwork time. I'm not sure why.

My goal this weekend is to find some ranunculus. I've seen a few popping up in the wild but usually the hardware store & pharmacy has some pots of them you can buy. Right now I have a little pot of tiny daffodils Chop surprised me with. Spring makes me want zillions of flowers!

:):):)

Simple Socks

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I made a pair of socks!

I'm not going to lie to you guys, I've been wearing them nonstop since I finished them. It feels so cool!

I took a class at Heartstrings and learned Judy's Magic Cast On, Magic Loop and Toe Up Socks. I picked a super simple pattern, Gusset Heel Basic Socks. I knew any fancy pattern would be lost in this crazy variegated yarn (Madelinetosh Sock in Mansfield's Garden Party) and I wanted to learn what makes a sock a sock! A lot of times when I'm knitting I'm flying blind, I just follow the pattern but don't really understand what makes it work or exactly what I'm doing. But now I get it! (at least with socks ;))

I can't say enough about this book, Socks From The Toe Up I feel like I've learned SO much and I seriously want to knit like, EVERY pair in the book.

I cast on and got gauge using size 1 needles and what I love about toe up is how easy it is to try the socks on as you go. I assumed since I have around a size 9.5 shoe I'd be a large but after trying it on, they were HUGE, it's the first time I've ever successfully frogged back, picked up the stitches and was able to continue. Normally I frog back to the beginning and start over. My first sock took FOREVER but my second second was much faster. The way the yarn pooled is completely different on each sock!

I treated myself to some hedgehog sock blockers, I'm totally in love with them, the wood is super smooth and heavy, plus the hedgehogs are hilariously adorable. I'm kind of tempted to get some cat ones too.

Last week I was stuck home with the flu...boo...but it meant lots of knitting time. I cast on for a pair of Valentine Socks with some Madelinetosh Sock yarn in...VALENTINE. I altered one of the charts in the book a little bit and then changed it up again. Each sock is COMPLETELY different because I decided a few repeats in to try something different. ;)

I'm excited about sock knitting and now I want to buy a zillion skeins of sock yarn!

February is coming up and I'm so excited. I'm going on a trip, taking an exciting class with Tracey and we are releasing some amazing new patterns! eek!

January Fun

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Where did January go???

Oh right. I went on a major cleaning spree and vacuumed up my power cord and had to wait for another one to arrive. Awesome right? I have an iphone which I truly love but I *hate* writing long emails on it so please give me a few days if you've emailed me.

I've been doing lots of fun stuff, up until late last week it's been bright & sunny here. I've been gardening, our first heads of cauliflower look so amazing, they are my PRIDE & JOY. I sometimes go outside just to look at them and think...I FREAKING GREW CAULIFLOWER. CAULIFLOWER!!!! We've been enjoying giant salads from the lettuce. And my lemons went to curd and marmalade.

I've finished the first 4 months of Dessert of the Month Club and I kind of am dying over how crazy cute it is. So far February & April are my VERY VERY VERY favorites. How are your truffles coming along? You can sign up at any point during the year.

Did you enter your January block to the Aurifil flickr group? You could win $100 worth of thread! I don't know about you but I'd love $100 worth of thread. I'm all out of white for piecing so I've switched to light lavender. Kind of a pretty secret in my quilt blocks ;)

I've been slowly but steadily working on my SOCKS! So I started the month thinking I'd be making Pomatomus but I lost confidence in my knitting skills and frogged. Then I started on Hermione's Everyday Sock but I wasn't in LOVE with them and was running out of yarn scary fast. I took a knitting class and learned magic loop socks!!! from the toe up!!! I'm working on super plain Gusset Heel Socks & they fit PERFECTLY. I'm using a Madelinetosh yarn, this sock won't win a beauty contest but I've learned so much & I'm very inspired. Not to mention I'm obsessed with looking at sock yarn online. I blame Kayanna completely for all of this. I'm hoping to finish my second sock this week so February 1st I can cast on for some very pink socks. I bought a skein of Madelinetosh from a girl on ravelry called VALENTINE & I'm dreaming of some simple lace socks. I even bought fancy wooden sock blockers!

I'm kind of (very) obsessed with making box bags. Robert Kaufman and Laurie Wisbrun very generously sent me some Modern Whimsy to play with and I made my good friend Brie a box bag for her knitting. This fabric is so bright & spring-y & just the pop of color I need, our beautiful sunshine has given away to actual winter. Lots of rain & clouds! Thank you RK & Laurie for brightening up my stash! I'm thinking by the first week of February I'll re-open my etsy shops (yup, two of them!) with new treats! eep!

Off to tackle my inbox! Yippee!!!!

:):)

Documenting Everything & Desserts

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Happy Happy Happy New Year!!!!!

Imagine me tossing a handful of glitter and sparkles in the air because that's what I feel like doing this year!

