Yarn Along

Yarn Along! My favorite day of the week.
This has been a good knitting and crocheting week for me.

I finished the hat I started last week, (also, as I typed that sentence just now I got this in my head ) and I have made some good progress on the matching sweater for She-Who-Has-Not-Been-Named, and I also have been working on a crocheted rag-rug project with my daughter.
It started out as a pile of t-shirts, but now it's a fun rainbow-y rug-to-be!
Can you tell it's been kind of cloudy and grey here lately? lots of colors coming from those needles of mine :)

This week I started reading Treasure Island, but I got about as far as I did the last time I tried to read it, when I was in High School, which is about 3 pages.
There's been a lot of late-night belly dancing from a certain Threetus the Fetus, and so I am waking up in the morning not feeling all that rested.
This has the cascading effect of the kids being sent to school without a home lunch most days (the lunches at school are much healthier than when I was a kid) and also I don't really have the attention span for reading.
It is an interesting story, though, so I'll sally forth.

What's on your needles/hooks/nightstand this week?

Progress

I have made some good progress this week on my list of projects from Monday.

This is the hat to match the booties that I finished up on Tuesday, and I cast on for the sweater yesterday. 

That little flower is so sweet, and it was a breeze to whip up. Maybe the Elder needs some matching barrettes? 

I made some good progress on my t-shirt rag-rug too.

The Elder was able to help out with the crocheting, which was super fun. She ran out of yellow, and I haven't cut the orange or red strips yet, so we're in a holding pattern on this one. It's coming out just like I had planned, though, so that's a bonus.

Since I was able to get so much knitting and crocheting done this week, it highlights the fact that I may have the time to finally start sorting the Baby Area, and perhaps clean off my sewing work table. 

We'll see how that comes along...

Anything fun on your to-do list this weekend?

Yarn Along

Yarn Along time!

I haven't had much time for reading lately. 

I sing with two choral groups and we begin our concerts in about 2 1/2 weeks, so most of my reading has been our repertoire.

It's challenging stuff, but so much fun to sing.

On the needles I have a pair of booties for She-Who-Has-Not-Been-Named. 

Actually, you can see that those are off the needles, but now I am making a matching hat.

I am totally digging this set of baby cuteness. 

The hat has a flower on the top of it, and there will be a sweater too, at some point.

What are you knitting and reading this week?

In Which Jess Shares a Bunch of Links and Makes Grand Predictions About Her Activities for the Next 10 Weeks.

Last Wednesday I got to spend some quality time with my Mom, which was awesome, at the Urgent Care/ER, which was not.

I have a pregnant cold. This seems to be like a Man Cold, in that I was completely incapacitated by a stuffy head. Low-ish blood pressure, combined with what was probably mild dehydration, and low hemoglobin made for a weak, fuzzy-headed and sleepy Jess.

Anyhoo, the Hubby has demanded that I take it easy with my volunteer commitments and so I shall.

This has opened up many of my days and so it can't hurt to start a few baby-prep projects in the meantime.

On Saturday I finished up teaching a class at the Yarnery and one of my students gave me a thank-you gift certificate so I could make something for the baby. (Sweetest thing ever, that)

Since I was working at the store again yesterday, I picked out some yarn and a pattern and I started knitting these adorable booties.

I also got yarn for the matching sweater and hat, and they're all 6 month size, so I have a little time before they'll be worn.

Also on the docket is a rag rug.

As I was perusing the blogs yesterday I came across this Rug-A-Long at Ric Rac, and it reminded me that I have been meaning to make something like this. 

So, with that in mind I set out for the thrift store and picked up this pile of loveliness.

The energy necessary for cutting and braiding strips of fabric should not be overly taxing to this 30 weeks pregnant lady, and I am excited to see how it all comes out in the end.
I think a rainbow rag rug will be nice to haul along to the beach this summer.

What's on your list of things to do?

The Last Post About This Blanket (for now)

I finished the blanket today.
It came off the loom yesterday, and I got a start on the fringing.
I went with a random stripe, usually I am a very concrete person, so this was a departure for me.
You can see in this photo that about 8 inches from the right-hand side of the blanket there is a pretty clear flaw.
When the Elder and I set up the warp we twisted two strands, and twisted they remained for the duration of the weaving process.

So, this morning I pulled those two threads out and re-wove them using a tapestry needle and now you can't see a thing!

I still have gobs of yarn left, so I think I may just make this snowsuit for the wee bairn and then she'll have a matching stroller ensemble.

When I decided to get weaving again I went to Interweave Press online and downloaded a couple of how-to e-books.
The next thing I want to try is some more challenging warp set-ups.
For this blanket I did a zig-zag twill weave; every 4 inches or so I just reversed the order of the pedals that I used.
One of the books I downloaded had really complicated-looking patterns that they swear can be accomplished by following a chart.
I may keep you all apprised of my progress as far as that goes, faithful readers.
I hope all is well with you out there.

You Know How it Goes...

So I may have gone to the yarn store yesterday and bought a couple of skeins of yarn to coordinate with the blanket project, just to add some fun stripes.

Stash reduction can never really occur without some additional purchases, can it?

A Weaving Project

Well, it all started about 3 years ago at a stash swap at the Yarnery. 

I got a bag of Sierra from a co-worker and while I did use a ball or so in a project for Christmas 2010, the majority of it was still sitting in my basement waiting to realize its destiny.

The other month I had a visit from my friend Susan who loaned me the amazing, beautiful, floor loom that I have had in my basement for over a year, and she suggested that I weave a blanket from the Sierra.

Saturday, I finally got down to it and brought out the warping board. I spent some time setting up the loom yesterday and this morning I have made an actual start on a blanket. 

I think this will be for the baby, but it might just end up on the couch (it's chilly up here you know).