Bags!

Finally felted and finished up all my bags (the ones that have been sitting around waiting to be fulled that is). I like them all except for one. The Lotrop II bag (from Noro Revisited) is HEDIOUS. I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of it. Seriously...it is ugly as sin and because I chose the Berroco Hip Hop yarn; it just doesn't work for the pattern (which is really nice). The other bags though came out great. Here they are:

The Lucy Bag:

Came out fantastic! It looked nice unfelted and looks as good felted. I am really happy with it.

Yarn: Wisdom Yarn-Peoms in colorway 550; 3 skeins for the smaller version of the pattern.

Needles: US 7 dpns for the start and then circs.

Knitting for Peace Messenger Bag:

Fun, Fun , Fun! It shrunk up a lot thank goodness. It was so big before felting that I could stand in it and it went past my knees, with the strap going over my head lol. Yeah thats kind of big. After two times through the wash it know lays at my hip with the strap over my body diagonally. When it came out of the wash one corner of the flap was pointed outward and try as I might I could not get it to straighten so I pulled out the opposite corner to match and it looks great. It doesn't need a closure but if I find something that fits I will add one for embellishment. Its done though.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, in Black, Supreme Purple, Amethyst and Wild Violet. 1.5 Skeins each.

Needle: US 9 circs.

Vikkie's Summer Sunglass Neck Bag:

This is a pattern I made up myself. I have the notes all written down, have to put it into a coherent format however so that it can be shared. I called it a Sunglass Neck Bag because its just big enough to throw a pair of sunglasses, some money and an ID in. I love it. I added some glass leaf beads to it in autumn colors because of the colors in the yarn. So the colors are not very Summery lol...but still. Love the yarn...its one of my favorites. It was knit in one piece with one end of the strap kitchnered into place.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals in New England Fall colorway; 1.5 skeins used.

Needles: US 8 dpns.

Nevada State Fair

The Nevada State Fair was held last week. I didn't have anything entered, I wanted to but time got away from me. (WORK) However two people I know did enter. Miss Caroline the supreme sock knitter mentioned in the last post entered some socks...and won a blue ribbon! (First place in the category) YEAH CAROLINE! Have not seen her yet though to congratulate her.

My friend Kathy entered a sewing project and a knitted bag. She won blue ribbons for both. Honey and I went with her to see if she had gotten a ribbon. This was the first time she had ever entered anything and was kind of nervous. When we got to the fair she kept procrastinating about going to the exhibit hall and seeing if she had gotten anything. I finally had to drag her. She entered a sewn sculpture piece...the category was toy...but its way more then a toy. It is a sculpture of a Dragon which she calls Starlight. The other item is a knitted bag that she named Vikkie's Dharma with Bells. (its my belated bday gift) She was soooooo excited. Couldn't stop squeeling LOL..yup she did. I was so excited for her. I have won a couple of ribbons at the Fair in prior years for paintings so I know exactly how she felt. Here is her happy face next to her pieces on display:


The bag is the bigger stripped one.

Knitting in the Park

A couple of weekends ago Florrie from Deluxe Yarns set up "Knitting in the Park" (August 19th). It was a really lovely day though if you were in the shade for the first part of the day it was a little chilly but then warmed up though there was a good breeze all day. We have had a horrendously hot summer here so it was a nice break. The company was lovely. My lovely friend Knitty Otter was there and others who I have missed knitting with this summer because WORK (that damn 4 letter word I swear!) got in the way.

Someone even brought a portable spinning wheel. We ate, we laughed, we spun....oh yeah and yours truly FELL. Right on her face! Sheesh...my flip flop caught a piece of raised walkway just right and I went sliding across the cement ...lunch everywhere. I went sliding...face first and scrapped up my elbow pretty nicely. At first I didn't think it was anything more then a scrapped up elbow. But has night came, at home, I went to stand up and my hip and knee where shot through with pain. I went to straighten my arm...the scrapped up elbow one...and couldn't. The elbow was swollen up like a below and bruised badly, my right hip had a huge black bruise and my knee did as well (my knees are already in bad shape so this doesn't help). It was so bad I couldn't get up and move to go to work. SHEESH! Only me! It honestly didn't feel that bad when it happened. It is all healing very nicely now though. But thats not what I needed lol.

