New Yarn

Yesterday was Christmas, but today was the day when I got all kinds of new yarn!  Critter Bug and I went out today to hit the sales (and spend some Christmas money).  After the obligitory mall stop for new (badly needed) clothes, we went to Jo-Ann’s.  They had all their yarn on sale.  I got 7 skeins of yarn for gnomes and such (ornaments and other small stuff).  They had all their yarn on sale. I got three skeins of Vanna’s Choice (Dusty blue, black, and taupe mist), two skeins of Wool-Ease (Cranberry and Forest Green Heather), and a skein of Patons (white) (Ravelry links).  When I got home, I had my Christmas gift to myself in the mail!

Mountain Colors Winter Lace yarn in Wild Horse!  Yes, lace yarn. I decided that I wanted a shawl.  I am going to be making the Forest Canopy Shawl (Ravelry link) with this yarn.  I am so excited. I want to have it done in time to wear it to Wicked in April.  DH is buying me tickets for my birthday!  This yarn is a wool silk blend. It is so soft.  The colors are so pretty too. I can’t wait! It is going to be lovely. I had to pick up a couple of circs in size 4 and 5 for this shawl (not sure what size needle I am going to use…I will swatch some with each and see tonight).

 

Christmas knitting done!

I decided to really limit my Christmas knitting this year.  I only knitted one item.  An Alan Dart Yuletide Gnome.  This gnome was knitted in the round.  I used DPNs in size 2 1/2.  Here are the adaptations:

All P rows in instructions become K rounds (that is the beauty of knitting in the round).  The only P rounds are noted below in the changes.  Any time cast on sts noted below are less than in the original instructions, all of the st counts are reduced by two.

Head and Body: Cast on 9 sts.  I did some stuffing as I went.  I added the bean bag before the final three rows on the body.

Boot and Leg: Cast on 2o sts. Where instructions say “Cast off 6 sts at beg of next 2 rows” I cast off 6 sts at the end of the first round and 6 sts at the beginning of the next round. Then did the next row as instructed.  Then K 7 rounds, P 1 round.  Then follow remaining instructions.  I had to do a small seam at the top of the foot (I made it look like lacing).  I 

also had to do a seam at the bottom of the foot.  I did the seam at the bottom first, then stuffed the foot, and then seamed the top of the foot.  Then I stuffed the leg (using a pencil).

Arm and Mitten: Cast on 10 sts.  After changing yarn, I K 3 rounds, P 1 round.  Then I cast on 4 sts at the end of next round, then cast on 4 sts at the beginning of the next round.  When it is time to cast off, I cast off 3 sts at the end of first round, then 3 sts at the beginning of the next round.  Then followed instructions.  I had to seam the top and bottoms of 

the thumbs.  I seamed the bottom of the thumb, stuffed the thumb, and then seamed the top of the thumb. Then I stuffed the mitten and arm using a pencil.

Hat: Cast on as instructed.  P 7 rounds, K 7 rounds.  Pick up where instructions say “Next row (K2, k2tog, K2) to end”. Follow instructions to the end.

Nose and Beard are knitted flat as instructed.

 

I used this gnome to hold a gift card for my secretary at work. She is a UGA fan, so he is in Bulldog colors.  The lack of seaming and pearling made this gnome go so fast!!  I plan to do several others.  I need to shop for some Gator colors by request!

 

Long Time, No Blog

I feel like I have been gone for so long. I have been here. I just haven’t been knitting much or blogging at all. I didn’t even log onto Ravelry for over a month!!

Work has been crazy. The kidlets are growing too fast. Home is a wreck. I just haven’t had time for me. I am officially reclaiming me time. I am having frequent migraines and am frazzled beyond belief. Time for me to do things I love. My house is going to be an even bigger wreck. I won’t ever catch up at work. At least, I can be a good mommy if I take care of myself. So, I am officially back!

I am doing only a small amount of holiday knitting. I am making another yuletide gnome (I will post a picture later) for my secret pal at work! He is cute. This time I am knitting it in the round. That is so much easier than knitting flat and seaming. I will post how I did it later, once I am sure it will work for the boots and mittens (that is an experiment).

I have also picked back up the monkeys I was working on. I have also done a few more squares on my blankie. Eventually, I hope to get back involved in some swaps!

