Caffinna’sCreations

Here is the picture of sock no.1 in pair no.2 that I am doing for someone. I took this picture last night and have since finished this sock and moved on to sock no. 2 of this pair. The first pair of this 3 pair deal was using an online pattern that I found, and was done as a sort of “Test Knitter Try-Out”. This second pair is from the book, “Friendly Socks”; and is KAL pair. The third pair of socks in this deal is to be my own design, and is also in an effort to teach me better pattern writing skills. When I get all three pairs done I promise to post a decent picture of them, even if it means posting it threw PhotoBucket.

I talked to my grandma for over an hour the other night. She said that she has some crochet thread that she’s going to give me. (I see cotton lacey things in my knitting future!) She said she also has some things she is making for a family reunion next June that she’d like for me to finish for her. She also, I hope I hope I hope, has a crochet afgan that she made but doesn’t use that she might bring.

It’s been a hectic week here. Tuesday I went to the food bank to get some help with food. We weren’t out, well not of food exactly. It’s just that it’s going to take me a couple of months to get used to once-a-month-foodstamp shopping again, and we needed a few key items. Then today when my mom brought Erchin’s medicine by, she picked it up at the pharmacy for me, she also brought a few “fun” food items. (Like chocolate glazed doughnuts, milk, pre-sweetened cereal, and bread.) If it weren’t for the loving help from family and friends I don’t know what we’d do!

I found out who my sp8 pal was, Ellen. She sent the most wonderful package of all as my final package! I am sorry that I couldn’t take pictures today (camera operator malfunction..lol), but I have provide links to some of the appropriate items to give you an idea.

I got the pattern for the “ME Lace Shawl” from knitpicks dot com. Okay, so they call it the “Janet Lace Shawl” but since my name is Janet (although I go by Jan), I call it the “ME” shawl…hehehehe. I have wanted to make this shawl since first eyeing it on knit picks. http://www.knitpicks.com/books/itemid_50472/books_display.aspx

She sent me three beautiful hanks of lace weight yarn from knitpicks called ‘Gosamer’ in the “Sweet Peas” colorway. The picture at the left is of this yarn from knitpicks.

She also included the book “Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls” by Martha Waterman. It has some shawl patterns in the back of the book, some lace patterns towards the middle, and a great history of the construction and making of traditional lace shawls. It is as much, if not more, of a guide on how to design your own traditional lace shawl as it is a history of them! Oh wow, I love books that help me design and do my own things my way!!! Knitpicks has the book on sale right now, so if remotely interested check it out now by clicking the link that follows. http://www.knitpicks.com/books/itemid_30530/books_display.aspx

She also had a coffee cup that was filled with a chocolate bar and hard candies. The cup is decorated and is a sovenier from Seattle Washington, Ellen’s soon to be new home. In fact, most of the package was soveniers from Seattle!

Since the Seattle zoo is known (unless I am horribly mistaken) for their Panda Bears, she included a TY Beanie Baby panda bear “Fortune”. It is a retired beanie, meaning they are making no more of them. He’s sooo cute! The picture to the left came from the TY web site. I collect TY Beanie Babies, mostly the teddy bears. But I do collect other Beanie Babies that have special significance to me. Like misc. bunny rabbits in honor of various Easters, the lamb in honor of wool (afterall I am a knitter), a puppy dog that reminds me of the attitude of dog I used to have, and others. This panda will always be special because Ellen sent him to me!

She also included a beautiful note pad. It is either simply a pad of multi-colored newsprint paper, or it is that and is recycled. Either way, I will have to save it for special notes!

She also included a print of one of her original abstract pieces of art. It is absolutely beautiful! Wish I could include a scan of it, but it is copyrighted and I don’t have her permission, so just take my word…it is wonderful.

Here’s a link to Ellen’s blog, go check her out. http://knitabout.blogspot.com/

If you are still trying to decide what sorts of things to get me I’d like to ask for fingering/sock weight yarns. Any colors, self stripping, self patterning, multicolored, solid colors, or what ever else. Yes there are notions and such that I might like or could use, but I need yarn in order to keep knitting! Just a suggestion.

Okay no pictures for this post I’m afraid, but maybe I’ll put some pics up later today, maybe not.

Right now, OTN: Fairisle Christmas Stocking; sweater for DGD, that I am designing myself; lace stole, that I am designing myself; and a pair of socks, and for BycicleBoy (my middle son).

