Lookie lookie!

Look what I did! I didn't have a lot of time, so this is just once through the wash, but already I can tell that felting in the new building is much better than in Michigan!!!!



It's pretty good now, but I want it a bit more sturdy, so probably once (maybe twice) more through. I was worried because I can only set one temp on my washer. Hot, Warm of Cold. None of this hot/cold stuff. BUT, when I checked on it during the rinse cycle? Ice cold water (I had set it to hot) so know I know my "hot" is really "hot/cold". Swank.

I would also totally do this bag again. But probably in one colorway of Kureyon. I think that would be pretty.

YAY!!!!!

Look waht I did today!!!



Today was a lazy day at home, as I got president's day off... I just hung around and watched TV and knit and knit and knit and knit and knit!

Yesterday, I had to drive Dan to the airport at a godawful hour of pre-dawn. And I was driving home at sunrise (ugh, I know) thinking of all the times I've driven home in sunrise and I came home and was walking into my building at 6am and thinking "I wonder if the doorman thinks that this is a walk of shame?"

Also, I need to give a shout out to HolyKnitter, who emailed me all excited about her new blog and for some reason, Outlook decided that her email was junk mail. Even though all of her other messages to me never are. WTF?! So, here is my shout out, my AoD sister! READ THE HOLYKNITTER!



Also, you should check out Trish's blog. Her market squares bag is looking swank! And! already felted! Gold for her! She asked what yarn I'm using and it's KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. It's working well and was DEAD CHEAP. All the yarn was under $20. Sa-weet!

I have one handle knit. The other is started. I think on Wednesday I'll start (I work tomorrow night and our laundry room as set hours, so I won't be able to then...) I haven't tried to felt in this building yet. We'll see what happens with this washer!!! I don't think I can have a hot/cold in the same cycle. Maybe I'll run 2 washers. One with hot and one with cold and then just switch between them, Thoughts?

Snow!

So, it turns out my camera wasn't FUBARed, I'm just stupid. Today was 60 degrees and all the lovely snow that made my weekend is now gone. But here is what I saw from my balcony when I woke up on Sunday morning.











And here is my Olympic Project... I'm 1/2 through the 5th tier. On the 7th tier, I start decreasing, so they'll get smaller. I feel I'm making good progress.

Olympics

So... of all the times for my camera to be completely FUBARed... it's now.

But! I got pretty pictures of the 8 inches of snow dumped on us! (But I can't get them OFF the camera. Sadly.) And now it's all white and wintery and positively lovely and driving to work in all of that on a sunny, cold day while listening to Jamesmade me ache for Iowa.

The market squares bag is going well. There is a starting band, 15 tiers, the straps, and the felting. I have done the band and am about 1/4 of the way through the fourth tier. Entralac is now my friend, as is KNITTING BACKWARDS. I feel super hard-core.

Yarn!

Woo-hoo! I was freaked out that it wouldn't happen, but my Olympic yarn came today. Yay!!!

Ta-Da!

Would you look at that?! Draped all down my back like that?




Look ma! No needles! (Also, I'm a tall girl. Look how big that thing is!) So, yes, I cast off darling Birch last night. She needs her ends woven in and to be blocked (a project for tomorrow) but the knitting is done and she is lovely and I loved knitting her. LOVED. I highly recommend this pattern to anyone and everyone. My only suggestion is to use LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of stitch markers. (I had one every 10 stitches, so that was 29 when I started!!!



So, big, even when I stand on chairs, I can't photograph the whole thing!



In other news, my wonderful Secret Pal is evil. The other day she commented on this very blog about how there was an entrelac wrap in Scarf Stylebut it wasn't on my wish list so she didn't know if I had it... and I thought to myself, well, I looked at the book when it came out in the book store, and it didn't really grab me, so I didn't want it but she mentioned this wrap, so I wanted to go see it. Luckily, I work in the library, so it just required walking about 50 feet and wow. What a book. I don't know why it didn't grab me before but it sure does now!!! (And that wrap! Gorgeous!) So now, it's on my wish list.

BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRCH

There are no pictures on this post, because I'm at work and stuff.

Anyway. So I went to Stitch and Bitch last night (suck it SFSE). And because I get off at the Chinatown Metro station, I got to see part of the Dragon Dance because it was the big New Year's celebration. I then kicked myself all the way to SnB because I forgot my camera.

At SnB I showed off how absolutely huge Birch is getting and freaked out that I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish it. (Rowan says it only takes 3 balls of kidsilk haze, but that third ball was getting pretty small...) and they reassured me and I knew it would be OK, because I had more kid crack in the same shade of blue...

I got home and fretted to Dan (and his response was "Really? There might be more kidsilk haze around here? Who knew?" The master of sarcasm, Dan is.) I did some laundry and knit and knit and knit while watching the Superbowl, even though I didn't really care because, well, I just didn't care. But I knit and knit and knit and knew that there was NO WAY I could finish with that last ball so the great stash hunt commenced.

Why is it that the yarn you're looking for is always at the bottom of the last bin?! Gah. And I have way way way way way way way too much yarn. Gah.

But I found it and it's a different dye lot, so I alternated it with the other yarn to blend it in and am knitting madly away.

I'm down to 75 stitchs. WOO!!!

And, yes, Lynne, I could put it on a holder, but I'm so freaking close to being done, that I'd rather just finish it! Plus, the library is coooooooooooooooooooooooold so I want to wear it at work.

Yay for my Secret Pal!!!!

Look! Look! Look! I got a package from my secret pal today!



Here's some balls of Manos del Uraguay and Classic Elite Lush. And because she knows I don't have a swift, it's all wound up for me. YAY!



This is a binder that she put together for me for holding all my loose patterns and inside there are dividers for different types of patterns-- Sweaters, Scarves, Shawls, Socks, and Bags. AND there are three patterns inside to help me with my entrelac-- a scarf, a bag, and some socks. But I want to call special attention to the cover because it's all hand-done like a scrap book page and really really cool.

Of course, there was also something that I wanted to eat but couldn't:



But I could eat the insides! YUM.



And there was a big box of Chocolate Covered Cherries (my favorite!) and some Burt's Bees chapstick (also my favorite!) and butter popcorn (drool) and books! I got Oliver TwistElizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanacand Traditional Fair Isle Knitting. Yay for my secret pal!!!

DEADLINE!

Added onto my Olympic Challenge is the fact that I must finish Birch in the next week.

MUST.

Why? Because I need the needle I'm knitting with to knit Market Bag.

I have a million needles and yet, I always need the one I'm using. Is this the Murphy's Law of Knitting? I bet it is.

I give in!

So... I've decided to join Stephanie's Knitting Olympics.

I'm doing the Market Squares bag from Knitter's Summer 2001 because...

1. I've never ever ever done Entrelac before. Ever. And it's like the only knitting thing I haven't at least tried before.
2. I don't felt a lot and have a hard time getting stuff felted down to where I like it.

And guess what? I ordered new yarn for the project because I don't think I have enough felt-able stash yarn that will match. This is the first time I've bought yarn for myself since moving last August, which was almost six months ago!!!! (Thank god for my secret pals who keep supplying me with the good stuff!!!!) And I got it from knitpicks, so I spent less than $20. And I got a bunch of yarn for my secret pal.