 

From the mailbag!

The mail lady has been very good to me lately! I got a card the other day from my Secret Pal. It had a picture of a gnome inside. The gnome is Gnitgnome! He is cute. My pal says that she will send pictures of the little fellow throughout the swap to give me clues as to her identity. In this picture, Gnitgnome appears to be in front of a cow pasture! LB and I are going to put them in an album.

I also got the yarn from the June Yarn Ball Swap from the Blankiemania group. The scraps are so wonderful! I can’t wait to get a chance a knit up some squares!

Today, I got my package from the second round of the Reducio Swap. It had a cute little sock made of handspun. So pretty! There was also a mini crochet scarf inspired by Luna. I will probably use it as a bookmark! Luna would have been proud to wear it! The package also included some sock yarn scraps for my blankie!! I think that is so special! My pal will always be a part of that blankie! I love that thought!

 

A Gnome to Dye For…

LB has been asking for a new baby gnome. He pulled the “tail” of the other one and unknit a good portion of it. He has been telling me that he “misses” his baby gnome. He loves Gnomie, but he just isn’t the same bedtime companion. I had been toying with the idea of dyeing some yarn, so I decided to dye enough to make a “custom gnome” for the little guy. I had some Paton’s Classic Wool in Aran that would make a good base. We bought some Kool-Aid and some Wilton’s icing dyes on Saturday (I also went to Hanks and bought some natural Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I will dye when I get braver).

Step one was to measure out some of the yarn into a skein. I didn’t want to use the whole ball, and I needed it in a longer skein. I used two chair backs to hold the yarn (no way could LB sit still that long, although he did offer). I tied it off with some random white acrylic I had.

Then, I put the yarn in to soak. I got a dishpan for this purpose ($1 at Wal-Mart…see how the dye supplies add up). I put some lukewarm water and a small amount of vinegar in. I then put the yarn in. I pushed it down to get all the air bubbles out. I then let it soak for about an hour (that is how long it took to get the baby to bed…otherwise, I doubt I would have been this patient). Sorry the picture is sideways. I just can’t get Flickr to cooperate right now (it took me all night to upload the photos).

Then, Little Bug and I mixed up some dye. He decided he wanted green and blue yarn. I didn’t have blue Kool-Aid, so we used the Wilton’s. I used a plastic knife. I got a smear of each color and added them to some hot water. It was about 3/4 of a cup of water (not measured, just a guess). I stirred until they dissolved. They looked very bright. LB kept saying he didn’t want his gnome to be too bright. I told him that it wouldn’t be that bright in the yarn.

Then, I put the yarn in a very small crockpot (there wasn’t much yarn…it is the one I use for dips). I put in just enough water to cover the yarn (lukewarm again). I then added the dyes (blue on one half and green on the other). I put on the lid and plugged it in.

After it had cooked for a bit (maybe an hour and a half or so), I added a glug (about a 1/4 cup) of vinegar to the water. That caused the yarn to suck up the dye very, very quickly. The dye exhausted in about 10 minutes after that (the water was clear).

I then shut off the crock pot and let the yarn cool. That took quite a while. I put it into a colander that I got (another $1 purchase just for this). I had to buy a new colander because the ones I use for food are all older than I am (more than 3o years old). They are cracked. They work for food, but would have caught the yarn for sure! I then rinsed the yarn in some room temperature water. The water was clear (that means the dye had set…yay!).

I then hung the yarn up to dry in the bathroom overnight! It actually took much of the next day too. I couldn’t hang it outside because of the wind. It just didn’t dry very quickly.

Here is what it looked like when it was dry. You don’t see much of the blue. It is very subtle. It almost looks like a darker green. LB was super excited about this. He thinks the blue is our little secret (don’t you love how 3 year olds think?). I think that you don’t see the blue much because I added the vinegar first on the green side. Next time, I may put a bit in with the dyes themselves. I also think that the blue was not as concentrated to begin with (it looked very dark in the cup, but there wasn’t as much dye to the same amount of water). LB is happy with the color, so I am not fussed about it. I just know what to do next time if I want the blue to be a bit darker.

Here is the final product all rolled into a ball and ready to become a gnome! So pretty! I asked LB what we should call the color. He dubbed it “Gnome Green”. How appropriate!

