Oh, for the Love of Lime!


yup, she's back on the Shrek Train...

Almost, but now I've figured out why I had such a primal reaction to those DaggNammit Stuples Ads...

I just love Yellow-Green.

Chartruese.

Kiwi

Green Cocktail Olive

Neon Lime

Grasshopper

Shrek

Ah, there he is. But seriously, this is the color I turn to most often. If I walk into a yarn shop, I immediately walk over to anything resembling the color of green olives. Over and over.

If I didn't have any self-restraint (which of course is questionable at best) most of the things I've knitted would be this color.

I just got some new glasses that are dark olive in the front and see-through kiwi on the sides.

WHEEEEEEE!!!!

*******************************************
It just dawned on me:
I've FINISHED MY FIRST SOCK!!!
Thanks to Terry's SOCKS 101,
it only took me 3 tries
to get the "grafting" thing!
*******************************

Comments (8)

SuperSunday 5-Cup Caffeine Rant

First Time Felter?


why is she wearing that hat inside???

Making hats this year and now Fuzzy Feet
has made me refine my felting techniques.

*******************************************
Secrets of the YaYA Felters
*******************************************

Secret #1: Cast-on and Bind-off really loosely if you're making a garment, socks or hat. I use a needle two sizes bigger than the pattern calls for to accomplish this.

Secret #2: If it's a hat brim, try counter-acting the tendency to roll with #1 above AND binding off purlwise if a knit side is facing you OR knitwise if a purl side is facing you.

Secret #3: I felt things by washing them in hot water with two pairs of blue jeans and a little squirt of Dawn Dish soap. Scrubbing Hot Bubbles = Felting.

Secret #4: Put your item in a laundry bag or zippered pillowcase to avoid fibers everywhere - it all sheds!

Secret #5: Keep a long handled *tool* to fish the thing out of the HOT water. I have a handle from a broken back scrubber that I fish with.

Secret #6: Check often after about the five minute mark - different yarns felt faster depending on the fibers used and the way they are spun. I find looser spin = faster felting. I almost shrinky dinked a hat in 5 minutes because the yarn was very soft.

Secret #7: Really Block the thing. For a hat, steam the heck out of the brim on the wrong side (while the hat is still damp). A steamer is best but an iron over a cotton towel works well.

Secret #8: For a hat, use something that is about the same size around as the hat covered with a dish towel and shape the hat. Pretend its PlayDough and pinch and push and pat until it looks the way you want it to. Pretend you are a Master Parisienne HatMaker and bend it to your will.

Secret #9: AHA! I am wearing my hat around the house to custom fit it to my head. I sprayed it with plain water and patted it to shape. Now it will dry and fit perfectly. You can do the same with your FUZZY FEET, ala Miss Wendy in her January 28, 2003 entry.

Secret #10: Do not be afraid! If you don't like the way it turns out, you can soak it in warm water, roll it in a towel to remove excess water, then BLOCK IT AGAIN. My mom's hat took three rounds before it behaved - I was just being too gentle on a mule-spun wool that was very hearty.

*******************************************

The sweater in this picture is my *House Coat* that I wear all the time in really cold weather.

I bought it from some hippy folks at the OcktoberFest in Washington Park in Michigan City, Indiana, a few years ago. The couple who sells these every year goes South and gets a bunch of stuff and travels around selling it at fairs. Anybody know more about S. American Knitwear?

It just gets better with age - it was made up in the Andes in South America - maybe Columbia or Peru, I forget. I think it has alpaca in it.

Double-stranded worsted weight alpaca - we are talking a one-woman mobile home here with no furnace needed! BUT my real furnace is working so good now the difference is incredible!

*******************************************

Comments (8)

Monday Morning Mirth


Meet Budgie the SlumpBuster

Cabin Fever: the Bane of all NorthWoods Tribes!

BUT, Winter 2003 has taken it's toll on us all this year. When my friends came back from Atlanta and told me it was slightly below freezing while they were there for a weekend, I knew the Fever had struck us All!!!

The walls seem like they're closing in. Everybody is really crabby (I can hear someone laying on their car horn right now - it is 6:40am!) Traffic is more viscious than ever. Don't even try to get gas on a Friday Night at a downtown gas station - a guarenteed throw-down at the pumps.

My low point came when a friend was at my house and told me they could see by the depression in my sofa where I had been spending all my time. Even my sofa's DEPRESSED!!!

Maybe you've stopped your projects or blogging because you just feel like you're in a mental fog...

Which means you need to GET BUSTED!

Move around. Do some sit-ups!!!

Go outside for a brisk walk around the block. People with dogs - sign in on this one...

Take a break and build your own super-hero HERE.

RULE YOUR WORLD!

Comments (5)

a ChicKnits Runway Presentation

************************



courtesy of Lana Grossa

Fluffy and light! Beat that Cabin Fever!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lana Grossa Yarns
click on Model fo the Month

Yarns Available at Filati-World

Comments (3)

I can't Believe I Made the Whole Thing!!!

Yahoo! N0W the fun begins!

I look into my crystal ball and see a Garden of Footsie Delights!

This was one of the most exciting projects I've ever made. Between the turning of the Heel, the Gusset (what the heck does *gusset* mean anyway?), and the colors unfolding as you knit with beautiful, soft, variegated yarn, there was never a dull moment.

I had it on the bus with me this morning and it drove people to distraction as well. This is the perfect carry-along project. (I hear the mocking in my ear "Told ya so, told ya so..." :):):)

My Good Muse said (in a sweet way) when I showed her, "Now, Bonne, you're not going to become one of those *Sock People* are you?"

Heh. WHO are the Sock People?

More More More!

Comments (33)

Thank You!!!

card from my beloved sister Cathy - inside:

Be Brave!
Be Beautiful!
Happy Birthday!

Thanks for all the good wishes and goodies!

I am in denial about birthdays - you know the type, owh, don't mention it or celebrate it or gift it. AND THEN, that day occurs and people are kindest beyond your wildest expectations (which when you're in denial are zero...)

My friends, you've made me feel like a queen and showered me with things I love. How blessed can I be!!!

OF course, I overslept and now have to run for it, so until tomorrow, KISS KISS HUG HUG!!!

Comments (11)

Eat Candy!

Love Each Other!


*******************************

Zero Calorie Candy Hearts

Comments (1)