A Little Less Thinking and A Little More Knitting...

This week has been met with its own challenges. But, what's new, everyday presents a new set of challenges. I have been a bit distracted this week so my normal topic will not be addressed at this time. You understand.

I have been doing some knitting for the babe. Good. Mindless. Knitting. I have completed the Kanoko Pants - I love these wee, little pants and hope to make a few more! They're a pretty quick knit taking only a little over 200 yards of worsted weight yarn. I think next time I will use 100% wool so the pants can double as soakers. I am still on a mission to use cloth diapers - and people still laugh at me when I mention doing so!



I am onto the hood of this cutie, cutie Debbie Bliss baby jacket! I hope to finish the hood tonight and maybe the sleeves this weekend! At first I thought I would wait to add buttons until the gender of the baby is revealed, but I've since changed my mind and think I will go with some nice gender neutral buttons.



Today we have a doctor's appointment and a mid-cycle ultrasound! Yes, folks, we have officially passed the 20-week mark and I will now begin counting backwards to baby Saltsman's arrival! So much to do and so little time!

Have a great weekend!

Confessions - Be Careful, This Gets Messy

This may be embarassing, but it must be done. Most of you know, I like to knit. I collect yarn, knitting patterns, knitting books and interchangeable knitting needles. I even collect UFO's - some people call these WIP's - but we'll just flat out call mine UFO's. Well, folks, here they all are - list style. I am doing this because every single time I log onto Ravelry I find something else that I think I must knit. The problem is people / companies are producing yarns and writing patterns quicker than my little hands can start and finish an item!

What is a girl to do? Well this girl, even if only for a day, is going to a come to her senses meeting with you and write down every unfinished object. Here it goes!

1) Baby Dress for Rita
2) Emmaline
3) Creature Comforts Cardigan
4) Ribbed Baby Jacket for Loops
5) Whisper Cardigan
6) Cable T
7) Socks for John
8) Lacy Pullover
9) Springtime Bandit
10) Pinwheel Baby Blanket
11) 28Thirty Cardigan
12) Classic Elite Dolman Tunic

Ok, I think this about sums it up. Good news is... 50% of these projects have hope! I'll see if I can finish one, or two, or three before I cast on for another! I better get busy!

Another FO - Sewing & Knitting

I really don't know what the deal is lately, but I am actually able to start and finish knitting projects... It's amazing, truly. Last year when I was feeling a bit more adventurous I started on the Provence Marl Empire Waist Cardigan from Classic Elite. This was adventurous by my own standards because typically if the pattern does not start with the words "top down", I'm out. I'm a lazy knitter. I know. Sleeves are my enemy. I know that, too. I was really making great progress on this until I reached the skirt portion. And then that's where the project died. 300 stitches - stockinette - can life suck any more? I retired the sweater to a bag in the bag of my closet. I pulled it out last week determined to finish, and here she is!



I am truly thrilled with the results - now if only I can get the yarn to stop shedding. This stuff is getting everywhere - but I'll keep wearing it! The vacuum will be my friend once I take it off...

On the RoseKnits front - I'm seriously addicted to sewing the zippered bag buddies lately. I think it is because they are the perfect compliment to my new knitting bucket find. The Reisenthel Loops Shopper... This is one of those times where I am glad that my husband is a little less than observant. The zippered bag buddies separate my projects perfectly for tossing in the shopper... I wanted to make sure that I was prepared for our field trip to SWAK Knit Out on April 30 --- more on that later... I leave you with the bag buddies - pick one up today. They're perfect, for - well... Everything!

Green's Queen Around Here

As I stroll through the open spaces at my local yarn shop I continually hear chatters of green, green, green... I will leave 'stylish' opinions and such to people other than myself - because they are definitely much more stylish. Much. So, why not some green for the babes?

For a quickie project I cast on for Debbie Bliss' Ribbed Baby Jacket. It's a free pattern, so feel free to cast on. It calls for 4 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran - although I will be very surprised if this takes four balls. I am almost finished with the back and ready to cast on for the sleeves after only 30 minutes of Law & Order.