2012 is the year I want to document everything. I just feel really positive about it for some reason. I want to give it my very best and see what becomes of it. I'm taking part in #JANphotoaday which is super cute and fun. Karyn mentioned a 365 app and I'm doing that. I don't always have time to take a "real" photo but I still want to do something! Plus I love the look of little instagram photos printed out. Cuuuute!

I'm also doing Project Life. I keep a very big & detailed journal but this year I want to do something small and sweet and special. I bought this library drawer and each day I'm going to add a card to it. I've been chopping up all my scrapbook paper into cards and collecting little bits of things. I want it to focus on the positive and inspiring tiny tid bits of daily life. Are you doing project life this year?

Our sock party is coming along great except...I'm not loving my pattern. And I feel terrible because it's the pattern I picked for us all to work on! I think today I might frog & pick something else. But I am *loving* the yarn, it's a Pigeonroof Studios and it's so dang cheerful! Very bright pinks and neutrals!

I hope you guys are ready for Dessert of the Month! I'm kind of dying, our amazing pal Stitchy Stitcherson has tested the pattern and has been sending us photos of the stitched up desserts and O M G! You guys want IN on this project! They are small desserts that are KAWAII and EASY but full of ADORABLE details. I got a piece of 32 count gray linen...with GLITTER!!!! I ordered here & hope it comes soon, I'm anxious to start stitching!

The Dessert of the Month Club is on sale until the 10th of January for $10...after that the price goes up to $16.95! We can do gift memberships too, so if you want to include something for a swap buddy or bloggy friend, let us know!

I'll give you a hint about the first Dessert, he'll be zooming to subscribers inboxes on the 5th..he's tiny...he's booze-y...and he's bubbly. That's it! My lips are sealed! In order to know what he is and to stitch him up, you have to subscribe!

See you soon!

colors I love & knitting

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I've been mulling over these colors for weeks. Linen, beige, dusty brown, grey, hot pink, rich wine, burgundy and bits of white. I can't stop thinking about it. Piles are forming all over my sewing room. Websites of fabric are bookmarked. Sketches are drawn on napkins. EQ has some blocks saved. My friend Sarah sent me some scraps that work PERFECTLY with these colors.

I  keep coming back to these little piles and sketches, thinking about a full sized bed quilt and it's like "Amanda...do it!!" "Make it your winter goal." "Start collecting more neutrals" "Work on bits & pieces each day!" The little creative voice in my mind is like...GIT R DONE. (also, the little creative voice in my head wears plaid shirts with no sleeves apparently ;))

I'd like to do a lot of improv piecing with a few little tiny traditional blocks pieced in. I'll send it to the amazing Lindsay to work some magic...then I'll turn and top stitch it. I'm totally smitten with quilts that are turned lately. I love how clean the edge looks and how it feels more playful. I did it with my neutral quilt & I'm happy as a clam with it.

Starting in January I'm going to work on it a little each day. I'm going to start with one of my favorite blocks- churn dash, and create around it. Just work with the stash I have and see where it takes me. And maybe treat myself to a few little bits, my neutrals are surprisingly low ;) Or swap with some pals!

 

I finished knitting The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief with my favorite yarn. and I'm pretty obsessed with it. I know it's going to be a wardrobe staple. A very fast & fun knit! Only a few episodes of Leverage ;) And! It's going to be PERFECT for next fall. It's a very fall-ish color.

 

We are starting our sock knitting in January & I'm REALLY excited! If you want to knit socks with us, you are more than welcome! So far it's Kayanna, Angela, Amy and we are bullying Megan into making socks. It's going to be pretty laid back, just a month of sock knitting, I think we are using Pomatomus but Angela is making ribbed socks, so really, any sock goes :) We are keeping track of our projects via instagram & twitter. I'm using pigeonroof yarn & I think I'm going to get a skein of Madelinetosh so the toes are a different color. I'm kind of (very!) excited. I got a ball winder for Christmas and it'll arrive next week, I'm trying to hold off balling my yarn until then. Because the last time I made a giant mess.

It's almost New Years! I'm feeling very excited about 2012. It's my last year of my 20's and I want to make the most of it!

See you in 2012!!!!

This Week:

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I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. It starts a new week. A new week that involves Chop birthday (the 21st!) and Christmas. This week:

My lemons started to ripen!

I made a giant veggie lasagna!

I had a mega baking day with my mom!

I finished knitting a sock!

I worked on some of my cross stitch!

I daydreamed about creating something rad from this pile of fabric!

I'm ending the week with a date with Chop...scrabble!!!!

Can you tell I'm in love with Instagram? It's a free app for iphones and ipads, if you have it, let's be friends! comment with your name so I can follow you :)

If you are looking for a last minute gift, check out our Hoop Travel Bag, or maybe Snow Globe Cutie, or even Playful Mr. Fox!

I hope your upcoming week is fun & inspiring :) (and filled with candy, chocolate, cookies, pie...really whatever yumminess you are cooking up for the holidays!)

Neutral Thoughts

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20111214-134614.jpg This morning I was knitting, waiting for coffee to finish brewing & the sun to warm our backyard enough so I could do yard work when I realized I'm obsessed with neutrals. Like, can't get enough. I'm subconsciously surrounding myself with them.