I absolutely loved dyeing! It was sooo much fun! I immediately went to KnitPicks and ordered some more bare sock yarn (I feel more comfortable playing with it since it is cheap). When I have had a little more practice, that Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn is going to have it’s turn! Eventually, I may get some acid dyes (Hanks has a whole bunch..and are opening a dye bar!!). Right now, I don’t really want to have anything around that is toxic for the kiddos. Maybe when I figure out where to store all the stuff that I am going to have to accumulate now (that scrapbooking cabinet may need to cleaned out a bit)!

On other news, I also got the May installment of the Nefarious Yarn Club! It is Madame DeFarge (so appropriate, don’t you think?). It is really pretty. I am not sure what it will become (socks, but I don’t know what kind…maybe just plain stockinette socks…seems practical, Mdme. DeFarge would have liked that).

 

A gnome by any other name…

Surf Colors Sock
Originally uploaded by Knitting Gnome

I gave Little Bug his gnome last night. He has been dubbed “Gnomie”. LB was so excited. Gnomie was his “baby” while Mommy took care of CB. Gnomie got to play in the Jumperoo, then he was “swaddled” and put in the bouncy seat. LB loves him.

I started new socks for LB yesterday using the Regia. I love, love, love this yarn. I expected it to feel like dishcloth cotton. It doesn’t. It is softer (although not as soft as just wool would be). What I really love is the striping and coloring of the yarn. I was fascinated by it! I just couldn’t put it down. I cast on yesterday. The photo was taken last night (heel flap is done and heel is ready to be turned). This morning, I couldn’t help myself. I turned the heel! I used the Heels By The Numbers page to do the “Rounder Heel”. I like the look of that heel better. I think I will use it more.

I was a little worried about doing a heel flap and gusset with the striping yarn. I was worried it would look funny. I decided just to relax and do it. It is going to be in LB’s shoes most of the time anyway. I really like how it is coming out. It interrupted the striping pattern a little bit, but you can’t tell (unless you are a bit OCD like I am…rest assured that LB is not).

BTW-the needle caps are new. I made them just like the others, but put a few beads on them. I really like how they turned out!

More exciting news, I have joined a swap! It is the Wee Tiny Sock Swap. It seems easy and low-key. Just my kind of fun! I will probably make my wee tiny sock out of the scraps from my Valentine’s socks or the boys’ socks depending on color preference of my swap partner!

 

On my feet!

I finished these about 5 minutes ago! Yup…on my feet! This is the yarn I got for Valentine’s Day. I love this yarn. The colors are really beautiful.
The way they made small pools and stripes was really, really pretty. The socks came out more like each other than I expected, too! Similar little pools (just slightly different placement). What was even more exciting was that they only took one skein of Lorna’s Laces! I bought two because I thought I would need two. Part of the reason it only took one was because I don’t like tall socks. I prefer anklets. This is all that was left, though (besides the second skein)! I cut it a bit close.

At this moment, I have nothing on my needles. I am going to be starting another pair of socks tommorow with the Regia I bought the day I didn’t intend to buy yarn. I am deciding what else to start for my evening project. Probably another Alan Dart gnome. I also need to decide what to do with the other skein of Lorna’s.

At the end of these socks, I don’t hate the bamboo needles. I don’t love them, but I don’t hate them. I knit a bit tight, and I prefer a more slippery needle for socks. I liked that they were pointy, but I didn’t like their flexibility. I got more used to it by the end of the socks, but I really prefer not to have a bendy needle. It is ok because my KnitPicks needles came. I am going to use them for the next socks. I love the feel of them!

 

An Easter Gnome?

Happy Easter!! Last night was busy. I had some seaming to do on a certain project….
Well, he is finally done! This gnome is for LB. He doesn’t have a name yet because I haven’t given him to LB yet. I finished it last night, but decided not to give it to him because of the excitement of Easter. I want to give it to him when it is not so busy and overwhelming with new stuff. I don’t want to compete with the Easter bunny!
The pattern is Alan Dart’s Yuletide Gnome. I made him with Wool-Ease and Fun Fur since they are available. I had to go up a needle size. I made the small size. I think that is the perfect size. He is just too cute! There will be many more of these in the future! It is an easy knit, but I had to put him aside a lot. Hopefully the rest of them will be quicker.