I will be sure to keep you all updated as I anticipate finishing this little sweetie jacket and my empire waist sweater right around the same time.

Happy Tuesday!

Knitting Socks

I must admit - although I've been knitting for close to three years now, I am very intimidated by knitting socks... Something about "turning the heel" and doing the kitchener stitch is all too much for me... While working at Loops on Tuesday evening, on of my co-workers had the cutest baby sock pattern using worsted weight yarn. I thought, surely I can handle a baby sock with worsted weight yarn.

I came home that evening - logged on to Ravelry to find an easy baby sock patttern - cuff down - and we now have baby socks! I even used fingering weight yarn - from stash! It has been awhile since I have actually finished a project, so I have a feeling these will become addicting since they are an easy finish. Pair them with a baby hat, and I've also got a great shower gift! I'm not sure if these really get to count at my first socks, but it has at least made the process seem manageable.

Here's the first pair - using Koigu KPPPM from stash. This morning I've cast on with some 3IG and using a ribbed sock pattern... The next pair may have to be toe up. We shall see...

Week in Review

Happy Friday everyone! This week we will count as a success ~ I have managed to finish the sleeves on the Oatmeal Pullover and wear it once... My photographer was absent so I will try to throw it on again this weekend for some modeled shots... One more sweater lacking sleeves! Yay! My bmom made me the 'Tess' sweater... I blocked it and will likely wear it today or tomorrow. Once blocked it grew a little, but I moved the buttons over for a more asymmetrical fit and all was well with the world!

I'm happy to report that I've cooked THREE times this week! Yes, three. Whole. Times. That means, we did not eat out one meal - for dinner, that is. I am uber excited about going to WW tomorrow to weigh in! I definitely feel a bit more svelte this week (and I cheated and stepped on the scale), but it has kept me motivated, right?

I've spent time with two great friends this week and am going to lunch and knit with a third! One friend is my complete inspiration for the new bag design that will be in the shop this week... The prototype is photographed below.

Tonight we're having friends over - and I have my pork in the crock pot cooking away for carnitas! YUM! Tomorrow is kind of a free day except John has to work - he has to work a Saturday each quarter... So I'm thinking we may need to dine out tomorrow. And Sunday (I think we'll go to mass) and then we're heading out to visit our friends, the Thummels... They have a fairly new baby boy and a precious toddler girl running around - so we're going to take a meal over there and feast with friends and enjoy the kiddos...

I hope you have had a great week - have a more enjoyable weekend - and enjoy the bag pics below! If you're interested in a bag prior to their being placed in the shop simply leave me a message and we can work up a custom order for you!

Fearless Knitting

I have always admired the fearless knitter. The person who will try a new pattern or technique - the person who uses yarn other than what is recommended and takes the time to calculate gauge should they want to use something different... The person who has the where with all to adjust as they go and know that fixing it is as easy as ripping back a few rows... This knitter is definitely not me! I need to follow the pattern, use the recommended yarn - or at least yarn that meets that gauge... I remember I knit a sweater, top down mind you, and I felt a bit more free when I put in just a few more waist decreases! That was living on the edge, people!

I purchased the pattern Moch Cardigan by Gudron Johnston today and am getting nervous as I think about using worsted weight vs. the recommended DK weight. I have so many worsted yarn varieties in my stash - sweater quantities - that it seems like a sin not to try and use them! I am going to drag out the calculator and do what I've never done - attempt to adjust the pattern... Heck, while I'm at it, I may even try to convert it to top down rather than bottom up!

On second thought, I'll only try one new skill at a time! I'll let you know what yarn we're using after I swatch!