My favorite quilt. My current favorite sweet; Hershey's Hugs with their sparkly gold wrapper. My knitting, Pigeonroof Studios in Winter Birch. My wish list of a Le Creuset oval roaster in Linen or Dune.

I find it's all I want to create with lately. And it's making me use color very deliberately & sparingly. I'm kind of day dreaming of turning the remainder of my neutrals into a bed sized quilt. With puffy wool batting. Doesn't that sound cozy? I just love these shades & tones, it's very calming & reminds me of winter light. It's very sunny here but kind of a milky soft sunshine. Does that make sense? I've tried to photograph it but it's just not working!

Do you find you are obsessed with a color scheme? Like when you look through your pinterest or Flickr, do you see a color theme? I know certain friends remind me of certain colors, Karyn is blue, Katherine is soft creamy yellow & PKM is red!

Tales of WIPs

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How many WIPs (works in progress) do you have right now? No seriously. Think about it for a second! Here are my WIPs:

This is my Lizzy*Kate ABC Halloween. Kristi & I are stitching along together! I just took it out of my frame and rolled it for storage until next Fall. It's going to be a long term project, like work on it each year. I think it'll take me til 2013. I assumed it would be EASY but it actually requires a lot of concentration for me. And I get REALLY excited to work on the colored parts, then lose interest with the black words.

This is Damson. My absolutely 100% least favorite WIP. Like, I think daily about frogging it but I think I'm like 45-50% done and it nags at me. Do I finish it? Frog it? I don't think I'd even wear the finished shawl at this point because I'm so not into this project. Plus it's kind of dainty looking and that's not really my style. I think I was just REALLY eager to knit with this yarn & assumed I could finish it pretty fast! (WRONG!)! (pigeonroof studios original sock in ghost orchid if you are curious!)

This is my FAVORITE WIP, Daybreak. I can knit a few rows while watching TV and feel like I actually am making progress. I love the yarns, Shibui & Koigu. I had picked a third Koigu for the the last bit, a drab olive but now I'm thinking I'd like to try something different...maybe a peach? a bright pink? either way, I love this and I know it's going to get worn a lot! But I kind of don't want it to end because it's a really relaxing and fun knit.

These are Log Cabin Socks, they are for Chop as a combo birthday/Christmas gift. I'm running low on yarn, I think I'll be able to barely eek out the rest of this sock. He tried them on a few nights ago and they fit so that was exciting! I'm knitting these along with Kayanna, who's making them as a gift too! I like working on projects with blog friends, it's encouraging!

Here are my two hooped projects. One is my Thanksgiving cross stitch that I have officially torn a hole in the linen trying to fix a slub, I might mail it to Kristi & see if she can fix it (I haven't told her this yet, lol). And then my long term embroidery project! This is from Flora, I sent her a flickr mail asking if it was ok if I embroidered her October desktop and she said it was fine. Woo Woo! I love working on the teeny tiny details. It's like blackwork but with a mustard pop (which makes it not blackwork at all ;)) I can only embroider during the day, my eyes are struggling at night...haha. Old lady right here!!!

The only quilt I'm currently working on is my Farm! I just finished binding a baby quilt. And I made a cute heating pad cover a few weeks ago (I can share it if anyone is curious).

I like having a few big long term projects that I can come back to and work on, plus some small/easy types. I feel blah if I have too many projects going on at once that don't make me happy (like right now with Damson!) and I feel guilty buying things like yarn. I don't feel guilty buying fabric because I use everything I buy, I'm not hoard-y, but yarn, I feel like I need to have a pattern & needles ready to go.

So how about you? Any WIPs? How many projects do you work on at once?

{~*it's official*~}

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I love to teach! It's just plain AWESOME! Seeing people learn & be inspired is the best! I taught autumn comfort baking yesterday in Redding at That Kitchen Place. I couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies! Everyone was really interactive, asked questions, shared stories.

It was EXACTLY what I want Sewing Summit to be like & today is the last day you can sign up!

Sewing Summit is going to be a *great* time. You can meet all your online friends, be as social (or anti social!) as you want, learn from super talented ladies & just be part of the online quilting community but in REAL LIFE. I'm excited to meet everyone, chat about mini quilts & just be part of the quilting movement.

I've been still knitting! It's crazy, I learned to knit in 2003, and to be completely honest, I sucked. I could do hats & fingerless mitts but that was about it. And I'd like, two things a year & then give up.

Lately it just CLICKS. I've been finishing projects like a girl possessed! I'm going to take a little time tomorrow morning & update ravelry with photos of the things I've finished & then link to it here. I've been really good about finishing what I start & it feels GOOD. I cast on for Damson, it's so fun so far. I'm using some pigeonroof studios original sock yarn & it's BLISS. watching the colors change is fascinating.

I'm getting ready to fall asleep! I hope you had a nice weekend!

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