29% Stupid....

Well, I like to think that 29 is my favorite number....is this good or bad? I did say I would post it, so here it is. I just want you all to remember, I ARE A COLLEGE GRADUATE!




I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. I ended up at a 'family' gathering. It's an odd family bunch that I'm a part of. Lots of actors and entertainers....quite a motley crew, but they're great. It was hosted by Rashawn & Sharnette. Also attended by my brothers, Ivan & Kasan, they're families and lots and lots and lots of other people. Lots of food and laughter, low on the drama this year. :)

Okay, on to the needle news. I've finished the stocking....well, as of this moment, all of the cross-stitching is done, and I've washed and dried it. I need to iron it, and go down to Tara's to get it put together. As far as I'm concerned it's done. Here are the pictures of it complete, pre and post washing. The colors looked really bright and vibrant after the wash, and it didn't even threaten to bleed...if it had I may have had to slit my wrists. I'll post the final product after it's done:







I finished the hat for Cathy's baby too. She probably knows she's getting no gifts for herself this year. The hat is from Straw.com. It's a free pattern for a Crystal Palace yarn, the Iceland Tri-Cornered Hat. I used Lion Brand Landscapes, because I couldn't find the Iceland in any of the colors I liked (not that I looked very hard). It took one ball and I was happy. I want one for myself, but feel like I'm too old for it. I'll decide shortly. Here it is:





I learned how to make and i-cord and do kitchner with this one.


I've also been working on the three afghans I said I had to whip out. I don't think Danielle is going to let me live that one down. **sigh** They're coming along nicely, I think. I've got the Cape Cod Blue Perfect Match one for Gab & Brian, the Autumn Red Simply Soft one for Tooraj and Lester and the Trade Wind Rainbow Dream one for Tara.

The Simply Soft is fabulous! It's a great color and of course super soft. It's a front post double ripple pattern, and I finally found the yarn in Walmart out in Victorville.....YES, Victorville. The Cape Cod one is nice too, I'm not crazy about the feel of Perfect Match as I'm working with it, but it softens up so nicely when it's washed it's worth it. The Rainbow Dreams is definitely a crunchy acrylic. I'm not in too deep to stop, but these are definitely her colors. Maybe I'll show it to her and ask how she feels about it. It will kill the surprise, but at least I'll know if she likes it.

Here they are:






I think that's all I've got today. I finished up the Red Heart Baby hat and the i-cords look weird....too thin. I'm giving it to her just like that. I want to make one for myself out of this Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk I have, but I swear I'm afraid to use the stuff, and the sizing maybe an issue. You'll know what I decide when I do.....It's also in the Salmon family, and I would want a matching scarf...ugh, what to do!!! Buy it in black and let it go, right? ;)

Well, I'm limping off to Tara's now. I fell down last night. Sprained my right foot and busted up my left knee...I'm a real mess!

All for now, ttfn!
tb

Oh the pain...

I think this Stocking is giving me carpal tunnels. I feel like it's never going to end.

Here's my progress as of Monday, 14 November 2005:





On Friday I was pretty confident that I was going to finish off the main part of the stocking over the weekend. That didn't happen, and I can't remember why now....wait, it's because I spent several hours at functions for my brother's short film festival debut. It was accepted by BHERC, and there was a meet and greet on Friday and then the actual screening on Saturday. There was a screening on Sunday too, but I just couldn't make it...you know SnB meeting and all. Saturday after the screening Tara, George (the knitted cap guy) and I went to El Coyote for dinner. It was pretty good. Killed my points, but worth every bite!

So, that was my starting point this week. It's Friday morning, 18 November 2005 and here is where it stands now:





Okay, so now I'll run down the list of what's left to do:

1) I've got to finish the half stitching outline design down the left side of the leg.

2) I've got to put a line of green and red (i think)across the top, and then stitch in her name.

3) I've got to put in the white spots...you see where it looks white in the pattern, well, it needs to be stitched in white. **sigh**

4) I've got to top stitch to define the design.

5) I've got to find the lining and the backing.

6) I've begged Tara to help me with the final construction.