Hangin' in the Heights

So this is our third day in the lovely New York... Well, this afternoon we actually migrated to New Jersey. Yesterday John and I went on the 'Circle Line' which was a 3-hour boat tour around the city! It was a lot of fun aside from the very hot and muggy day. I definitely have some very non-complimentary tan lines as a result. After that we made our way back to the apartment... I wanted to be a champ - walked all the way to the Circleline - 3 miles - and started walking back, but I ended up with 3 blisters... Cried uncle, and we got on the bus...

We went to dinner at a very quaint, Thai restaurant called Room Service. It was excellent ~ the best thing ~ tuna tartar as an appetizer. It was delish and I would gladly eat an entire platter for a meal any day!! After dinner we headed over to see 'In the Heights'! Very, very good musical! Upbeat! Loved the music, dancing, and the intertwined love story.

Today we went to Gray Dog for breakfast - DSW for shoes - Basilio's on Staten Island for lunch with Aunt Albina and then to the outlet mall! I was able to score some very cute onesies and whatnots that say 'little sister' and also an outfit for Miss Brynn in Michigan! We have since been lying around the house - I'm knitting, Marg's knitting, and John and John are watching television. Apparently 'How Its Made' and 'Cash Cab' are popular in households other than my own!

Tomorrow we are going to hit up some garage sales (Marg's new thing), scope out a sand castle building contest, and BBQ... I am also hoping to make some freezer paper stenciled onsies for Rita and John is going to help the other John put together the crib for the babe.

We have to save all of our other energies for Sunday when we're headed to the horse races for the ENTIRE day! We are set to arrive at 10 AM so we can get a good table... and the races will likely last through 7 PM! Trust, a lot of knitting will be done there as well...

How to Pimp Your Husband - Unintentionally, Of Course!

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile since I blogged... This week I am going to make an attempt to go 5 for 5. We'll see how that works out...

This weekend I spent time doing something that I'd not done in awhile. On Saturday while it was a rainy mess here (I promise it rained 12 hours on Friday - and Saturday morning John was still insisting that he was going to play golf <-- he did not... I digress, back to me!) since it was a rainy mess... I did what any girl would do. I went for a morning facial and then trotted off to Starbuck's and Loops to settle in for some knitting... When I say settle in, I mean it! I stayed at Loops from 11 AM - 3 PM. It was SO MUCH FUN! I thought, why have I not done this in so long? I made some pretty good progress on my pleated neck t. With any luck and a few lazy evenings that should be finished this week! I've not tried it on - so I hope that it all works out ok.

To the topic, though. How to pimp your husband! In case John sees this, I say this lovingly and with a bit of humor. By writing this, I am totally risking John never helping me untangle another ball of yarn - again - ever! He may not want people to know of his secret untangling powers...

Last week I was chatting along with RobinM. She was telling me about all of the goodies that she purchased at Stitches South (I'm not jealous) and she purchased a skein of ribbon yarn that just kind of blew up when she opened it. Ribbon yarn is slick and tension must be maintained while winding it... It seems like it would be really cool to use - but a mess to wind up. It has to be hand wound.

So I started bragging about how wonderful John is at untangling yarn and how he always keeps a lot of my yarn clear of the trash can. I offered Johns services to her... Totally pimped him out! Well, Robin, being thoughtful as she is, included some lovely fabric in the box of yarn (the fabric was clearly for me). Definition of pimping: offering someone elses services for personal gain. So, you can see I pimped the hubs.

Let us remember, though, that Robin is thoughtful... When John's golf surprise arrived Saturday morning he untangled the yarn with enthusiasm I have never quite seen while untangling yarn (note to self: keep golf rewards on hand when faced with tangled yarn). Needless to say - yarn is all untangled and will go in the mail on Tuesday back to the rightful owner!

Here is a quick pic of the fabric that Robin sent (thank you!!) and the pattern that I plan to use with said fabric.



Hope you guys have a Happy Monday and I look forward to talking more tomorrow...

Week In Review

Today is Friday and I have made it through yet another week at the good 'ole steel mill. I am not sure if it is my outside activities, my attitude adjustment, or indifference, but the past few weeks have actually not been that bad. This is a good thing because I can certainly think of days that I did not want to come to work.