The lace stole isn’t wholly my own design. I am doing the edging (minus the beads) and two repeats of the “Hanging Garden Stole” by Silvia Harding. Then I am doing 8 pattern repeats of a stitch pattern called “Snowflakes”. Followed by 12 repeats of a stitch pattern called “Lacy Diamonds”. Then 8 repeats of “Snowflake” again. Closing with two repeats and the edging (again minus the beads) of the “Hanging Garden”. I am doing this in some navy blue Alpaca that I bought from an online friend several months ago.

The socks are cast on using a wonderful 100 gram ball of Opal sock yarn my sp8 pal sent me in her first package. I haven’t decided just exactly what pattern, but will more than likely frog these and start over when I do.

I need more sleep!

Well I had won a drawing on my KTC’s group. Out those who took the Passage to India Quiz, my name was choosen. What did I win? I won this charming, adorable, lovely little lamb. He’s quite bit more adorable than this photo shows, trust me he’s just adorable!

I have named my new little friend “Erama”, pronounced “A-RAh-ma”. Ain’t he just the cutest little lamb?

I was attempting to knit some “sloppy felted slippers”, yet another project for KTC’s “Lolita”, when i had to frog the effort for the fourth time. I was using this yummy yarn that I had gotten in a trade/swap about a year or so ago. I looked at how much I had of this oh so yummy yarn (75% wool/25% cotton with a thick-n-thin and a home spun quality to it), and it hit me. If I didn’t wait too much longer, I would have enough of this yarn to knit my dgd a sweater for Christmas! So I scrapped the idea of felted slippers, and for knitting anything else for Lolita, and started on a sweater for dgd. I doing my own design based on the directions in Ann Budd’s book, “The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns”. {If you want to design and make your sweaters, this is the best book you can get for that purpose! JMHO}

WalMart in the town over is cutting their fabric/yarn/crafts department in half! OMG! It’s now moved from the back corner to just a very few isles up by stationary. Instead of two huge cutting tables for fabric, they now have a small one-it’s at the very least 75% smaller than before! Anyway, they are discontinuing a great many of the yarns that they used to carry. They aren’t discounted quite yet, but hopefully they will still have some next month when I have a little bit of $$ to get some. If you buy any of your yarns at WalMart, they are doing this cutback across the board. So check out the discontinued/sales yarns ASAP!

Dh’s insurance coverage runs out next week. We cannot afford to keep it up. So yesturday we went to the DHS office and did the paper work, and dh has been added to state medicaid. His coverage won’t be in effect until the first of September.

Dh and I both went to the doctor today. I had to be seen before I could get anymore of my medicines refilled. Dh has to keep going back every two weeks. We told the doctor that insurance runs out next monday, and medicaid doesn’t start until the first. Doc said if he had to he’d “eat the fee” because he was more interested that dh continue to heal well than making the money.

I had some 75% wool 25% cotton yarn in my stash. I was going to knit up a pair of sloppy felted slippers for yet another “Lolita” project for my KTC’s group. As I was frogging my efforts for the fourth time I thought, I probably have enough of this to knit dgd a sweater if I skipped the slippers. So now I have started dgd a sweater out of this yummy stuff. It’s my own original pattern. Since I haven’t decided whether or not I want to submit the design for publication just yet, I don’t want to post pictures. If I decide not to submit the design, then and only then will I post pictures.

Here are my most recent projects that I have done. They are all KTC projects for “Lolita”, our August book. The three turquoise blue Rosary bead bags were submitted as one single project. I need them for the new rosary beads that I bought while dh was in hospital.

The pink and white head kerchief is for my dgd. I also hope to make some hats, scarfs, and mittens for Christmas.

The white wings are also for my dgd who, at age 2, just loves to wear wings. These are “Allete” from the currant issue of knitty dot com. Here’s the link to the pattern: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTallete.html I still need to insert the floral wire into the casing along the top, but otherwise the wings are done.

So sorry that not only the picture sucks but that I forgot to rotate it before saving to my computer. I know, I am stupid and it’s been one of those days (all I have anymore is those days).

My KTC swap package arrived today. Lower right of picture clockwise: “The Color of Distance”, a sci-fi fantasy novel!; an already eaten oranic chocolate bar, Chai Tea flavored..so yummy!; two cd’s she burned for me herself, one is relaxation music and the other humor; a box of Green Chai Tea Bags, omg can’t wait to try this!; and finally a big ball of Lion Brand worsted weight cotton for my me to make cloths with. Thank you so much Jennhx.