MY Blog

within 5 minutes, even?  WTF.

I had forgotten to highlight the fun Things 1 & 2 have been having with random sharpies.  I can remember reading all about Through the Loops wicked creative teens, wondering if mine would ever get to that point.  Well, although nowhere as talented as the trio from TTL, mine are spreading their wings.

Voila:

Thing 2’s creation.

And for Thing 1:

Here’s the difference between Thing 1 and 2.  Thing 1 is still working on his shirt.  He outlined in black and then waited a few days for the ink to really set.  He adds one or two images a day.  Thing 2 finished her shirt in about 2 hours.  No waiting, she wore it right away.

Thing 2 also has a spreadshirt store.  right now, there’s only one design up, but she’s working on some more.  If you’re interested, please visit.  She’s trying to raise some dollars to offset her extremely spendy art & music summer camp.

amazing how time just slips away from you.  i have all these blog posts hanging out in my head, but by the time i actually sit down for the evening, i can only concentrate on mindless TV and/or knitting…

I have been knitting. I finished up a long-lost project last week.  The project actually wasn’t lost, just the pattern.  My mother found it in her house.  Odd spot for my pattern, especially since I hadn’t actually taken this project to CT, but, oh well, at least it was found.

However, since it’s a year later, it will no longer fit Thing 3.  It will most likely fit Cousin 3, who’s not yet 3.  I think one reason I wasn’t so sad that the pattern had disappeared was that I realized it would not fit Thing 3 even last year.

Here’s the dress:

It’s from a BSA pattern, and I’ve raveled the deets.   I’m not the hugest fan of the dyed cotton, but I like how it knit up here.  I think the dress will suit Cousin 3, especially as she (along with my sister, BIL and their other two Things) move off to Hong Kong later this summer for an extended assignment.  It’s hot in Hong Kong.  All year long.

Christina at the store has been busy as well.  With this:

can you tell which one is actually supposed to be on the beach?  Well, neither can I, except the one on the left is wicked heavy.  Because it’s filled with more than air. It looks adorable though!

I’m smitten with Ishbel.  In just a few days I whipped up a sample for the shop and class we’re offering on Tuesday.

Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of shawls.  They just seem slightly, well, um, dowdy.  But Ishbel looked appealing–especially the way the photo was styled: more like a triangular scarf.  And, given my previous death at the hands of a vampire (or the guillotine during the French Revolution, i’m not sure which), I’m all about protecting my neck.

Ishbel’s made using 400 yds of lace or fingering weight yarn.  Not wanting something so sweaty around my neck in the late spring/summer, I decided to use our new Safari yarn from GGH.  Safari is a linen/poly blend that has a slight suede-y feel.  Knitting it up, I wasn’t so sure about my choice–it felt much stiffer as a strand than it did in a ball.  However, after binding off, I gave ole Ishbel a bath in warm water, and boy, did the Safari soften up so nicely, and with great drape!  I used two balls of Safari, and had a few yards left over.

Here’s the back.  It hangs nicely, doesn’t it!?

And the front, when worn as a shawl, not a scarf:

Ishbel turned out so nicely, she’ll be leaving the shop and heading up to Massachusetts where Slow Speaking Grandma now lives.  (No, “slow-speaking” is not a criticism–SSG is from South Bend, Indiana, and when DH first arrived from Japan, she was the only person he could understand, because she spoke with such a mid-westy cadence.  Thus the nickname.)  Anyways, SSG is now is Massachusetts, and this past weekend we celebrated her 90th birthday!  Woo-hoo for SSG! I’m pleased to be giving SSG a knitted gift, because SSG’s mother (my great grandmother) was an avid knitter, and although she did not teach me to knit, I know I was enthralled watching her.

BTW, you’ll notice that Ishbel is sitting atop yet another lovely knitted FO.  That, dear friends, is Ginger, a free pattern from Rowan.  I knit that baby up in just over 10 days, using another great GGH yarn-Tara.  5 skeins.  It’s conservative enough from the front.  The treat is the back:

Ooo-la-la!