ah

my school chorus program is tmrw... Pictures of December... 10 songs and they're gonna be so good!

So today some of my cherubs came down during their recess and lunch and helped make garland for the tree. Packing peanuts.. it really does look like popcorn garland from far away. I'll take pictures tmrw. I wanted something on the cheap... so I got some from some fellow freecyclers... :-D YAY
The idea came to me while I was teaching one morning. Out of the blue... strange! But that's so much like me.

I wish I had more crafty news... or even more news but i'm dry!

on the fence

about whether or not to add the embroider touches to this blanket. You can see the original pattern here And this is my version, maybe, so far:

Wild Stripes by Kristin Goedert
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish DK (superwash merino)
Colors: asparagus, beach glass, cornflower, dusk, frost, grain heather, jade, maple leaf, moss, skyborne, storm, terra cotta
Needle: US5
Fabric Backing: I'll have to look it up
Piping: Wrights Maxi Piping
Recipient: Baby Laura

So what's your take should I add the french knots and running stitches or leave it be?
Here's the backside of the blanket to help you decide.

I started cutting up some squares tonight for those felted wreaths. I dyed a white thrift store sweater green last Sunday ibefore felting it in preparation for this. Friday night I used my 50% off coupon at Joann's to buy a self healing cutting mat to use for the project. I have a rotary cutter from mom's stuff (thanks mom) that and electric scissors should be helpful in all the projects in line for Christmas.

I was at the thrift sotre this weekend with the boys. I gave them the job of scoping out for the yellow tags (color of the day for 50% off) They were really helpful and so proud when they found a sweater I'd buy. They've learned that mommy doesn't want polyester or acrylic and right now I'm not looking for cotton. I found for myself a brand new with tags Eddie Bauer cardigan in a camel kind of tweed that is a lambswool/nylon/cashmere blend for a whopping $5. It's a tad tight to button, but I'm not planning on wearing it that way. It's also got this cool very open cable thing going on. I love it! And a 1000% lambswool flannel grey color mock turtle from United Colors of Benetton for $3. I'm sure I'll get lots of use from that. The aran cable hand knit Irish sweater I bought last week for $3 has served me well already. I love it. It's so cozy and warm I wear it ALL the time. Someone felted it so it's virtually windproof.

I really need to finish the soup and go to bed. I'm feeling tired and would like to be asleep before DS2 wakes me up in the middle of the night. I should be grading papers, but eh! At lesat the plans are done!

I realized I never posted pictures of last weekends pumpking picking. We took two children of friends along with us. Actually the siblings of the recipient of Wild Stripes. She's still a bit young to be picking pumpkins. All the kids had a blast. Now to carve a couple. I want to try the technique in which you don't pierce the whole pumpkin, just shave off outside layers so it's translucent. I should have some time to do all that if I don't sleep at all this week!

I'll try to post on Friday... but in case I miss, happy halloween!

challenge of the alps

I spun an entire bobbin of BFL today! Frogged a sleeve and the back of that cashmere sweater to come up with something like 1200 yards of lace weight cashmere, add that to the other 450 yards from the first sleeve and I have half the front to do yet... mm mm mm!

I spun a little bit of alpaca as well and did some (not nearly enough) housecleaning on my computer.

Tomorrow is ply day (and a visit to the dentist)

Happy crafting!

recycled yarn

I've been recycling yarn lately. Remember the cashmere sweater I wrote about a few weeks ago? Well I took it apart but had some troubles unraveling, so I let it sit. In the mean time, I unraveled a 100% merino XL ladies long sleeve sweater that is 2 ply laceweight yarn. I've learned that I need to be really careful when undoing the seams. It's even harder to see the threads that you can cut on these fine weight yarn sweaters. Well this cake is from the 2 sleeves and the front of the sweater. I have another smaller cake from the sweater back. The ends are spit spliced so there'll be no knots in the skein. I'll wind it on my skein winder, wash it and probably overdye it.

I also frogged merino longies that I had made for DS2 quite some time ago from a JCrew merino sweater. I had frogged the rest of the sweater and have about 1000 yards from that. Now, there's an additional 400 yards (give or take) from the longies (both arms) so I'll add that to the other and have quite the mother lode of very soft 2 (very loosely) ply merino in hunter green.