Can you believe the To Do list on this project is this long? And her mother asked me to make a hat and scarf too....**sigh** So, I dug around for patterns on the web and then headed out to Joann's and ended up with this:



It's way too thin and way too pastelly (is that a word?). It's going back. I also got a circular needle for $1. Joann's brand. The points aren't terribly sharp, but no less rounded than bamboo, and the circular part (fishing line?) really feels like fishing line, it's hard and not very pliable, but it was only a buck.

After work I went over to Michael's in Glendale. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I was on line for at least 20 minutes. I got two sets of Clover dpns (8 & 10.5) and a skein of Red Heart and a skein of this Lion Brand Jiffy Bulky stuff. I decided to make the Iceland Printed Wool Baby Hat, and was trying to find something easily washable to make it out of...oh and cheap. I love the colors of the Jiffy stuff, but it's too thick to work on 10.5 circulars...trust me, I tried and the shooting pain stopped me.

I like the colors so much I even considered unplying the skein because on strand is about the size of the Iceland Wool....yeah, that thought passed quickly. Here is is:




It's going back to the store today too.

So, the only one left is the Red Heart. I started the hat without doing a gauge swatch. Of course it's too big. Ugh! So, she'll have two hats and a scarf. I might walk over to Skein today and see if they have the Iceland wool in the colors I like. ;) {I told you, only for yarn that I can't find elsewhere.} Here it is in progress. It's small, so I will finish it quickly if I can ever get done with this stocking:



I'm going to look for the Iceland Wool, or something comparable, because the Red Heart doesn't have the same kind of body and doesn't look like it's going to hold the shape of the hat very nicely. We'll see. I figure since I agreed I shouldn't half ass it.

I think that is all the news I have today, and quite a bit of news it is. Wish me luck with the Stocking this weekend. Perhaps, if I'm diligent, I'll be able to complete numbers 1 thru 3, and get pretty far into number four. And if I'm lucky I'll be able to get Tara to help with number five.

Any thoughts?
tb

gifts galore and it's not even the holidays

Okay, there’s a lot going on in my needle news. I feel like I should have updated this thing days ago! I had jury duty last week and that was part of why I didn’t post. I've been working on things for other people non-stop, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...just afghans left to whip out for xmas.

Okay, one piece at a time, right? I promised pictures of the yarn I got at The Slipt Stitch in El Segundo. Here it is. It’s 100% rayon (I think) and really soft. I’m still searching for a lace pattern that’s simple enough for me to not f’up and enjoy doing. The color scheme is WAY outside my box, and there was actually a peachy one that I resisted, but I really liked this one. Who knows if I’ll ever wear what I make out of it, but hopefully it will be a pleasure to work with.




The Shawl: It came out beautifully. Thanks to Victoria’s help I was able to get the beads onto the edges just the way I wanted them, and Carol loved it. Here is a picture trail of the beading process and Carol in the shawl.

The beads on the thread I found to match the brilliant:





The beads crocheted onto one end:







The finished shawl on Carol:




I finished up George’s hats, and I just need to set a date to get together with him to deliver them to him. Those I don’t have pictures of. I’ll try to get one of him in them for you.

And of course, The Stocking. I got in trouble in court for working on The Stocking. I had been in the jury box for 2 days, and the questioning was no longer being directed to me, so I pulled out my stitching…..I think the judge sent the court clerk over to tell me to put it away. The girl next to me was playing with a small video game. :)

So here’s what it looked like as of Monday morning after a hard weekend of stitching:



And this is what it looks like today after a hard two days of stitching...The toe is essentially done, just the half-stitching designs....I'm focused man!:





I'm not sure if you can see it, but in the left corner there's a light green design there. Those things are all over the stocking...when I think about that bit I start to lose steam, but I'm staying focused:




I’m getting closer to the finish! Even Tara thinks so! The only ‘issue’ is that it’s filthy! Nic & Christine think I should use a gentle soap to wash it once I’m done. Any one with cross-stitching experience out there wanna give me some advice? Will the colors bleed? What about shaping? Let me know. I so want to be done with it so I can try the lace….still gotta find a pattern though.


I think that’s all for now.
tb