Anyway ...one of my knitterly friends brought a huge wicker basket with her...at the request of Knitty Otter I was given to understand...of her socks. Caroline is a talented talented knitter of all kinds of items, but especially socks. The fantastic thing about her socks is that she makes very large socks...lol...like for someone who wears size 10 shoe and up (makes socks for her son who wears a size 13 shoe) and they are also wide. Pretty big socks...and she knits them on size - dpns. Yup! Fast too! Her socks come out with a beautiful fantastic fabric, if you didn't know you would think they had been machine made. So, when the basket was opened she had 52 pairs of the socks, and said she had given away at least as many. WOW...we of course HAD to take pictures. Of course! The cool thing for me is that Miss Caroline has similar tastes in sock yarn as I do...many of her completed socks are done in yarn that I have in my stash that I have not been able to match with a pattern because I wasn't sure what the stripping would do. Now that I have seen them knit up I have a better idea and can match them better with patterns. So here are her socks:

Summer of Socks Prize!

I won not just one...but two skeins of yarn from a contest for the Summer of Socks KAL! It is extemely lovely stuff with a generous amount of yardage. Here are the specs:

Yardage: 560 (4oz.)

Fiber: 2 ply soft 100% Superwash Merino Wool

Yarn weight: Fingering (of course it came from a sock KAL lol)

Made by: Cynthia's Skeins.

I won it for an internet Scavenger Hunt. Funny thing is that the first time I put an entry for the contest I didn't do it exactly right. I thought I had read the rules but with working being the way it was I didn't read them correctly and I ended up having to re-do it. So I figured I was out at that point lol....but guess what? I wasn't! lol

I have no chance at all of winning any of the other prizes because I have not been able to keep up with the sock knitting at all this summer...again due to work. Can you believe that Cookie from "Shut up and Knit!" has made 27 pairs so far? Wow! Right now she is in the lead for the Most Socks Contest but Jeannie from "Sewing, Knitting and Beyond" is close with 23. Wow.

Catching Up: Baby Shower

DEEP SOOTHING BREATH...and exhale.

Finaly...LOL. What a summer! Last Friday was the last official day for my students with my summer program. This week I just admin stuff to clean up. They and I start the regular school year next Monday. Yikes. Unlike my students I finish up in December! YAHOO! I am so excited. This has been a long time coming with many sacrifices and life changes. I cannot believe it. So now for knitting blog updates. There are so many so I am going to do them in a series of different posts just so that I can keep myself organized lol.






My lovely friend, Knitting Otter, threw a baby shower for our other lovely friend Chipping Away and her partner A (it was the first time I had met A...what a great person!) :-). For never having given a baby shower (you would have never known if she hadn't said) it was the best one I have ever been too. KO and I made stitch markers (since all invited were from our knitting group lol) as invitee gifts, they were baby themed. I had soooo much fun going to the store and picking out the beads and charms...then sitting in her house making them together. It was so fun. She also went overboard with the party itself....well not overboard...above and beyond...fantastic food...lovely guests...and fun games. Have you ever played a game where you catapult a tiny plastic baby from a hand held device???? No? Then you are missing out...it was hilarious trying to hit the target. LOL. KO also had fantastic knitterly prizes for everyone. It was so much fun that the time just flew by...we started at noon and I didn't get home until 5 pm. LOL. Here are some pictures (no faces of people sorry because I didn't get permission and I don't play like that so there :-P ).







Ok so I lied there is one face (and yes I got permission)...LOL...that is the famous (in knitting blogland anyway lol) TKK :-) Miss Knitty Otter's fur baby. She is super super sweet and adorable. As for the knitting...the booties were my first ever baby items and the were fun to make. There is however no pattern, Florrie from Deluxe Yarns just told me verbally how to make them and I did. Easy peasy. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Worsted and part of a joint gift between myself and Knitty Otter who made matching hates. The other two knitted items are burp cloths made from Peaches n' Cream Cotton (1.5 balls) and the pattern is called "Baby Genius Burp Cloth" from Mason Dixon Knitting. Also very easy, though I made them longer then the patterned instructed because those who have had babies told me that a longer burp cloth would be better. LOL...I can only imagine so I followed there advice.


Ok so here Catch Up #1...purses, knitting in the park, stitch markers and yarn coming up. :-)

Yeah I Know...

...I have not blogged for a while and this one is going to be short. I have been knitting. I had several secret projects that I couldn't blog about before for a baby shower and bday gift. I have also completed through to felting 4 bags and also some socks. I am just working my you know what off for these final couple of weeks of the program I teach and it has just taken over. Whew! I will be posting soon, pictures included, about all the knitting and things. :-)