 

Uses for pretty yarn

Use number one is obviously for socks! I finished the first of my Valentine’s socks on Wednesday. Today was the first day I was able to take a picture in daylight. I still don’t think that the picture does the colors of the yarn justice. The colors are so beautiful! This yarn is the reason that my first Alan Dart Yuletide Gnome is still in pieces. I love the yarn and have been knitting on the socks instead of working on any other project. I was going to take photos of the gnome, but I felt he might not be happy with me (sort of embarrassing being in pieces like that). I just have to finish the seaming and stuffing on one arm and the hat. After that I will just need to sew all the limbs, beard, nose, and hat onto the gnome. I should have pictures of him by the end of the weekend.

And now for use number two… birds’ nests. Today, I had the day off, so Little Bug and I gathered all my very small yarn scraps. We took them out and hung them up on the holly tree in the yard. A few little birds have already taken a couple of the scraps for their nests. LB is really excited that he gets to “help” the birds build their nests. Even if the birds don’t take all the scraps, they look really neat on the tree. They seem like spring ornaments.

 

Catching up!

The last week or so has been really crazy. Because I had several days of court last week, jury selection on Monday, even more court this week, and a trial on Thursday (and then court again on Friday), I haven’t had much time for anything but work. Needless to say, I haven’t had much of a chance to post. I have had a lot I have been meaning to say, too. First, I got my new sock project bag! I absolutely love it! It is from Spinningdoggies on Etsy. I really wanted something with pockets inside for my notions. I don’t like keeping them in a bag or tin because I want to just be able to reach in the bag and find them. This also has pockets outside. As you can see from the picture, one of them is the perfect size for my mp3 player. The others are empty (for now). The inside pockets fit my notions perfectly! I wish the picture of the inside was a little better. This is the medium sized bag. I think it would be the perfect size for adult sized sock project. I have a toddler sized sock project, so it is a bit big for that (but I plan on making myself and DH some socks at some point, so I wanted the bigger size). Another thing I love about this bag is that it can snap onto my purse. My purse is a Vera Bradley in Cambridge. This bag kind of matches! I really, really love this bag!

Monday, I cast on for a new project as a reward for surviving jury selection preparations. I cast on an Alan Dart Yuletide Gnome! I originally cast on on 2s. Unfortunately, the yarn I found that was kind of flesh toned is a worsted acrylic. It didn’t like the 2s. I had to frog and start over on 3s. This is my evenings in front of the tv project. It is for Logan. He chose grey and green for the colors of the gnome (the hat, boots, and mittens will be green…the body is grey). The gnome is really easy! It is a fun, quick project. I have made good progress despite two nights this week working on my laptop instead of knitting!

Today, I had a knitting first! I blocked something for the first time ever. I blocked the scarf for my mom! It came out so beautifully! I don’t have a blocking board, so I just used some pins and towels. I put them on my deck railing (it is about the width that I wanted, so it was perfect). We had such a pretty day! The blocking really opened up the lace and gave it such nice shape! The blocking really made the scarf look like a scarf. I can’t wait to see what my mom thinks of it! She is going to love it! It really made me rethink giving it away. DH also wondered why I wasn’t keeping it when he saw it. I reminded him that I could always buy more of the same yarn and make another if I decide I really need one. I may just do that! I have just a bit left of the Lorna’s Laces Black Purl. I will probably make another of the baby gnomes for one of my nieces.

So, if you have read this far, you are probably wondering about my trial. I got a not guilty verdict!! At the end of the trial, the Judge told me that his former law partner used to say that winning a not guilty verdict was better than sex. I just had to laugh at him. I didn’t feel that way at all. All I felt was relief that I hadn’t messed up too badly. I know that when a client is probably guilty and I win, I do feel that way (it is more of a game). When a client is truely innocent and I win, I just feel relief. Part of that is some self doubt in my practice. Part of that is just a relief that the system still works. Anyway, I felt relief because I really believed in this particular client (and this particular client really believed in me…something that scared me to death). So, that was part of why my week was crazy. I worked really, really hard because I knew that I would never forgive myself for not working hard enough and losing. As it turned out, I was probably really overprepared (a good thing). Now that the trial is over, the knitting will be able to pick back up!