It appears that it will be a pretty laid back weekend (my favorite!). Tomorrow we will be celebrating Earth Day at work where we will hand out 1600 Red Bud Saplings, water, and reusable shopping bags. In the past this has been a fun event. Little kids LOVE handing stuff out to people and we usually have our fair share of little kids running around the workplace at Earth Day celebrations. John will be golfing - so I am hoping to sneak home and sew for the remainder of the day. We may do a date night where he will pick the movie... Which means I pick the restaurant! I better make it good since we will be starting the FAT SMASH diet on Sunday!

Is it time for spring cleaning yet? I may try to do some of that this weekend as well.

Yesterday my girlfriend sent me a lovely text message that had TWO lines on it :-) They are expecting their second child... Their first child is only 5 months old - and they believe her to be 7-8 weeks into the second pregnancy. While she is stressed and in shock right now, I am so excited for her!!! And even more excited for me; my friends and family keep me in ample supply of babies... I get all of the pleasure and none of the pain... So, for now, I will continue to live vicariously through them and enjoy my uninterrupted nights of sleep and my body that is all mine, mine, mine --- !

Next week I promise to include some photos - you can only handle so much black and white... Or is it gray and white? Anyways, I will show my knitting WIP's. OMG!! Have you seen Scabbard? I loved this sweater, but wasn't crazy about the neckline. They now have a 'summer' version with a more simple neckline... After I finish a few things, I will definitely have to cast on for this in SILK! Treating myself... I'm good at that!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

And It's Friday!!

Well folks I've made it through the week and this morning I will set out to enjoy my last few hours of the Employment Law seminar. It has been a good week and I think I am refreshes on most laws affecting the HR profession today... *Sigh*

The most exciting part of the week I will have to say was finished Snezi! I wish I had a camera because I love, love, love the shrug! Very simple and very cute. I am also on the skirt part of the summer cardi I've been working on - will be great knitting for the plain seeing as though I have 12 inches of stockinette stitch to carry me home... How do I get myself into so much stockinette?

John and I will be going to Detroit in June for a 'wedding celebration' with his family. I believe he said we are having an open house at his parents house with catering, etc. I think I should make my dress and shrug for this event, what do you think? Lucky for me RobinM posted a host of cute summery items - I will have to decide on one and set out to get the pattern!

The Hot Loops party is tomorrow night - yay! And my Knit Kit is in as well... Oh what a wonderful weekend this will be... After I get through the dreadful airport travel :-)

Happy Friday everyone!!

Writing A Short Story

We all have a story and what makes the story significant is the way in which it is told :-) Lately I have been working on a short story or a chapter, if you will, that will hopefully someday have a place in my novel (<-- better known as my life).

I have been selling bags on Etsy since January... Wow! I now have 32 sales which is pretty exciting... Last week I landed my first 'official' store order. My LYS has ordered 12 knitting / craft totes and 12 fortune cookies!!!! I cannot explain the excitement! And I think John is finally starting to take me seriously --- I have a lot of ideas, bless his heart. At this point I do not have any real intentions on this bag thing; it is more or less just done for the love of beautiful fabric, and the fact that a girl can only have so many bags... It also provides some additional funds for yarn.

I will be posting regular updates on RoseKnits (roseknits.etsy.com)... Because it is fun and it is all me!

Anyways, what are you guys writing about lately? What is going on in your lives?

Wishes for another yarny year!!

I would have to say on a scale of 1 – 10 on the mood this week, I would give it an 8. In spite of everything that could be construed as negative, I have been doing a lot of self talk to stay on the positive front! After all… My birthday is Monday, so that is exciting, right?

On the business front, while things are not improving they are not declining either. And today, that is ok.

The Lenten season officially began this Wednesday so John and I have decided to forgo soda pop and candy. Someone actually asked me if I had given up yarn! I am not going to set myself up for complete failure here, people.

My yarn stash is actually doing quite the opposite of decreasing – it is growing at warp speed! Let’s do a recap, shall we?