So tonight, after spinning for the tour de fleece, I decided to try my hand at one of the sleeves of the cashmere sweater and lo and behold... it started to unravel :-)
It's super fine weight cashmere and the places that I've cut wrong I just spit splice and it turns out fine. I'm so psyched now. My first cashmere.

I've been spinning up a storm and DD has decided to get rid of her polly pockets, so we've been organizing to take photos of them to list on ebay. She should get a haul since the collection is immense. We counted 100 pairs of shoes (just shoes, not including the 20ish pairs of boots) I'm making her do most of the work, after all she'll get the cash, but a little supervision is always a good thing.

We went miniature golfing today with the kids. On the way home DS2 asked where are apo and aba? We told him that they went home yesterday. He wants them to come back. LOL Guess 6 weeks wasn't enough.

I've cast on for the 3rd time for the yoga bag... this time I used circulars with a bigger circumference AND a stitch marker forthe beginning of the round. The pattern is written for flat, but I'm knitting it in the round :-]

I also started Tina's cloth for the love2knit dishcloth exchange. I hope she'll like it. I think I found a perfect cloth for her!

OK... it's soon time to wake up and I've yet to go to bed. I heard someone stirring upstairs at about 4 AM... lately one of the 3 kids has been up at that time for the past week.

so much to do and so little time... who needs sleep?

First off. VERY early Thursday AM, I opened my cloth exchange from my partner Robbie. It's been sitting staring and tempting me for well over a week now. It's the 4 corners dishcloth which is based on a baby blanket pattern of EZ. I've been wanting to make this cloth but never got around to it yet. Thanks Robbie.. I love the colors.. I don't know what the colorway is though. I can still see myself knitting this patern someday.
She also sent me a postcard of Mt. St. Helens near where she lives and a cute notepad of M and M saying I melt for no one :-) Love it
Thanks Robbie!!!!!


This is the cloth I sent her:


Pattern: Annie Washcloth
Yarn: Peaches and Cream
Colorway: fairytale
Needle: US6

Along with this I sent her a long notepad that has a magnet on the back for your fridge. I hope you like your puffy Robbie.

On other notes, tonight I am working on costumes for the kids school music concert. DD needs to look like the 1900s. I bought a lavendar gown at the Salvation army thrift shopfor $2.97 on Tuesday. So I took in the bodice (It was a ladies 2XL and DD is 8 years old) It laced up the back.. so the laces came out and the spot that laced is now a seam. I took the lace and made spaghetti straps to hold up the dress. There was an offset zipper, which remains so she can get in the dress, since I fitted the bodice pretty tightly. Instead of cutting the length, and needing to hem a VERY full skirt in those poofy hard to sew fabrics, I bustled it all around and put in what is a makeshift waistline to the dress. The length is more manageable for her now.

The new bodice of the dress will be functioning as a camisole under this blouse which I found at mom's during the move from the house to the apartment. I wouldn't be the LEAST surprised if it is vintage 1900's. It probably belonged to my grandmother or her sister. The cotton fabric is in pretty good shape but the lace insets were falling apart, so I needed to do a lot of hand repair. It's really beautiful although DD put up a fight about wearing it. Now that she has her long 'dress' she's OK with it all thought. The blouse buttons up the back and the collar stands up. It's too big for her but will be OK overtop the gown. I'll post pictures after tmrws event!

For DS1, I bought khaki pants (for $2.99 at the Salvation Army thrift shop) and cut off the legs below the knees... I'm off to make cuffs that button and sew them at the bottom of the leg (after gathering it a bit of course) to make him a proper pair of knickers. DH found suspenders at American Family Services thrift shop that we'll arrange to fit him. I don't know how much he had to give for them though.. he'll probably not tell me either, because I doubt he remembers...

I'm also knitting him a bow-tie to match his hat. The yarn is the wrong weight and I need to make in Kindergarten size, so I'm tweaking as I knit. I'll post pics of him as well when the ensemble is all finished.


Yesterday, I washed out the tie-dye garments I brought home.. some will have a redye job this weekend as I'm not 100% happy with the results.. That's what we get for rushing. My chorus kids LOVE theirs though and I've had great reports from the mom's that are doing the washing out. Fortunately, my principal really likes his and is psyched to wear it to hte concert.

OK.. I'm off to hit the sewing machine. Wish it was the bed instead. I have no voice from the lovely spring allergies.. hit me like a truck today.