Off the Clock

Yep, I've been knitting up a storm. And what do I have to show for it? Really sore hands; I really need to get better at taking my meds for my rheumatoid arthritis. :( But I also have... pics! Wheeee! First up is a shrug I knit up last weekend out of a ball of cotton blend left over from a sweater I made for SO about 10 years ago. I'm not sure if I'm a shrug person or not, or if I even like it. DD says "don't go out in public with that on". :o I have to admit it does keep my shoulders nice and warm. Then I finished a pair of socks with the Sock It To Me yarn I bought from Elann. I had made the first sock too long in the foot and it sat in knitting pergatory until I finally got up the resolve to frog it and start over. The toes and heels are sock wool from Briggs and Little. (Or is it Briggs and Straton? No, they're the small engine people. lol) I'm wearing them right now! And last night I finished up Winecozy from Knitty, which I'm ver...

I'm not very good at this blogging thing, haven't updated since MAY! {blush} Anyway I've finished my Blaze from Knitty. I finished it a couple of weeks ago but it kept falling off my shoulders and didn't feel quit right. I ended up adding some extra rows and decreases around the neckline and now it looks much more like the pic. I am happy with it! And just to show how bad I've been about not updating this blog, I did eventually finish Soleil , also from Knitty. I had some gaping at the front of the armholes, so instead of ripping it and adding short rows I thought I'd save a few brain cells and frustration and add a little elastic instead. I'm currently working on "Green Shawl #15" from the Fall Vogue Knitting in a varigated yarn that I think is going to look pretty. Hopefully I'll be a good girl and post pics when I'm done!

Soleil-Along I've started my Soleil, I wasn't able to use my reclaimed re-dyed cotton as it was too bulky. I'm using some other German cotton I had in my stash that I bought years ago at Mary Maxim. As usual I have to go down several sizes to get gauge, 3.25mm in this case (instead of the 4mm called for). I find the lace easy enough to work, I placed markers every 40 stitches and then added more every 20 stitches when I screwed up a few times occassionally forgetting to psso. Of course I wouldn't find the error until two rows later when doing the next pattern row, so I'd just frog those two or three stitches back a couple of rows and fix it. {whew!}

Inspired by others on the Knitty board, I bought a second-hand cotton sweater to recycle. First I frogged it... and dyed it... And now I just have to come up with a project to make with it. I'm going back and forth between a summer cardigan or a tank top with a matching bag. Can't make up my mind. {sigh} I've got a few other WIP's at the moment, not to mention the Sock It To Me self-patterning sock yarn I've just ordered (that I can't wait to play with!) so I've got lots to keep me busy. I'm supposed to be making some more soap and lotions, but I can't seem to put the needles down lately!

I bought this cone of eyelash last year at the Spinrite tent sale. I weighed it and it's over 2,800 grams! I'm making a sweater (pullover) with it. It's going to be fun trying to join the pieces, though. You can't see the stitches for the fur! Maybe I'll just leave it sleeveless. Will have to see when I get that far. Here's a pic of the cone and the front.

I am a knitter and a soapmaker among other things. Here's some of things I've created lately. This is a loaf of soap made with moose tallow with calendula leaves including some sprinkled on top, and swirled with Australian green clay. It's scented with Bay Rum. This one is made with deer tallow and scented with Yuzu. Yummy! Think grapefruit. Here's a loaf of Amaretto getting sliced up in the cutting guide I made. And this one is a fabulous soap made with shea butter and scented with Lovespell. To see more about my soap making check out my soap site here. And after not knitting for several years I got back into it with this quick-knit sweater jacket. I think it took me a couple of days to whip up! That was quickly followed up with this yoked sweater inspired by an episode of Gilmore Girls. Which has led to my sock making frenzy; I'm on sock number 5, and three of them (2 that even match!) are keepers! Woohoo!