I started off the year ‘testing’ our joint banking account and ordered 4 skeins of DIC. I then visited Detroit, and John was in such a great mood to be with his family that I seized the opportunity and purchased 5 skeins of Shepherd’s Wool. John bought me 5 skeins of Miss Babs’ for Valentine’s Day – and I bought myself 7 skeins of Lorna’s Lace Greenline Worsted. My dear friend Brooke sent me a gift card for Valentine’s Day to the yarn store where I purchased 3 skeins of Malabrigo and 4 skeins of 2nd time cotton. And here we are at my birthday – grandma sent me a check, The Backwards Loop had a sale, and that’s all she wrote! 8 skeins of Lorna’s Lace should be in route to Oklahoma. So far, we are at 36 skeins of yarn! Do you know how many sweaters that is? At least 6, right - Although I think the Malabrigo will go to the Hemlock Blanket KAL I am getting ready to start!? My boss gifted me a yarn store gift card for my birthday today – oh my! I think I am going to hold off for a bit because my next purchase will be 9 skeins of Cascade 220 in Black… For yet another sweater! (**Note to self: this is all for me. This does not include yarn purchased for John’s sweater vest).

This is turning out to be a very exciting yarn year! Oh, and on Monday, for my / your birthday viewing pleasure I will have modeled pics of the Textured Circle Shrug. Monogamous knitting is turning out to be a good thing… I can pop out a sweater in two weeks!

FO - Garter Yoke Cardi

First, I would like to say please excuse the very sloppy photos. This was taken on a Monday morning, and maybe fortunate for me, my husband thinks that I am cute even at my worst!

I finished the GYC in about 1.5 weeks which is a record for me! I love the cardi - think that pattern is fabulous, and I may make more later! The only thing... I may need to reinforce the neckband as it stretched a bit as the day went on. I may be able to attribute this to the yarn, though, because this yarn has started many items... And it finally made it to the finish line!

The other photo is of a vest that I am making for John. This will not be finished in time for him to wear, but will be ready for the fall!! I am using Sublime and Noro Silk Garden... It's so lucious I'm beginning to think I should have used this yarn for something for me (I'm selfish, I already know!) This relieves the pressure for me, no doubt!

Happy Tuesday everyone... See you tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

Garter Yoke Cardi

Last Thursday when we were in route to Detroit, frustrated with Ingenue, I cast on for the Garter Yoke Cardi! Last night I finished off the 2nd sleeve. We have a high in Tulsa today and tomorrow of 70 degrees. This may have influenced the elbow length sleeves. I would like to wear this one a bit this spring... The shaping is actually perfecto! I attribute this to putting it on waste yarn to try it on (thanks Robin!). It really only took 15 minutes to do and helped me to make a few alterations on the shaping.

RobinM - such a dear - gave me some good pointers on Ingenue - and pullovers in general. I really like the neck of Ingenue, so I think I may take another crack at it after I finish John's vest...

I will post modeled pics of the GYC on Monday - I will have to sew on 10 buttons this weekend!

Happy, sunny Friday everyone! Definitely enjoy your day!

 

Let it Rip!

So in my last blog I was able to happily report all of the progress that I had made on Ingenue. Today there’s good news and bad news… I’ll give you the bad news first as I always like to end on a high note!

Bad News: Way too big for me, not enough shaping… Here I was knitting happily along thinking, “Finally, I’m going to make something that will adequately cover my oversized boobage and will be completely appropriate for work!” Well, it seems as though my waist isn’t quite the size of the uppers and there’s definitely not enough shaping. Truth is, I spend most of my days wishing I was about a 34" and let's face it, I'm not.

I had two ideas… Initially I thought that I cannot bear to rip out all of this handy work – I will gift this to someone – my aunt! Then I spoke with a few friends and my hubby – and I’m ripping baby! I’m going to try to rip up to the decreases and decrease a bit more… Extend the waist a bit – then increase and go… I’m also going to put the sweater on a large enough cable so that I can try on as I go – instead of having to remove from cable, etc…

So, the good news in all of this is that I’ve learned a lesson. Pay attention to ALL of my measurements no matter how much I may not like them. Take the time to try on as I go – and don’t be afraid to make modifications. What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll either rip it and try to fix it or end up with something that you won’t wear. I definitely think the latter is worse!

From the Page A Day Knitting Calendar:

This calendar is fabulous! It is made many good points - and it's only January 9.

Stash: (n) A knitter's supply of yarn, conveniently prepurchased and place in the home of the knitter. Oddly, many knitters do not knit from their stash but continue to purchase as they go, despite the presence of what is essentially a personalized yarn shop where they don't have to pay. This phenomenon has led researchers (OK: me) to believe that stashes exist not just for the purposes of knitting but for inspiration. After all, painters have lots of paints.

Make sense to me, what about you??

A Post of Random Proportions

Just to prove to you that life is uneventful in the Saltsman home... This weekend I sat down and figured out how to make the super cute 'box bags' that everyone sells on Etsy! I guess I'm finally tired of the quart sized ziploc... Now I am obsessed! I LOVE them, though! Will be adding five to my Etsy shop this week...




We had the Thummel family over Saturday evening after mass... I always love hanging out with Sarah and Bill because they are plain 'ole good people ~ but when they bring baby Ella... Oh my! She makes my heart pump peanut butter! John will even hold this baby. She's beautiful, folks, with and without clothes!



Oh, for dinner that evening I thought I would woo John with my culinary skills. I made some foccacia bread from Lidia's cookbook. It looked beautiful, tasted wonderful, and even gave me an excuse to use our new food processor. After all the work I then remembered that we're married, and wooing is no longer necessary. Ah, everyone enjoyed the bread anyways!



On Dec. 26 I started on the baby blanket for Surprise Baby Zawislak (surprise being, they refuse to find out the sex). This seems to be trendy these days, surprise babies, and while I appreciate the surprise in everything, neutral colors are soo hard! John and I picked these out at the Loops after Christmas sale! I love it so far ~ hopefully I can manage to part with it at the end of January. I hope to finish this week so I can get started sewing the diaper bag...



And I think that's it until I have something more thoughtful... I hope everyone has a happy Monday!

Wedding Shrug Completed!

As promised here are photos of the shrug for the wedding, completed!

Pattern: DIC Shrug
Yarn used: Tilli Tomas Rockstar
Needles: KnitPicks Interchangeable / size 8 for lace and size 7 for ribbing

I think that this turned out beautifully and am very excited to see how it goes with the dress at the wedding! I think silk will be nice for temperature / warmth purposes... I'm not sure where I'll ever wear this again, but I guess worst case I could store away with the wedding dress!

The pictures don't really do it justice ~ nor does my ensemble or hair :-(

Hope you enjoy the pics :-)

A Monumental Week

Monumental, yes, I am not over exaggerating! If you read my blog the other day than you know that I am the proud new owner of an independently operated light switch!

Well, temperature, I forfeit no more. I jokingly whined, yes whined, that now that I have a light switch, maintenance could move the thermostat for me. Yesterday morning I arrived at work around 7:15 a.m. and what do I find? Two maintenance men waiting to move the thermostat from the nurse’s office to a common area that we can all have access to! Yippee!

Who would have thought that my whining 72 hours ago would have turned into actual production with results!

I might add that the nurse was not overly excited about this move, as expressed to my boss.

Knitting news… 28Thirty is progressing rather nicely since I taken off the sleeves. I cast on this morning for the Felicity hat using yarn that Sheknitigans sent as a contribution to the wedding  It is going to be beautiful! I am going to spend 4-5 hours getting my hair done tomorrow so I figured I should take something easy... I was planning to post pics, but someone stole my work camera…

I think tonight I will go celebrate all of this progress with a drink, dueling pianos, and some girlfriends!